TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Ryan J. Alsop, County Executive Officer
REPORT BY: Daniel Sanchez, Senior Management Analyst
SUBJECT: Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds (TRUTH Act) Community Forum
RECOMMENDATION
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PUBLIC HEARING - TRUTH Act
Convene a community forum pursuant to the federal Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds Act, which calls for counties to hold annual public forums explaining how County law enforcement worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement representatives. (No Fiscal Impact; Mandatory)
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BACKGROUND
In 2016, the Governor signed into law the Transparent Review of Unjust Transfers and Holds Act, also known as the “TRUTH Act.” Beginning in 2018, the TRUTH Act requires the governing body of a local government, such as Napa County, to hold a community forum if a “local law enforcement agency” operated by a local government provided the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency with “ICE access” to individuals for civil immigration enforcement purposes during the prior calendar year. (Government Code section 7283.1(d).
The TRUTH Act defines a “local law enforcement agency” as a department that:
1. Enforces criminal laws, regulations and local ordinances;
2. Operates a jail or juvenile detention facility;
3. Maintains custody of individuals in a jail or in a juvenile detention facility; OR
4. Monitors compliance with probation or parole conditions.
In addition, “ICE Access” is defined by the TRUTH Act as any of the following:
1. Responding to an ICE hold, notification, or transfer request;
2. Providing ICE with advance notice of detention facility release information that is not otherwise available to the public;
3. Providing ICE with non-public information regarding detention facility release dates, home or work addresses;
4. Permitting ICE to interview an individual; OR
5. Providing ICE with probation or parole check-in dates and times.
To determine whether a TRUTH Act Community Forum was requires, County law enforcement departments were asked to determine if they had provided “ICE Access” during the calendar year 2023. The Napa County Department of Corrections reported having provided ICE Access in the calendar year.
Once it has been determined that a community forum is necessary, statute provides that the community forum be scheduled with thirty-days advance notice to the public and that law enforcement agencies participating in the forum may provide the governing body with certain information. Specifically, those agencies may provide the number and demographic characteristics of individuals whose information was disclosed to ICE through a hold, transfer, or notification request through other means. Further, the data may be provided in the form of statistics or, if statistics are not maintained, individual records, provided that personally identifiable information is redacted.
On July 6, 2024 the Napa Register, a newspaper of general circulation in Napa County, published formal notice of the Community Forum in compliance with the thirty-day public notice requirement.
The TRUTH Act Report is attached. The Corrections Department report activity and the Napa County Sheriff and Probation Departments do not have any activity to report.
Procedural Requirements:
1. Open Public Hearing
2. Receive Staff Reports
3. Accept Public Comments
4. Close Public Hearing
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
No |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
No |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Mandatory |
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Is the general fund affected? |
No |
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Future fiscal impact: |
No future fiscal impact. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
If a community forum is not held, the county will be out of compliance with a state law. |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.