At a press conference today, Assemblymember Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, announced the introduction of AB 390 with Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert, San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos, crime victims' families and bill supporters.
The bill would allow DNA collection from criminals convicted of crimes that were previously felonies but are now reclassified as misdemeanors.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —When voters passed Proposition 47 last November, they agreed to a law that aims to divert low-level criminals to drug and mental health treatment rather than to prison.
The law, which changes the classification of some drug crimes, theft and forgery to misdemeanors rather than felonies, also will save taxpayers money, advocates argued.
Police officers would regain powers to collect DNA that a voter-approved initiative stripped away under legislation announced Thursday by Assemblyman Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, with the backing of district attorneys and lawmakers from both parties.
“Forensic DNA is the greatest tool ever given to law enforcement to find the guilty and to exonerate the innocent,” Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert said at an event announcing Assembly Bill 390.
When California voters approved Proposition 47, they no doubt had the sincere goal of helping nonviolent offenders by diverting them from prisons into drug treatment, mental health care and educational programs.
What they probably didn’t want was to make it difficult for police to catch murderers and rapists by helping criminals evade DNA-collection requirements.
Assemblyman Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, was appointed this week by Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins as chairman of the Assembly Select Committee on Community and Law Enforcement Relations and Responsibilities.
The goal of the committee is to explore how to build relationships between communities and local law enforcement through education and open communication, according to a press release issued by Cooper’s office.
Assemblyman Jim Cooper, D-Elk Grove, has been appointed by Speaker Toni Atkins to serve on the California Crime Victims’ Memorial Review Committee. The committee is tasked with overseeing the design, construction and maintenance of a memorial in Capitol Park to honor California residents who are victims of crime.
Cooper, Pan back Gov. Brown’s education funding push
Elk Grove’s representatives in the State Legislature said they support Gov. Jerry Brown’s continued push to increase funding for education.
Brown said on Jan. 5 during a combined inaugural and State of the State Address that schools will receive $65.7 billion, marking a 39 percent increase since he first took office four years ago.
A key to the city was yet another first for new State Assembly Member Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove).
Until last month, he served on the Elk Grove City Council since incorporation in 2000.
Assemblyman Jim Cooper of California’s 9th Assembly District has been appointed by Speaker Toni Atkins to serve as a member on five key policy committees and on the Joint Legislative Committee on Emergency Management.
“I’m confident that my work as a committee member on the Agriculture Committee and the Government Organization Committee will enable me to better serve my district,” Cooper said in a press release. “I’m also grateful that she has appointed me to the Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee so that I can use my experience and knowledge from my service as the Commander of the Sacramento Valley High-Tech Crime Task Force to safeguard and protect all Californians.”
Capitol Office:
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0009
Tel: (916) 319-2009
Fax: (916) 319-2109
District Office:
9250 Laguna Springs Drive, Suite 220
Elk Grove, CA 95758
Tel: (916) 670-7888
Fax: (916) 670-7893
