DATE: August 7, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: Police Department
TITLE: ANNUAL MILITARY EQUIPMENT REPORT AUTHORIZING THE CITY'S MILITARY EQUIPMENT USE POLICY PER ASSEMBLY BILL 481
RECOMMENDATION
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Staff and the Police and Fire Commission recommend that the City Council adopt a resolution approving the Department's annual Military Equipment Use Policy and Inventory list as required by Assembly Bill (AB) 481.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
On January 1, 2022, AB481, the Military Equipment Use Policy Bill became law. This law governs the acquisition, funding, and use of equipment designated by the California State Assembly as "military equipment." This year's report is the third report provided to the City Council since the legislation's inception and all of the equipment reported this year was previously identified in the prior reports.
Under AB481, local agencies, including police departments, must follow specific procedures to regulate the acquisition and use of military equipment. The process mandated by AB481 requires the agency to draft a military equipment use policy, which then must be approved by the governing body through an ordinance or resolution following a public hearing. Ordinance Section 25.8 to Chapter 25 was adopted on May 18, 2022. The law requires the City to review the process annually, which involves examining the policy and the equipment list, making any necessary updates, and undergoing a public hearing for community input. Following this, the revised or reaffirmed policy and equipment list may be approved through a resolution, provided no substantive changes might warrant a new ordinance, and the report is presented at a noticed public hearing.
AB481 requires law enforcement agencies to develop policy and include an inventory of the designated equipment acquired before January 1, 2022, and provide information regarding its acquisition, utilization, the funding source used to purchase the equipment, ...
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