AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2024
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 18, 2024
california legislature—2023–24 regular session
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 1990
Introduced by Assembly Member Wendy Carrillo
(Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Gipson and Villapudua) (Coauthor: Assembly Member Alanis)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Alanis, Lackey, Stephanie Nguyen, Petrie-Norris, and Rodriguez)
January 30, 2024
An act to amend Sections 836 and 853.6 of the Penal Code, relating to criminal procedure.
legislative counsel’s digest
AB 1990, as amended, Wendy Carrillo. Criminal procedure: arrests:
shoplifting.
(1) Existing la w prohibits shoplifting, defined as entering a commercial establishment with intent to commit theft while that establishment is open during re gular business hours, where the v alue of the property that is tak en or intended to be tak en does not e xceed $950. Existing law requires an act that falls within this definition to be charged as shoplifting and not as burglary or theft. Under existing law, shoplifting is punishable as a misdemeanor, except when the defendant has prior convictions, as specified.
Existing law authorizes a peace officer to mak e a warrantless arrest for a misdemeanor when the officer has probable cause to belie ve the person to be arrested has committed the misdemeanor in the officer’ s presence. Existing law also authorizes a private person to make an arrest
97 for a misdemeanor committed in their presence, and requires the person to deliver the arrested person to a peace officer or magistrate. Existing law additionally authorizes a merchant to detain a person for a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner to determine if a person has unlawfully taken merchandise.
Existing law authorizes a peace officer to mak e a warrantless arrest for specified misdemeanors relating to domestic violence, violation of a restraining order, and carrying a concealed firearm at an airport that did not occur in the officer’s presence.
This bill would authorize a peace officer to make a warrantless arrest for a misdemeanor shoplifting of fense not committed in the officer’ s presence if the officer has probable cause to belie ve that person has committed shoplifting. shoplifting, as specified.
(2) Existing law requires a peace officer to release upon a signed promise to appear an y person arrested for a misdemeanor , unless the person demands to be taken before a magistrate. Existing law provides certain reasons a person arrested for a misdemeanor shall not be released including that the person is intoxicated or in need of medical attention, the person is unable to pro vide satisfactory proof of identification, or there are outstanding arrest w arrants for the person. Additionally, existing law exempts from this pro vision persons arrest for specified crimes including domestic violence, stalking, threatening a witness, and, until January 1, 2026, organized retail theft.
This bill would additionally exempt a person arrested for shoplifting from the requirement that they be released on citation.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
line 1 SECTION 1. Section 836 of the Penal Code is amended to line 2 read:
line 3 836. (a) A peace officer may arrest a person in obedience to line 4 a warrant, or, pursuant to the authority granted by Chapter 4.5 line 5 (commencing with Section 830), without a w arrant, may arrest a line 6 person whenever any of the following circumstances occur:
line 7 (1) The officer has probable cause to believe that the person to line 8 be arrested has committed a public offense in the officer’s presence. line 9 (2) The person arrested has committed a felon y, although not line 10 in the officer’s presence.
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line 1 (3) The officer has probable cause to believe that the person to line 2 be arrested has committed a felon y, whether or not a felon y, in line 3 fact, has been committed.
line 4 (b) Any time a peace officer is called out on a domestic violence line 5 call, it shall be mandatory that the officer make a good faith effort line 6 to inform the victim of their right to make a citizen’s arrest, unless line 7 the peace officer makes an arrest for a violation of paragraph (1) line 8 of subdivision (e) of Section 243 or 273.5. This information shall line 9 include advising the victim how to safely execute the arrest. line 10 (c) (1) When a peace officer is responding to a call alle ging a line 11 violation of a domestic violence protecti ve or restraining order line 12 issued under Section 527.6 of the Code of Ci vil Procedure, the line 13 Family Code, Section 136.2, 646.91, or paragraph (2) of line 14 subdivision (a) of Section 1203.097 of this code, Section 213.5 or line 15 15657.03 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or of a domestic line 16 violence protecti ve or restraining order issued by the court of line 17 another state, tribe, or territory and the peace officer has probable line 18 cause to believe that the person against whom the order is issued line 19 has notice of the order and has committed an act in violation of line 20 the order , the officer shall, consistent with subdi vision (b) of line 21 Section 13701, make a lawful arrest of the person without a warrant line 22 and tak e that person into custody whether or not the violation line 23 occurred in the presence of the arresting officer. The officer shall, line 24 as soon as possible after the arrest, confirm with the appropriate line 25 authorities or the Domestic Violence Protection Order Re gistry line 26 maintained pursuant to Section 6380 of the F amily Code that a line 27 true copy of the protecti ve order has been re gistered, unless the line 28 victim provides the officer with a copy of the protective order. line 29 (2) The person against whom a protective order has been issued line 30 shall be deemed to have notice of the order if the victim presents line 31 to the officer proof of service of the order , the officer confirms line 32 with the appropriate authorities that a true cop y of the proof of line 33 service is on file, or the person against whom the protective order line 34 was issued w as present at the protecti ve order hearing or w as line 35 informed by a peace officer of the contents of the protective order. line 36 (3) In situations where mutual protective orders have been issued line 37 under Division 10 (commencing with Section 6200) of the Family line 38 Code, liability for arrest under this subdi vision applies only to line 39 those persons who are reasonably belie ved to ha ve been the line 40 dominant aggressor. In those situations, prior to making an arrest 97 AB 1990 — 3 —
line 1 under this subdi vision, the peace officer shall mak e reasonable line 2 efforts to identify, and may arrest, the dominant aggressor involved line 3 in the incident. The dominant aggressor is the person determined line 4 to be the most significant, rather than the first, aggressor . In line 5 identifying the dominant aggressor, an officer shall consider (A) line 6 the intent of the law to protect victims of domestic violence from line 7 continuing abuse, (B) the threats creating fear of ph ysical injury, line 8 (C) the history of domestic violence between the persons involved, line 9 and (D) whether either person involved acted in self-defense. line 10 (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), if a suspect line 11 commits an assault or battery upon a current or former spouse, line 12 fiancé, fiancée, a current or former cohabitant as defined in Section line 13 6209 of the Family Code, a person with whom the suspect currently line 14 is ha ving or has pre viously had an eng agement or dating line 15 relationship, as defined in paragraph (10) of subdi vision (f) of line 16 Section 243, a person with whom the suspect has parented a child, line 17 or is presumed to ha ve parented a child pursuant to the Uniform line 18 Parentage Act (Part 3 (commencing with Section 7600) of Division line 19 12 of the F amily Code), a child of the suspect, a child whose line 20 parentage by the suspect is the subject of an action under the line 21 Uniform Parentage Act, a child of a person in one of the abo ve line 22 categories, any other person related to the suspect by consanguinity line 23 or affinity within the second degree, or any person who is 65 years line 24 of age or older and who is related to the suspect by blood or legal line 25 guardianship, a peace officer may arrest the suspect without a line 26 warrant where both of the following circumstances apply:
line 27 (1) The peace officer has probable cause to belie ve that the line 28 person to be arrested has committed the assault or battery, whether line 29 or not it has in fact been committed.
line 30 (2) The peace officer makes the arrest as soon as probable cause line 31 arises to believe that the person to be arrested has committed the line 32 assault or battery, whether or not it has in fact been committed. line 33 (e) In addition to the authority to mak e an arrest without a line 34 warrant pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (3) of subdi vision (a), a line 35 peace officer may, without a warrant, arrest a person for a violation line 36 of Section 25400 when all of the following apply:
line 37 (1) The officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person line 38 to be arrested has committed the violation of Section 25400. line 39 (2) The violation of Section 25400 occurred within an airport, line 40 as defined in Section 21013 of the Public Utilities Code, in an area 97 — 4 — AB 1990
line 1 to which access is controlled by the inspection of persons and line 2 property.
line 3 (3) The peace officer mak es the arrest as soon as reasonable line 4 cause arises to believe that the person to be arrested has committed line 5 the violation of Section 25400.
line 6 (f) (1) In addition to the authority to make an arrest without a line 7 warrant pursuant to subdivision (a), a peace officer may, without line 8 a w arrant, arrest a person for a violation of Section 459.5 not line 9 committed in the officer’s presence if the officer has reasonable line 10 probable cause to belie ve that the person to be arrested has line 11 committed a violation of Section 459.5.
line 12 (2) The probable cause to make an arrest shall be based on a line 13 sworn statement obtained by the officer fr om a per son who line 14 witnessed the per son to be arr ested committing the alle ged line 15 violation.
line 16 SEC. 2. Section 853.6 of the Penal Code , as amended by line 17 Section 1 of Chapter 856 of the Statutes of 2022, is amended to line 18 read:
line 19 853.6. (a) (1) When a person is arrested for an offense declared line 20 to be a misdemeanor , including a violation of a city or county line 21 ordinance, and does not demand to be tak en before a magistrate, line 22 that person shall, instead of being tak en before a magistrate, be line 23 released according to the procedures set forth by this chapter , line 24 although nothing prevents an officer from first booking an arrestee line 25 pursuant to subdivision (g). If the person is released, the officer line 26 or the officer’s superior shall prepare in duplicate a written notice line 27 to appear in court, containing the name and address of the person, line 28 the of fense char ged, and the time when, and place where, the line 29 person shall appear in court. If, pursuant to subdi vision (i), the line 30 person is not released prior to being book ed and the officer in line 31 charge of the booking or the officer’s superior determines that the line 32 person should be released, the officer or the officer’s superior shall line 33 prepare a written notice to appear in a court.
line 34 (2) When a person is arrested for a misdemeanor violation of a line 35 protective court order involving domestic violence, as defined in line 36 Section 13700, or arrested pursuant to a polic y, as described in line 37 Section 13701, the person shall be taken before a magistrate instead line 38 of being released according to the procedures set forth in this line 39 chapter, unless the arresting officer determines that there is not a line 40 reasonable likelihood that the offense will continue or resume or 97 AB 1990 — 5 —
line 1 that the safety of persons or property w ould be imminently line 2 endangered by release of the person arrested. Prior to adopting line 3 these provisions, each city, county, or city and county shall develop line 4 a protocol to assist officers to determine when arrest and release line 5 is appropriate, rather than taking the arrested person before a line 6 magistrate. The county shall establish a committee to develop the line 7 protocol, consisting of, at a minimum, the police chief or county line 8 sheriff within the jurisdiction, the district attorney, county counsel, line 9 city attorne y, representati ves from domestic violence shelters, line 10 domestic violence councils, and other rele vant community line 11 agencies.
line 12 (3) This subdivision does not apply to the crimes specified in line 13 Section 1270.1, including crimes defined in each of the following:
line 14 (A) Paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 243. line 15 (B) Section 273.5.
line 16 (C) Section 273.6, if the detained person made threats to kill or line 17 harm, has engaged in violence against, or has gone to the residence line 18 or workplace of, the protected party.
line 19 (D) Section 646.9.
line 20 (4) This subdivision shall not affect a defendant’s ability to be line 21 released on bail or on their own recognizance, except as specified line 22 in Section 1270.1.
line 23 (b) Unless waived by the person, the time specified in the notice line 24 to appear shall be at least 10 days after arrest if the duplicate notice line 25 is to be filed by the officer with the magistrate. line 26 (c) The place specified in the notice shall be the court of the line 27 magistrate before whom the person w ould be tak en if the line 28 requirement of taking an arrested person before a magistrate were line 29 complied with, or shall be an officer authorized by that court to line 30 receive a deposit of bail.
line 31 (d) The officer shall deliver one copy of the notice to appear to line 32 the arrested person, and the arrested person, in order to secure line 33 release, shall gi ve their written promise to appear in court as line 34 specified in the notice by signing the duplicate notice, which shall line 35 be retained by the officer, and the officer may require the arrested line 36 person, if the arrested person has no satisfactory identification, to line 37 place a right thumbprint, or a left thumbprint or fingerprint if the line 38 person has a missing or disfigured right thumb, on the notice to line 39 appear. Except for law enforcement purposes relating to the identity line 40 of the arrestee, a person or entity shall not sell, gi ve away, allow 97 — 6 — AB 1990
line 1 the distribution of, include in a database, or create a database with, line 2 this print. Upon the signing of the duplicate notice, the arresting line 3 officer shall immediately release the person arrested from custody. line 4 (e) The officer shall, as soon as practicable, file the duplicate line 5 notice, as follows:
line 6 (1) It shall be filed with the magistrate if the offense charged is line 7 an infraction.
line 8 (2) It shall be filed with the magistrate if the prosecuting attorney line 9 has previously directed the officer to do so.
line 10 (3) (A) The duplicate notice and underlying police reports in line 11 support of the charge or charges shall be filed with the prosecuting line 12 attorney in cases other than those specified in paragraphs (1) and line 13 (2).
line 14 (B) If the duplicate notice is filed with the prosecuting attorney, line 15 the prosecuting attorne y, within their discretion, may initiate line 16 prosecution by filing the notice or a formal complaint with the line 17 magistrate specified in the duplicate notice within 25 days from line 18 the time of arrest. If the prosecution is not to be initiated, the line 19 prosecutor shall send notice to the person arrested at the address line 20 on the notice to appear . The failure by the prosecutor to file the line 21 notice or formal complaint within 25 days of the time of the arrest line 22 shall not bar further prosecution of the misdemeanor char ged in line 23 the notice to appear . However, any further prosecution shall be line 24 preceded by a new and separate citation or an arrest warrant. line 25 (C) Upon the filing of the notice with the magistrate by the line 26 officer, or the filing of the notice or formal complaint by the line 27 prosecutor, the magistrate may fix the amount of bail that in the line 28 magistrate’s judgment, in accordance with Section 1275, is line 29 reasonable and sufficient for the appearance of the defendant and line 30 shall endorse upon the notice a statement signed by the magistrate line 31 in the form set forth in Section 815a. The defendant may, prior to line 32 the date upon which the defendant promised to appear in court, line 33 deposit with the magistrate the amount of bail set by the magistrate. line 34 At the time the case is called for arraignment before the magistrate, line 35 if the defendant does not appear , either in person or by counsel, line 36 the magistrate may declare the bail forfeited, and may , in the line 37 magistrate’s discretion, order that further proceedings shall not be line 38 had in the case, unless the defendant has been char ged with a line 39 violation of Section 374.3 or 374.7 of this code or of Section line 40 11357, 11360, or 13002 of the Health and Safety Code, or a 97 AB 1990 — 7 —
line 1 violation punishable under Section 5008.7 of the Public Resources line 2 Code, and the defendant has pre viously been con victed of a line 3 violation of that section or a violation that is punishable under that line 4 section, except when the magistrate finds that undue hardship will line 5 be imposed upon the defendant by requiring the defendant to line 6 appear, the magistrate may declare the bail forfeited and order that line 7 further proceedings not be had in the case.
line 8 (D) Upon the making of the order that further proceedings not line 9 be had, all sums deposited as bail shall immediately be paid into line 10 the county treasury for distribution pursuant to Section 1463. line 11 (f) A warrant shall not be issued for the arrest of a person who line 12 has given a written promise to appear in court, unless and until the line 13 person has violated that promise or has f ailed to deposit bail, to line 14 appear for arraignment, trial, or judgment, or to comply with the line 15 terms and provisions of the judgment, as required by law. line 16 (g) The officer may book the arrested person at the scene or at line 17 the arresting agency prior to release or indicate on the citation that line 18 the arrested person shall appear at the arresting agency to be booked line 19 or indicate on the citation that the arrested person shall appear at line 20 the arresting agency to be fingerprinted prior to the date the arrested line 21 person appears in court. If it is indicated on the citation that the line 22 arrested person shall be booked or fingerprinted prior to the date line 23 of the person’s court appearance, the arresting agency, at the time line 24 of booking or fingerprinting, shall provide the arrested person with line 25 verification of the booking or fingerprinting by making an entry line 26 on the citation. If it is indicated on the citation that the arrested line 27 person is to be booked or fingerprinted, the magistrate, judge, or line 28 court shall, before the proceedings be gin, order the defendant to line 29 provide verification that the defendant was booked or fingerprinted line 30 by the arresting agenc y. If the defendant cannot produce the line 31 verification, the magistrate, judge, or court shall require that the line 32 defendant be booked or fingerprinted by the arresting agency before line 33 the ne xt court appearance, and that the defendant pro vide the line 34 verification at the ne xt court appearance unless both parties line 35 stipulate that booking or fingerprinting is not necessary. line 36 (h) A peace officer shall use the written notice to appear line 37 procedure set forth in this section for any misdemeanor offense in line 38 which the officer has arrested a person without a warrant pursuant line 39 to Section 836 or in which the officer has taken custody of a person line 40 pursuant to Section 847.
97 — 8 — AB 1990
line 1 (i) When a person is arrested by a peace officer for a line 2 misdemeanor, that person shall be released according to the line 3 procedures set forth in this chapter unless one of the following is line 4 a reason for nonrelease, in which case the arresting officer may line 5 release the person, e xcept as pro vided in subdi vision (a), or the line 6 arresting officer shall indicate, on a form to be established by the line 7 officer’s emplo ying la w enforcement agenc y, which of the line 8 following was a reason for the nonrelease:
line 9 (1) The person arrested was so intoxicated that they could have line 10 been a danger to themselves or to others.
line 11 (2) The person arrested required medical examination or medical line 12 care or was otherwise unable to care for their own safety. line 13 (3) The person w as arrested under one or more of the line 14 circumstances listed in Sections 40302 and 40303 of the Vehicle line 15 Code.
line 16 (4) There were one or more outstanding arrest warrants for the line 17 person.
line 18 (5) The person could not pro vide satisf actory e vidence of line 19 personal identification.
line 20 (6) The prosecution of the of fense or of fenses for which the line 21 person was arrested, or the prosecution of an y other of fense or line 22 offenses, would be jeopardized by immediate release of the person line 23 arrested.
line 24 (7) There was a reasonable likelihood that the offense or offenses line 25 would continue or resume, or that the safety of persons or property line 26 would be imminently endangered by release of the person arrested. line 27 (8) The person arrested demanded to be tak en before a line 28 magistrate or refused to sign the notice to appear. line 29 (9) There is reason to believe that the person would not appear line 30 at the time and place specified in the notice. The basis for this line 31 determination shall be specifically stated.
line 32 (10) (A) The person was subject to Section 1270.1. line 33 (B) The form shall be filed with the arresting agenc y as soon line 34 as practicable and shall be made a vailable to an y party ha ving line 35 custody of the arrested person, subsequent to the arresting officer, line 36 and to any person authorized by law to release the arrested person line 37 from custody before trial.
line 38 (11) The person has been cited, arrested, or con victed for line 39 misdemeanor or felon y theft from a store in the pre vious six line 40 months.
97 AB 1990 — 9 —
line 1 (12) There is probable cause to believe that the person arrested line 2 is guilty of committing a violation of Section 490.4 or 459.5. line 3 (j) (1) Once the arresting officer has prepared the written notice line 4 to appear and has delivered a copy to the person arrested, the officer line 5 shall deliver the remaining original and all copies as provided by line 6 subdivision (e).
line 7 (2) Any person, including the arresting officer and any member line 8 of the officer’s department or agenc y, or any peace officer, who line 9 alters, conceals, modifies, nullifies, or destro ys, or causes to be line 10 altered, concealed, modified, nullified, or destroyed, the face side line 11 of the remaining original or a copy of a citation that was retained line 12 by the officer, for any reason, before it is filed with the magistrate line 13 or with a person authorized by the magistrate to recei ve deposit line 14 of bail, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
line 15 (3) If, after an arrested person has signed and recei ved a copy line 16 of a notice to appear, the arresting officer determines that, in the line 17 interest of justice, the citation or notice should be dismissed, the line 18 arresting agency may recommend, in writing, to the magistrate line 19 that the charges be dismissed. The recommendation shall cite the line 20 reasons for the recommendation and shall be filed with the court. line 21 (4) If the magistrate makes a finding that there are grounds for line 22 dismissal, the finding shall be entered in the record and the charges line 23 dismissed.
line 24 (5) A personal relationship with any officer, public official, or line 25 law enforcement agency shall not be grounds for dismissal. line 26 (k) (1) A person contesting a charge by claiming under penalty line 27 of perjury not to be the person issued the notice to appear may line 28 choose to submit a right thumbprint, or a left thumbprint if the line 29 person has a missing or disfigured right thumb, to the issuing court line 30 through the person’s local law enforcement agency for comparison line 31 with the one placed on the notice to appear . A local la w line 32 enforcement agency providing this service may charge the requester line 33 no more than the actual costs. The issuing court may refer the line 34 thumbprint submitted and the notice to appear to the prosecuting line 35 attorney for comparison of the thumbprints. When there is no line 36 thumbprint or fingerprint on the notice to appear , or when the line 37 comparison of thumbprints is inconclusi ve, the court shall refer line 38 the notice to appear or copy thereof back to the issuing agency for line 39 further investigation, unless the court finds that referral is not in line 40 the interest of justice.
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line 1 (2) Upon initiation of the investigation or comparison process line 2 by referral of the court, the court shall continue the case and the line 3 speedy trial period shall be tolled for 45 days. line 4 (3) Upon receipt of the issuing agenc y’s or prosecuting line 5 attorney’s response, the court may mak e a finding of f actual line 6 innocence pursuant to Section 530.6 if the court determines that line 7 there is insufficient e vidence that the person cited is the person line 8 charged and shall immediately notify the Department of Motor line 9 Vehicles of its determination. If the Department of Motor Vehicles line 10 determines the citation or citations in question formed the basis line 11 of a suspension or revocation of the person’s driving privilege, the line 12 department shall immediately set aside the action. line 13 (4) If the prosecuting attorney or issuing agency fails to respond line 14 to a court referral within 45 days, the court shall mak e a finding line 15 of factual innocence pursuant to Section 530.6, unless the court line 16 finds that a finding of f actual innocence is not in the interest of line 17 justice.
line 18 (5) The citation or notice to appear may be held by the line 19 prosecuting attorne y or issuing agenc y for future adjudication line 20 should the arrestee who recei ved the citation or notice to appear line 21 be found.
line 22 (l) For purposes of this section, the term “arresting agenc y” line 23 includes any other agency designated by the arresting agenc y to line 24 provide booking or fingerprinting services.
line 25 (m) This section shall remain in ef fect only until January 1, line 26 2026, and as of that date is repealed.
line 27 SEC. 3. Section 853.6 of the Penal Code, as added by Section line 28 2 of Chapter 856 of the Statutes of 2022, is amended to read:
line 29 853.6. (a) (1) When a person is arrested for an offense declared line 30 to be a misdemeanor , including a violation of a city or county line 31 ordinance, and does not demand to be tak en before a magistrate, line 32 that person shall, instead of being tak en before a magistrate, be line 33 released according to the procedures set forth by this chapter , line 34 however an officer may first book an arrestee pursuant to line 35 subdivision (g). If the person is released, the officer or the officer’s line 36 superior shall prepare, in duplicate, a written notice to appear in line 37 court, containing the name and address of the person, the offense line 38 charged, and the time when, and place where, the person shall line 39 appear in court. If, pursuant to subdi vision (i), the person is not line 40 released prior to being book ed and the officer in char ge of the 97 AB 1990 — 11 —
line 1 booking or the officer’s superior determines that the person should line 2 be released, the officer or the officer’ s superior shall prepare a line 3 written notice to appear in a court.
line 4 (2) When a person is arrested for a misdemeanor violation of a line 5 protective court order involving domestic violence, as defined in line 6 subdivision (b) of Section 13700, or arrested pursuant to a policy line 7 described in Section 13701, the person shall be tak en before a line 8 magistrate instead of being released according to the procedures line 9 set forth in this chapter, unless the arresting officer determines that line 10 there is not a reasonable likelihood that the offense will continue line 11 or resume or that the safety of persons or property w ould be line 12 imminently endangered by release of the person arrested. Prior to line 13 adopting these pro visions, each city , county, or city and county line 14 shall develop a protocol to assist officers to determine when arrest line 15 and release is appropriate, rather than taking the arrested person line 16 before a magistrate. The county shall establish a committee to line 17 develop the protocol, consisting of, at a minimum, the police chief line 18 or county sheriff within the jurisdiction, the district attorney, county line 19 counsel, city attorne y, representati ves from domestic violence line 20 shelters, domestic violence councils, and other relevant community line 21 agencies.
line 22 (3) This subdivision shall not apply to the crimes specified in line 23 Section 1270.1, including crimes defined in each of the following:
line 24 (A) Paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 243. line 25 (B) Section 273.5.
line 26 (C) Section 273.6, if the detained person made threats to kill or line 27 harm, has engaged in violence against, or has gone to the residence line 28 or workplace of, the protected party.
line 29 (D) Section 646.9.
line 30 (4) This subdivision does not affect a defendant’s ability to be line 31 released on bail or on their own recognizance, except as specified line 32 in Section 1270.1.
line 33 (b) Unless waived by the person, the time specified in the notice line 34 to appear shall be at least 10 days after arrest if the duplicate notice line 35 is to be filed by the officer with the magistrate. line 36 (c) The place specified in the notice shall be the court of the line 37 magistrate before whom the person w ould be tak en if the line 38 requirement of taking an arrested person before a magistrate were line 39 complied with, or shall be an officer authorized by that court to line 40 receive a deposit of bail.
97 — 12 — AB 1990
line 1 (d) The officer shall deliver one copy of the notice to appear to line 2 the arrested person, and the arrested person, in order to secure line 3 release, shall gi ve their written promise to appear in court as line 4 specified in the notice by signing the duplicate notice, which shall line 5 be retained by the officer . The officer may require the arrested line 6 person, if the arrested person has no satisfactory identification, to line 7 place a right thumbprint, or a left thumbprint or fingerprint if the line 8 person has a missing or disfigured right thumb, on the notice to line 9 appear. Except for law enforcement purposes relating to the identity line 10 of the arrestee, a person or entity may not sell, gi ve away, allow line 11 the distribution of, include in a database, or create a database with, line 12 this print. Upon the person signing the duplicate notice, the line 13 arresting officer shall immediately release the person arrested from line 14 custody.
line 15 (e) The officer shall, as soon as practicable, file the duplicate line 16 notice, as follows:
line 17 (1) It shall be filed with the magistrate if the offense charged is line 18 an infraction.
line 19 (2) It shall be filed with the magistrate if the prosecuting attorney line 20 has previously directed the officer to do so.
line 21 (3) (A) The duplicate notice and underlying police reports in line 22 support of the charge or charges shall be filed with the prosecuting line 23 attorney in cases other than those specified in paragraphs (1) and line 24 (2).
line 25 (B) If the duplicate notice is filed with the prosecuting attorney, line 26 the prosecuting attorne y, within their discretion, may initiate line 27 prosecution by filing the notice or a formal complaint with the line 28 magistrate specified in the duplicate notice within 25 days from line 29 the time of arrest. If the prosecution is not to be initiated, the line 30 prosecutor shall send notice to the person arrested at the address line 31 on the notice to appear . The failure by the prosecutor to file the line 32 notice or formal complaint within 25 days of the time of the arrest line 33 shall not bar further prosecution of the misdemeanor char ged in line 34 the notice to appear . However, any further prosecution shall be line 35 preceded by a new and separate citation or an arrest warrant. line 36 (C) Upon the filing of the notice with the magistrate by the line 37 officer, or the filing of the notice or formal complaint by the line 38 prosecutor, the magistrate may fix the amount of bail that in the line 39 magistrate’s judgment, in accordance with Section 1275, is line 40 reasonable and sufficient for the appearance of the defendant and 97 AB 1990 — 13 —
line 1 shall endorse upon the notice a statement signed by the magistrate line 2 in the form set forth in Section 815a. The defendant may, prior to line 3 the date upon which the defendant promised to appear in court, line 4 deposit with the magistrate the amount of bail set by the magistrate. line 5 When the case is called for arraignment before the magistrate, if line 6 the defendant does not appear, either in person or by counsel, the line 7 magistrate may declare the bail forfeited, and may , in the line 8 magistrate’s discretion, order that no further proceedings shall be line 9 had in the case, unless the defendant has been char ged with a line 10 violation of Section 374.3 or 374.7 of this code or of Section line 11 11357, 11360, or 13002 of the Health and Safety Code, or a line 12 violation punishable under Section 5008.7 of the Public Resources line 13 Code, and the defendant has pre viously been con victed of a line 14 violation of that section or a violation that is punishable under that line 15 section, e xcept in cases where the magistrate finds that undue line 16 hardship will be imposed upon the defendant by requiring the line 17 defendant to appear, the magistrate may declare the bail forfeited line 18 and order that no further proceedings be had in the case. line 19 (D) Upon the making of the order that no further proceedings line 20 be had, all sums deposited as bail shall immediately be paid into line 21 the county treasury for distribution pursuant to Section 1463. line 22 (f) A warrant shall not be issued for the arrest of a person who line 23 has given a written promise to appear in court, unless and until the line 24 person has violated that promise or has f ailed to deposit bail, to line 25 appear for arraignment, trial, or judgment or to comply with the line 26 terms and provisions of the judgment, as required by law. line 27 (g) The officer may book the arrested person at the scene or at line 28 the arresting agency prior to release or indicate on the citation that line 29 the arrested person shall appear at the arresting agency to be booked line 30 or indicate on the citation that the arrested person shall appear at line 31 the arresting agency to be fingerprinted prior to the date the arrested line 32 person appears in court. If it is indicated on the citation that the line 33 arrested person shall be booked or fingerprinted prior to the date line 34 of the person’s court appearance, the arresting agency, at the time line 35 of booking or fingerprinting, shall provide the arrested person with line 36 verification of the booking or fingerprinting by making an entry line 37 on the citation. If it is indicated on the citation that the arrested line 38 person is to be booked or fingerprinted, the magistrate, judge, or line 39 court shall, before the proceedings be gin, order the defendant to line 40 provide verification that the defendant was booked or fingerprinted 97 — 14 — AB 1990
line 1 by the arresting agenc y. If the defendant cannot produce the line 2 verification, the magistrate, judge, or court shall require that the line 3 defendant be booked or fingerprinted by the arresting agency before line 4 the ne xt court appearance, and that the defendant pro vide the line 5 verification at the ne xt court appearance unless both parties line 6 stipulate that booking or fingerprinting is not necessary. line 7 (h) A peace officer shall use the written notice to appear line 8 procedure set forth in this section for any misdemeanor offense in line 9 which the officer has arrested a person without a warrant pursuant line 10 to Section 836 or in which the officer has taken custody of a person line 11 pursuant to Section 847.
line 12 (i) When a person is arrested by a peace officer for a line 13 misdemeanor, that person shall be released according to the line 14 procedures set forth by this chapter unless one of the following is line 15 a reason for nonrelease, in which case the arresting officer may line 16 release the person, e xcept as pro vided in subdi vision (a), or the line 17 arresting officer shall indicate, on a form to be established by the line 18 officer’s emplo ying la w enforcement agenc y, which of the line 19 following was a reason for the nonrelease:
line 20 (1) The person arrested was so intoxicated that they could have line 21 been a danger to themselves or to others.
line 22 (2) The person arrested required medical examination or medical line 23 care or was otherwise unable to care for their own safety. line 24 (3) The person w as arrested under one or more of the line 25 circumstances listed in Sections 40302 and 40303 of the Vehicle line 26 Code.
line 27 (4) There were one or more outstanding arrest warrants for the line 28 person.
line 29 (5) The person could not pro vide satisf actory e vidence of line 30 personal identification.
line 31 (6) The prosecution of the of fense or of fenses for which the line 32 person was arrested, or the prosecution of an y other of fense or line 33 offenses, would be jeopardized by immediate release of the person line 34 arrested.
line 35 (7) There was a reasonable likelihood that the offense or offenses line 36 would continue or resume, or that the safety of persons or property line 37 would be imminently endangered by release of the person arrested. line 38 (8) The person arrested demanded to be tak en before a line 39 magistrate or refused to sign the notice to appear. 97 AB 1990 — 15 —
line 1 (9) There is reason to believe that the person would not appear line 2 at the time and place specified in the notice. The basis for this line 3 determination shall be specifically stated.
line 4 (10) (A) The person was subject to Section 1270.1. line 5 (11) There is probable cause to believe that the person arrested line 6 is guilty of committing a violation of Section 459.5. line 7 (B) The form shall be filed with the arresting agenc y as soon line 8 as practicable and shall be made a vailable to an y party ha ving line 9 custody of the arrested person, subsequent to the arresting officer, line 10 and to any person authorized by law to release the arrested person line 11 from custody before trial.
line 12 (j) (1) Once the arresting officer has prepared the written notice line 13 to appear and has delivered a copy to the person arrested, the officer line 14 shall deliver the remaining original and all copies as provided by line 15 subdivision (e).
line 16 (2) A person, including the arresting officer and an y member line 17 of the officer’s department or agenc y, or any peace officer, who line 18 alters, conceals, modifies, nullifies, or destro ys, or causes to be line 19 altered, concealed, modified, nullified, or destroyed, the face side line 20 of the remaining original or any copy of a citation that was retained line 21 by the officer, for any reason, before it is filed with the magistrate line 22 or with a person authorized by the magistrate to recei ve deposit line 23 of bail, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
line 24 (3) If, after an arrested person has signed and recei ved a copy line 25 of a notice to appear, the arresting officer determines that, in the line 26 interest of justice, the citation or notice should be dismissed, the line 27 arresting agency may recommend, in writing, to the magistrate line 28 that the charges be dismissed. The recommendation shall cite the line 29 reasons for the recommendation and shall be filed with the court. line 30 (4) If the magistrate makes a finding that there are grounds for line 31 dismissal, the finding shall be entered in the record and the charges line 32 dismissed.
line 33 (5) A personal relationship with any officer, public official, or line 34 law enforcement agency shall not be grounds for dismissal. line 35 (k) (1) A person contesting a charge by claiming under penalty line 36 of perjury not to be the person issued the notice to appear may line 37 choose to submit a right thumbprint, or a left thumbprint if the line 38 person has a missing or disfigured right thumb, to the issuing court line 39 through the person’s local law enforcement agency for comparison line 40 with the one placed on the notice to appear . A local la w 97 — 16 — AB 1990
line 1 enforcement agency providing this service may charge the requester line 2 no more than the actual costs. The issuing court may refer the line 3 thumbprint submitted and the notice to appear to the prosecuting line 4 attorney for comparison of the thumbprints. When there is no line 5 thumbprint or fingerprint on the notice to appear , or when the line 6 comparison of thumbprints is inconclusi ve, the court shall refer line 7 the notice to appear, or a copy thereof, back to the issuing agency line 8 for further investigation, unless the court finds that referral is not line 9 in the interest of justice.
line 10 (2) Upon initiation of the investigation or comparison process line 11 by referral of the court, the court shall continue the case and the line 12 speedy trial period shall be tolled for 45 days. line 13 (3) Upon receipt of the issuing agenc y’s or prosecuting line 14 attorney’s response, the court may mak e a finding of f actual line 15 innocence pursuant to Section 530.6 if the court determines that line 16 there is insufficient e vidence that the person cited is the person line 17 charged and shall immediately notify the Department of Motor line 18 Vehicles of its determination. If the Department of Motor Vehicles line 19 determines the citation or citations in question formed the basis line 20 of a suspension or revocation of the person’s driving privilege, the line 21 department shall immediately set aside the action. line 22 (4) If the prosecuting attorney or issuing agency fails to respond line 23 to a court referral within 45 days, the court shall mak e a finding line 24 of factual innocence pursuant to Section 530.6, unless the court line 25 finds that a finding of f actual innocence is not in the interest of line 26 justice.
line 27 (5) The citation or notice to appear may be held by the line 28 prosecuting attorne y or issuing agenc y for future adjudication line 29 should the arrestee who recei ved the citation or notice to appear line 30 be found.
line 31 (l) For purposes of this section, the term “arresting agenc y” line 32 includes any other agency designated by the arresting agenc y to line 33 provide booking or fingerprinting services.
line 34 (m) This section shall become operative January 1, 2026.
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97 AB 1990 — 17 —