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AP19:103
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 20, 2019
CONTACT:
SOS Press Office
(916) 653-6575
Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation
Requires Arrest for Specified Offenses and, If Convicted, Detention or Intervention Programs. Initiative Statute.
SACRAMENTO, CA – Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced that the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures yesterday.
The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:
REQUIRES ARREST FOR SPECIFIED OFFENSES AND, IF CONVICTED, DETENTION OR INTERVENTION PROGRAMS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Requires arrest and detention for pretrial risk assessment when officer has probable cause that arrestee committed specified offenses, such as disorderly conduct and drug possession. Establishes specialized courts in counties with populations over 100,000 to determine if economic, substance abuse, or mental health issues were contributing factors in offense; if so, requires referrals to social-safety-net assistance or incarceration for drug treatment or mental health care. Amends Mental Health Services Act to utilize existing funding for such courts and programs. Establishes rules for expunging sentences for specified offenses. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Increased criminal justice system costs, particularly for courts, substance use disorder treatment, and mental health treatment, which could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Some or all of these costs would be funded by a shift of about $860 million in existing state revenues. Decreased funding of about $860 million for certain mental health programs. State and local governments could face ongoing cost to replace this funding. (19-0024A1.)
The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1881 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 19-0024.
The proponent of the measure, Mike Gatto, must collect signatures of 623,212 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the November 2018 general election) in order to qualify it for the ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than June 16, 2020. The proponent can be reached at (323) 819-0300. The address for the proponent is 5419 Hollywood Boulevard, Suite C-356, Los Angeles, CA 90027.
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