SACRAMENTO– On Monday, Assemblyman Dante Acosta, R-Santa Clarita, introduced three pieces of legislation designed to make communities safer and healthier.
“This bill package fulfils my promise to every resident of the 38th district that I would fight for community health and local safety,” Acosta said. “We send the wrong message to criminals and their victims when crimes such as human trafficking, child abuse likely to result in great bodily harm, and terrorism through use of an explosive device, among others, are treated as ‘non-serious’ offenses.”
AB 537 will add to the list of serious crimes a host of offenses from child abuse to use of a hostage as a human shield in order to evade arrest. Due to the Governor’s realignment efforts – AB 109 in 2011 – many felons guilty of “non-serious” crimes serve reduced terms in county jails instead of in state penitentiaries. AB 537 will undo much of the damage done by realignment to the justice system.
AB 538 will require criminals who receive an aggregate sentence of over 3 years for felonies to serve that time in state prison instead of county jails. Often criminals who serve time in county jails are much more likely to secure early release. Requiring that time to be served in prison will ensure that victims receive the justice they deserve.
AB 539 gives law enforcement the right to seek a warrant in cases of so called “revenge porn” or other similar situations. This is when a person distributes across the internet malicious images or video of a sexual nature without the consent of the person on the image or video where privacy was expected by the victim. Currently this is illegal, but law enforcement has no right to seek a warrant even if enough evidence exists to expect one.
Assemblyman Dante Acosta represents the 38th Assembly District stretching from Vasquez Rocks in Agua Dulce to the Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley, which encompasses the communities of Santa Clarita, Porter Ranch, Chatsworth and Northridge.
