DA Supports Assembly Bills to Improve Public Safety

•Assembly Bill 237 by Assemblymember Dr. Darshana Patel – Aims to close a loophole that complicated prosecution of criminal threats. This bill will clarify that it is criminal to threat to commit a crime at a daycare, school, university, workplace, house of worship, medical facility, or public venue with reckless disregard for safety. This bill uses the definition of “reckless disregard” defined in Counterman v. Colorado (2023), which constitutes a threat not protected by the 1st Amendment.

•Assembly Bill 358 by Assemblymember David Alvarez – Seeks to protect victims of stalking and domestic abuse by enhancing law enforcement’s ability to access electronic devices found in victim’s private space. The bill amends California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (CalECPA) to allow law enforcement, with the consent of an individual who finds a recording or tracking device in a space where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy (e.g., their home or vehicle), to access the device.

Watch videos of the news conferences below: