TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
George Gabriel, Assistant to the City Manager
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of Resolution Sponsoring and Supporting Assembly Bill 2309 which Authorizes the City Attorney of any General Law City or Chartered City to Prosecute State Misdemeanors (City Manager Moe).
(Estimated Time: 15 Mins.)
CONSIDER RESOLUTION NO. 24-0025
Body
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RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council consider Resolution No. 24-0025 to sponsor and support Assembly Bill 2309 which authorizes the City Attorney of any general law city or chartered city to prosecute state misdemeanors.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There will be yet-to-be-determined staff time and ancillary costs expended in sponsoring and supporting the legislation.
BACKGROUND:
Since March 2021, the City has been exploring ways to prosecute state misdemeanors following the District Attorney's directives limiting their prosecution of certain misdemeanors. However, the State of California's government code requires consent from the District Attorney to do so. Government Code Section 41803.5 states that:
"With the consent of the district attorney of the county, the city attorney of any general law city or chartered city within the county may prosecute any misdemeanor committed within the city arising out of violation of state law."
Following numerous meetings, the District Attorney's office indicated that they would not provide consent for the City (or other jurisdictions) to prosecute state misdemeanors.
At the July 18, 2023, meeting, City Council directed staff to work with the City's elected state legislators and request a change in the California Government Code to allow cities to prosecute state misdemeanors when a County District Attorney declines to prosecute.
In the months thereafter, staff met with Assemblymember Muratsuchi's and State Senator Ben Allen's office...
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