SACRAMENTO—Assemblymembers approved six bills introduced by Assemblymember James C. Ramos (D-San Bernardino) that would add protections for crime victims, create a paid holiday for state workers on California Native American Day and acknowledge the genocide and atrocities committed against the state’s tribes were among the measures that will move to the state Senate for review.
“I’m proud to move forward bills to enhance law enforcement’s tools to find missing persons and protect victims from further victimization. In the almost 176 years since California became a state, we still struggle to ensure that the First People of the State still enjoy the same rights and opportunities as others. These bills acknowledge the unique role of Native Americans in this state’s history and assist in ensuring they receive the same rights and benefits extended to others,” Ramos stated.
Measures moving forward to the Senate are:
- AB 1681, Victim Notification: Protects crime victims’ rights by ensuring victims receive timely notifications about an offender’s release, parole hearings, escapes, or special parole conditions. AB 1681 would eliminate the need for victims to navigate a separate, burdensome process during an already traumatic time. It would automatically transmit the required victim notification information to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at sentencing, along with the abstract of judgment that courts already submit when a defendant is sentenced to state prison. Co-sponsors are the California District Attorneys Association, Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office. A partial list of additional supporters includes California Association of School Police Chiefs, California Reserve Officers, Crime Victims United, Safe Family Justice Centers and California Coalition of School Safety Professionals.
- AB 1769, Tribal Articulation: Facilitates seamless transfer of course credits (articulation) for students attending tribal colleges to California higher education systems public postsecondary educational institutions. AB 1769 would call on California’s higher education systems to develop and implement transfer agreements regarding to ensure effective and efficient progress of students attending tribal colleges seeking transfer to another institution to minimize coursework duplication. Table Mountain and California Indian Nations College are co-sponsors. Also supporting the bill are the California Teachers Association, California Tribal Business Alliance, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation and Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation.
- AB 1841, California Native American Day: Designates California Native American Day as a paid holiday for all state employees contingent upon a determination by the Department of Human Resources (CalHR) that sufficient funding exists to implement the change. It also authorizes CalHR to enter into agreements with individual bargaining units as statewide implementation moves forward if AB 1841 is approved. This bill builds on a 2021 Ramos measure, AB 855, that established a paid holiday for judicial employees. Sponsor is the California Native Vote Project. Other supporters include the California Federation of Labor Unions, AFL-CIO, California Rural Indian Health Board, Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake, Service Employees International Union Local 1000; Wilton Rancheria, Yuhaaviatam of San Manuel Nation and Office of the Mayor, City of San Bernardino.
- AB 1889, Criminal Protective Orders: Authorizes the court to issue a criminal protective order (CPO) that is valid two years after the defendant’s release if the original CPO is expired. CPOs are routinely issued in cases involving domestic violence, human trafficking or acts of sexual assault to discourage offenders from contact with victims and witnesses. This change ensures that victims receive timely notification about their offender’s eventual release and that there is some degree of protection while they pursue longer-term safety measures. Co-sponsors are the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office. A partial list of other supporters includes the California District Attorneys Association, California State Sheriffs’ Association, Peace Officers Research Association of California, California Police Officers’ Association, American Association of University Women and several local police officers associations.
AB 2018, California Missing Persons Program Update: Modernizes California’s Missing Persons DNA Program to reflect significant technological advancements in science. AB 2018 would also strengthen the state’s Department of Justice’s (CA DOJ) capability to resolve missing persons cases. Through the program, law enforcement collects voluntary oral samples from relatives of missing persons. Those samples are submitted to the CA DOJ for processing, resulting in DNA profiles suitable for inclusion in a DNA database. Meanwhile, county coroners and law enforcement provide biological samples from unidentified human remains, and unidentifiable living persons to the CA DOJ. Those samples are similarly processed, and the DNA profiles are uploaded to be searched against the known profiles for missing persons and family reference samples. If the uploaded profiles show a strong genetic similarity with each other, the coroner is then able to make a determination of identity. Sponsor: Attorney General Rob Bonta and is also supported by the California District Attorneys Association and Riverside District Attorney’s Association.
- AB 2115, State Apology to California Native Americans: Establishes a formal apology from the California State Legislature and the state courts to California Native Americans for historical policies of violence, displacement and cultural suppression and requires the installation of a commemorative plaque in the State Capitol. Sponsor is the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians. Other supporters include the California Rural Indian Health Board Inc, California Tgribal Business Alliance, CFT – a Union of Educators & Classified Professionals, AFT, AFL-CIO and Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake.
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Assemblymember James C. Ramos proudly represents the 45th Assembly district that includes the Cities of Fontana, Highland, Mentone, Redlands, Rialto and San Bernardino. He is the first and only California Native American serving in the state’s legislature. Ramos chairs the Assembly Budget Subcommittee #6 on Public Safety and the Assembly Select Committee on Native American Affairs.