Senator Aisha Wahab’s Police Transparency Bill Signed into Law

Sacramento, CA — Senator Aisha Wahab’s (D-Silicon Valley) Senate Bill 400 (SB 400), Peace Office Termination Disclosures, has been signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom. The bill allows law enforcement agencies to announce that a peace officer or custodial officer was terminated for cause and have the choice to disclose specifics of the termination to the public. SB 400 received bipartisan support across the legislature and support from law enforcement. 

“In partnership with law enforcement, this law bolsters efforts for transparency and accountability in law enforcement and reinforces trust with the public” said Senator Wahab, Chair of the Senate Committee on Public Safety.

SB 400 was developed in collaboration with the City of San José in response to a highly scrutinized situation in which they terminated an officer for engaging in an inappropriate sexual act while on the job. Despite the sexual act falling into 1 of the 8 existing disclosable incidents of misconduct, the police department was not able to publicly confirm the reason for the termination until a Public Records Act request was initiated, even though the department was willing to share the information as to why such a decision was made.

SB 400 was sponsored by the City of San José and supported by many organizations including the California Public Defenders Association, National Policy Accountability Project, San Francisco Public Defender, and Smart Justice California.