00:00Okay, the California Senate just passed a bill that would make it easier for people in this state to sue
00:04federal officers.
00:06Now, this law was not filed in response to what happened in Minneapolis, but it is amplified by it.
00:11State Senator Scott Weiner, who wrote it and filed it last year, noted that the California Senate is the first
00:17legislative body in the United States to take this step.
00:20Specifically, it makes it easier to sue federal officers under California's Tom Bain Civil Rights Act.
00:25But police groups are raising flags at the local and state level about the way that it's written, noting that
00:31this isn't just tailor-made and specifying federal agents and ICE officers.
00:35They say the way that it's written could rope them into more lawsuits by expanding their liability.
00:41Now, the bill still has a long way to go.
00:42It heads next to the state assembly, where they're going to have hearings, and they also have to have a
00:46full floor vote.
00:47I reached out to Governor Gavin Newsom's office today, actually, during the Senate's debate on this.
00:51His office came back and said he doesn't comment on pending legislation.
00:54And while yes, that is often true, technically means he's not commenting on this one.
00:59The California Senate passed this on a 30 to 10 party line vote, with Democrats approving, Republicans rejecting, and Republicans
01:05mainly pointing to the concerns from law enforcement groups.
01:08Even Democrats acknowledge they want to continue working with law enforcement to make this right.
01:12Now, earlier this morning, I did ask Senator Weiner if there was a scenario where the federal government worked on
01:17this, worked on officer immunity, and he would drop this piece of legislation.
01:20He said no.
01:21He said obviously what's happening across the country has exposed gaps that the states, like California, should address.
01:26Even if everyone does end up being on the same page, and this does pass out of the California state
01:31capitol,
01:31it would still likely be challenged in court by the Trump administration or the federal government.
