Criminal
Jun. 20, 2002
Senate Panel Passes Terror Bill
SACRAMENTO - An anti-terrorism package backed by the state's district attorneys cleared a key legislative hurdle Tuesday after it was amended to remove virtually all opposition.
AB1838, introduced by former Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg, D-Sherman Oaks, would make a number of changes to the state's current anti-terrorism law, the Hertzberg-Alarcon Weapons of Mass Destruction Act of 1999.
Most important to prosecutors, Hertzberg's bill would specifically criminalize terrorist hoaxes such as the sending of white powder through the mail to simulate anthrax.
Since the anthrax incidents last year, prosecutors have insisted that current state law would not necessarily apply to such hoax crimes.
Hertzberg's bill would also add airplanes, ships and trucks to the list of weapons of mass destruction. And it would enhance sentences for those who commit terrorist acts.
The bill cleared the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday by a vote of 4-0.
It is co-sponsored by the California District Attorneys Association and Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley.
"[Cooley] was concerned that if we did start having incidents in Los Angeles, we did not have the tools in state law to deal with those situations," said James Provenza, a lobbyist for the Los Angeles district attorney's office.
Without the bill, Provenza said, counties would have to rely on the FBI and other problem-plagued federal agencies.
"You need a strong local response," he said.
The bill had been opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union and California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, but those groups withdrew their opposition after some sections of the bill were amended to more specifically define what qualified as a biological or chemical agent.
"The author took our concerns into account so that it's no longer a knee-jerk reaction to Sept. 11 but a carefully fashioned bill," said CACJ lobbyist Scott Ciment.
Provenza agreed that the bill has been a collaborative effort.
"We took some helpful amendments from the ACLU and CACJ," he said. "They said some of the language was too broad, and our appellate attorneys agreed. Everyone worked together on this one."
The Hertzberg bill goes next to the Senate Appropriations Committee.
A nearly identical bill, SB1287, now pending in the Assembly, was introduced by Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Sun Valley.
Both bills are expected to clear the Legislature and be signed by the governor.
Another terrorism-related bill that is sponsored by the district attorneys would enhance law enforcement's ability to tap phone lines in the age of cell phones.
AB74, introduced by Assemblyman Carl Washington, D-Paramount, would provide for an expedited process to add new phone numbers to wiretap warrants.
Prosecutors had originally sought the ability to use "roving wiretaps," to track suspects as they switched from phone to phone to avoid detection.
That plan was scrapped, however, after legal experts said it would encounter constitutional roadblocks.
The wiretap bill is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Public Safety Committee on June 25.
Hudson Sangree
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