Over 1,000 citizens assemble in Sacramento to rally against crime

(The Center Square) – Over 1,000 citizens, including contingents of small business owners and victims of crime, assembled at the California state capitol to support stronger anti-criminal measures and denounce pending legislation that they believe would increase crime.

The rally was largely held to support SB 14, a single-item bill to make trafficking minors a “serious felony,” and to protest bills SB 553, SB 94, and SB 81 – all bills currently in the suspense file, for bills costing over $150,000, that must be removed by majority vote by the Appropriations committee tomorrow to be made into law this legislative cycle. While the suspense file is often used to quietly quash bills, it’s uncertain which of these bills will be moving forward.

SB 14 has broad bipartisan support and passed unanimously in the Senate. When the bill failed to pass the Assembly Public Safety Committee, national attention and support from the governor meant the bill passed on its second vote in that committee without any opposing votes. After significant outreach by bill author Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield), the bill now counts more than half the members of the Appropriations Committee and half of all State legislators in California as its coauthors, suggesting it has a high likelihood of exiting the suspense file.

SB 553 would require all businesses, even small businesses, to create workforce violence prevention plans at what labor law firm Ogletree Deakins says would include procedures “similar in scope” to “psychiatric hospitals” and require installation of hardware such as electronic access controls, weapons detectors, and employee training on workplace violence prevention methods, procedures to follow in the event of a workplace violence incident, shoplifter training, active shooter training, and bans employers from requiring employees to confront suspected shoplifters.

Senator Brian Dahle (R–Redding), who is also a business owner, spoke at the event and noted that a significant portion of the crowd were small business owners whose gas stations, convenience stores, and small hotels would be most affected by this pending legislation.

“Small businesses are under attack by trial attorneys and those who want to come after them, and this bill would give them a huge avenue to come in and sue local business owners,” said Dahle to The Center Square. “If you’re a Walmart or a Target you can absorb those costs a little differently than a small business owner can absorb those costs. I don’t want to see them have that liability pushed onto them.”

Bill author Senator Dave Cortese (D-San Jose), however, thinks differently, and believes his bill puts workers’ interests first.

“With growing awareness of workplace violence, California needs smarter guidelines to keep workers safe in the office or on the job site,” said Cortese in a statement supporting the bill. “Under my SB 553, employers would be prohibited from forcing their rank and file, non-security workers to confront active shoplifters, and all retail employees would be trained on how to react to active shoplifting.”

SB 94, also a Cortese bill, would allow parole to many of those sentenced to death or life in prison without the opportunity for parole, while SB 81 would only allow parole to be denied if a a parole board finds, with a preponderance of evidence, that a person “presents a current, unreasonable risk of danger to public safety.”