While America was captivated in March by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) basketball tournament, Washington was preparing for its busiest time of year — appropriations (funding) season. With the fiscal year (FY) 2019 funding bill signed,1 lawmakers have begun to focus on FY2020 legislation. Congress is in the preliminary stages of appropriations; members of the Appropriations Committee are beginning to hold hearings with relevant agencies to discuss funding priorities. On March 11, President Donald Trump published his 2020 budget proposal, the first step in the federal appropriations process. Read More
Modernizing Use of Force on Our Terms
Through the leadership of President Brian Marvel and lobbyists Randy Perry and Aaron Read, PORAC and a coalition of law enforcement stakeholders successfully prevented a strong legislative effort last session to radically limit peace officer rights to self-defense and defense of others. Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D–San Diego) introduced Assembly Bill 931 on behalf of the ACLU and a coalition of anti-law-enforcement zealots to redefine the necessary standard for the use of deadly force set by the U.S. Supreme Court in Graham v. Connor. PORAC successfully opposed this unconstitutional attempt to erode peace officers’ inalienable right to self-defense. Read More
Capitol Beat – Priority Legislation
Over 2,750 bills have been introduced this year. Of those bills, PORAC is tracking over 215 that potentially have an impact on law enforcement or the safety of the communities we serve. All hands are on deck as we diligently work to pass PORAC’s sponsored bill, SB 230 by Senator Anna Caballero (D–Salinas), and actively oppose AB 392 by Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D–San Diego). Last month’s PORAC LE News highlighted SB 230, which was introduced by law enforcement to proactively address use-of-force policies, guidelines and training. Read More