Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer’s Public Safety Bill Is First of Its Kind State Policy to Deal with Rise in Discriminatory 911 Calls and False Police Reports

LOS ANGELES, California – (August 20, 2020) – Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer’s (D-Huntington Park) legislation dealing with the growing misuse of the 911 emergency system to attack people of color has passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee on a 7-0 vote. AB 1775 increases the criminal penalties imposed when a person knowingly makes a false 911 call for the purpose of harassing another. The strongest penalties are imposed when a false 911 call is based on a person’s race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ancestry, place of origin, or other protected characteristic.

AB 1775 has received broad support from 911 dispatch operators, social workers, police unions and sheriffs, as well as cities and municipalities representing diverse communities. The bill has no registered opposition.

AB 1775 combines three bills increasing penalties for discriminatory 911 calls

LOS ANGELES, California – (August 6, 2020) – Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer (D-Huntington Park) announced the merger of three bills aimed at ending discriminatory 911 calls. AB 1775 (Jones-Sawyer) will increase the criminal penalties imposed when a person knowingly makes a false 911 call for the purpose of harassing another. The strongest penalties are imposed when a false 911 call is based on a person’s race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, ancestry, place of origin, or other protected characteristic.

The Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976 provides that all persons have the right to be free from violence or intimidation by threat, based on a person’s perceived or actual race, gender, age, sexual orientation or other protected classes. AB 1775 will classify blatantly false reports as a form of intimidation, allowing the victim of these calls to file a lawsuit against the person who knowingly made the false report.

Ditas Katague
Director
California Complete Count – U.S. Census
400 R Street, Suite 359
Sacramento, CA 95811

Director Katague:

I am writing to express my concerns and disappointment with the Census Bureau’s decision to end the field operation portion of hard-to-count communities by a month sooner than required ending September 30, 2020. It is my understanding that requests to the Trump Administration seeking extensions on reporting deadlines have not been granted and is the rationale behind the decision to end the count early.

This is unacceptable and this letter will serve as my formal complaint on the matter.

A pesar del último intento de la administración Trump de impedir el proceso constitucional de contar a todos los que viven en la nación durante un censo, debemos participar en ser contados para que se proporcionen fondos críticos para el desarrollo de infraestructura, incluidas viviendas, educación y carreteras a nuestras comunidades.

El Censo es un aspecto fundamental de la existencia de nuestra nación y la capacidad de llevar a cabo mandatos constitucionales en representación, creación de límites de distrito y prioridades de financiamiento para que el Congreso debata.

Despite the latest attempt by the Trump administration to impede the Constitutional process of counting  everyone living in the nation during a Census, we must take part in being counted so critical funding for infrastructure development including housing, education and roads are provided to our communities.

The Census is a fundamental aspect of our nation’s existence and the ability to carry out Constitutional mandates in representation, creation of district boundaries, and funding priorities for the Congress to debate.

As a father and grandfather, I am in agreement with Governor Newsom that the health and safety of our children must be a priority when assessing the standards by which our schools should re-open during this pandemic.

With 170 Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) campuses in my district, I represent the largest number of LAUSD schools, and second largest concentration of charter schools, in Los Angeles.

Como padre y abuelo, estoy de acuerdo con el Gobernador Newsom en que la salud y la seguridad de nuestros hijos deben ser una prioridad al evaluar los estándares por los cuales nuestras escuelas deberían reabrir durante esta pandemia.

Con 170 campus del Distrito Escolar Unificado de Los Ángeles (LAUSD) en mi distrito, represento el mayor número de escuelas del LAUSD, y la segunda concentración más grande de escuelas charter, en Los Ángeles.

Jones-Sawyer’s AB 1775 Creates Fines and Penalties for Illegal Use of 911 System

LOS ANGELES, California – (July 15, 2020) – Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer has authored AB 1775 in response to a growing number of incidents where a person knowingly uses the emergency call system (911) with the purpose of harassing another individual. Current law only provides for a warning while AB 1775 will make a first violation punishable by a $250 fine or a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in a county jail, or both. The bill would make a second violation a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in a county jail, or a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

“There are multiple serious issues the Emergency Call System deals with on a daily basis including health related, criminal activity, and physical injury – what the system does not need are calls dealing with racial profiling or acts of personal hate or prejudices,” said Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer, who also serves as the Chair of the Assembly’s Public Safety Committee.