Governor Signs RBOC-supported Public Safety Measure AB 2175 [Aguiar-Curry]

Governor Jerry Brown today signed into law the RBOC-supported AB 2175 [Aguiar-Curry] that will enhance boating safety by clarifying law enforcement’s ability to remove and store vessels under specific circumstances.

As per the author:

“AB 2175 will help create parity between the Harbors and Navigation Code and the Vehicle Code by allowing peace officers and harbor patrol officers the authority to remove a vessel from public property when they have probable cause to believe that the vessel was used as the means of committing a crime or when the officers believe that the vessel is itself evidence, or that it contains evidence, which cannot readily be removed.

“This bill will create consistency between the two code sections and will help clarify the ability to appropriately remove and store vessels, while also increasing boating safety by removing vessels so they are out of the public’s way.”

AB 2175 is sponsored by the California State Sheriffs’ Association.

RBOC-supported Measure Addressing Vessels Used in Crimes Passes Committee

RBOC-supported legislation to authorize a peace officer or marine safety offer to remove a vessel from public property when the vessel has been used in a crime or provides evidence of a crime has passed the Senate Public Safety Committee with unanimous, bipartisan support and now proceeds to the Senate Floor [Senate Third Reading] for consideration.

The provisions of AB 2175 [Aguiar-Curry] as per the committee analysis would allow a peace officer or marine safety officer to impound a vessel in either of the following circumstances:

• When the vessel is found on public property and the officer has probable cause to believe that it was used in the commission of a crime; or 
• When the vessel is found on public property and the officer has probable cause to believe that the vessel itself provides evidence that a crime was committed, or it contains evidence of a possible crime and the evidence cannot be easily removed from it.

The bill states that a lien shall not attach to a vessel impounded under this section unless it is determined that it was used in the commission of a crime with the express or implied consent of the owner.  

The bill also allows the court to order a person convicted of a crime involving the use of the impounded vessel to pay for the costs of towing and storage, as well as any administrative charges related to the removal, impoundment, storage, or release of the vessel.

Finally, the bill defines “vessel” for the purposes of the section to include both the vessel and any trailer used by the operator to transport the vessel.

AB 2175 has already passed the Assembly. It is sponsored by the California State Sheriff's Association.