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AB-474 State Threat Assessment Center: transnational criminal organizations.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 09/13/2023 02:00 PM
AB474:v98#DOCUMENT

Enrolled  September 13, 2023
Passed  IN  Senate  September 11, 2023
Passed  IN  Assembly  May 25, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 474

Introduced by Assembly Member Rodriguez
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Waldron)

February 07, 2023

An act to add Section 8685.11 to the Government Code, relating to state government.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 474, Rodriguez. State Threat Assessment Center: transnational criminal organizations.
Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, creates, within the office of the Governor, the Office of Emergency Services, which is responsible for addressing natural, technological, or human-caused disasters and emergencies, including responsibility for activities necessary to prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of emergencies and disasters to people and property.
This bill would find and declare that the State Threat Assessment Center (STAC) serves as California’s information-sharing clearinghouse of strategic threat analysis and situational awareness reporting for statewide leadership and the public safety community, as specified, and that the STAC is California’s state primary fusion center, as designated by the Governor, and is operated by the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the Office of Emergency Services, and the Department of Justice. The bill would make other findings and declarations related to drug trafficking and transnational criminal organizations.
This bill would require the STAC and the Office of Emergency Services to prioritize, to the greatest extent possible, cooperation with state and local efforts to illuminate, disrupt, degrade, and dismantle criminal networks trafficking opioid drugs that pose a threat to California. The bill would require the STAC to support state and local interagency task forces to combat illegal opioid trafficking in California, as specified, including preparing and disseminating intelligence products for public safety entities.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The State Threat Assessment Center (STAC) serves as California’s information-sharing clearinghouse of strategic threat analysis and situational awareness reporting for statewide leadership and the public safety community in support of efforts to prevent, prepare for, mitigate, and respond to all crimes and hazards impacting California citizens and critical infrastructure while preserving civil liberties, individual privacy, and constitutional rights.
(b) The STAC is California’s state primary fusion center, as designated by the Governor, and is operated by the Department of the California Highway Patrol, the Office of Emergency Services, and the Department of Justice.
(c) Transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) continue to pose a threat to California, public health, and our economic security.
(d) According to the United States Department of the Treasury, it is estimated that drug-related crime alone generated over $100 billion in proceeds in the United States.
(e) There were 7,175 deaths related to any opioid overdoses in California in 2021, of which 5,961 were related to fentanyl, according to the State Department of Public Health.
(f) Mexico-based TCO criminal activity is not limited to drug trafficking, as they engage in a wide variety of other criminal activity. TCOs also facilitated and profited from smuggling migrants into the United States, and their illicit trade activity led to the seizure of over $2.14 billion in intellectual property violations in federal fiscal year 2021, according to the United States Department of Homeland Security.

SEC. 2.

 Section 8685.11 is added to the Government Code, to read:

8685.11.
 (a) The State Threat Assessment Center with the Office of Emergency Services shall prioritize, to the greatest extent possible, cooperation with state and local efforts to illuminate, disrupt, degrade, and dismantle criminal networks trafficking opioid drugs that pose a threat to California.
(b) In carrying out this section, the State Threat Assessment Center shall support state and local interagency task forces established to combat illegal opioid trafficking in California. Support provided by the State Threat Assessment Center shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Preparing and disseminating intelligence products for public safety entities.
(2) Analyzing tactics and trends or transnational criminal organizations operating in California.
(3) Sharing information with government decisionmakers and state and local public safety officials regarding the extent to which transnational criminal organizations are trafficking opioids and pose other public safety threats in California.