Murder. BART and CSU Peace Officers. Legislative Initiative Amendment.
	Argument in Favor of Proposition 19

Arguments on this page are the opinions of the authors and have not been checked for accuracy by any official agency.

In 1998 the voters of California overwhelmingly approved Proposition 222 which enhanced criminal sentences for persons convicted of murdering police officers under specified circumstances. In approving this proposition, by a vote of 77% in favor to 23% opposed, the citizens of California recognized that police officers face day-to-day hazards in protecting us against harm and enforcing the law that make them vulnerable to serious injury and death. Existing law acknowledges these dangers by providing increased protections against the murder of police officers.

Later in 1998, the state legislature passed Senate Bill 1690 which amends this initiative statute, subject to voter approval, to ensure that these same protections are applied to police officers of the California State University (CSU) and the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART). The legislature recognized that the officers of these full-service police departments handle the same types and variety of criminal investigations--from petty theft to murder--as their city, county and state counterparts, and as such, assume the same daily life and death risks. The Senate passed Senate Bill 1690 on a vote of 36-0, the Assembly voted 70-3 in favor of the proposal, and the Governor promptly signed the bill into law.

Proposition 19 asks the voters of California to approve this legislative action which would provide the same protection against the murder of CSU and BART police, as municipal police, county sheriffs and the police of the University of California currently enjoy.

Richard Rainey
State Senator, 7th Senatorial District

Thomas M. Blalock
Vice President, BART Board of Directors

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