Thanks to everyone’s hard work and support, SB 1019, the bill introduced by Senator Gloria Romero passed the Senate by 21 votes to 10. The ACLU's Sacramento lobbyist regards this as one of their most successful campaigns ever.

In its final form, the bill reverses Copley by authorizing open hearings on citizen complaints but does not authorize disclosure of Internal Affair findings or
discipline.

The bill also contains language proposed by BAPW stating that if the police chief certifies that public disclosure of specific information would jeopardize officer safety or operational security, this specific information may be considered in closed session only.

Now the bill has to go to the Assembly Public Safety Committee, then on to the full Assembly. We still have a ways to go, but we should be proud of the accomplishment that we’ve all achieved and let this be a lesson to all that if we work together as a community, we will always find a way. As Malcolm X said, “Power never takes a back step - only in the face of more power.”