Committee Jurisdiction
Legislation amending the following: a) Evidence Code, relating to criminal procedure; b) Penal Code;
c) statutes of a penal nature not related closely to a subject included in another subdivision of this rule; and d) legislation relating to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
As of February 28, 2023, the Governor terminated the state's COVID-19 State of Emergency. Procedures put in place to accommodate the pandemic restrictions have been reverted back to pre-pandemic practices. Teleconference testimony during committee hearings will no longer be available.
The Senate continues to welcome the public and provides access to both in-person and written participation for public comment. If you are unable to attend a hearing in person, written comments or testimony can be provided directly to the committees by emailing the committee or utilizing the Advocacy Portal.
Please read all bullet points thoroughly.
- Our letter deadline is the Tuesday before the hearing at 3pm (unless otherwise stated). Letters received after the deadline may not be reflected in the analysis. For example, if a bill will be heard on Tuesday, March 25, the letter deadline is the Tuesday prior, March 18, at 3p.m.
How to submit a letter to the Senate Public Safety Committee
- We encourage everyone to submit their position letters electronically via the California Legislature Advocates Portal: https://calegislation.lc.ca.gov/Advocates/. In order to use the Portal you will have to create an account. Please see the Advocates Portal Reference Guide for more information.
- Individuals are encouraged to use the Advocates Portal to submit their comments or letters to the Committee, but you may also use the committee email address here: spsf@sen.ca.gov.
- Email your comments only through the committee email address, not to the counsel or assistants.
How to ensure your letter is reflected in our analysis
- In order to be reflected in the Committee analysis, the letter must be submitted directly to the Committee through one of the avenues listed above. You may submit a letter that is addressed to a different committee or to the author, BUT, letters submitted only to other Committees may not be reflected in the analysis. This is to ensure we do not mistakenly list organizations who have moved to neutral, or changed positions due to amendments.
- Only positions in support of or opposition to a bill will be listed in an analysis. “Oppose unless amended” will be included as opposition. Positions of “Support if amended” will not be listed. Other positions of conditional support or conditional opposition will not be listed in an analysis. However, we will still accept these letters of conditional positions and review the content of the letters for our analyses, and these letters will become part of the Committee’s official bill file.
- For letters submitted to the author’s office, it is the author’s office’s responsibility to provide the letters they received regarding their bill to our Committee through the Advocacy Portal.
- If an organization or individual changes their position on a bill, it is the responsibility of the organization/individual changing their position to submit an updated position letter to the Committee. In the absence of an updated letter, the Committee will assume that the organization/individual’s position as set forth in the letter submitted to the Committee will be reflected in the analysis.
- For letters from multiple organizations (coalition letters or “NASCAR” letters), the letter must include the name of each organization signing the letter, as well as a named individual responsible for that organization’s position on the bill in the signature section of the letter. An actual signature from each individual is not required- each organization’s representative can be listed without a signature. An organization not listed in the signature section, or missing a named representative, may not be listed in the analysis.
For letters from multiple organizations submitted through the Portal, you MUST list each and every organization on the coalition letter individually when submitting letters through the Advocacy Portal. Organizations not listed in the Portal may not be reflected in the analysis. Additionally, if you submit more than one letter under a single organization’s name to the Advocacy Portal, they will NOT be individually reflected in the analysis.