AB 2419 Body Camera Bill Fails in Assembly Appropriations

The AFSCME Local 685 Executive Board is pleased to report that AB 2419 (Quirk-Silva), the proposed legislation mandating body-worn cameras inside Los Angeles County juvenile facilities, failed to advance out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

From the beginning, your Local 685 Executive Board made a commitment to listen directly to the membership. We also recognized that the legislation, which was designed and strongly supported by the Professional Managers Association, AFSCME Local 1967, carried potential public relations and transparency benefits for the Department. However, Local 685 leadership has a responsibility first and foremost to represent the voices of the members we were elected to serve. After surveying impacted members, approximately 77% opposed the bill unless significant amendments and protections were added.

The message from the membership was clear: oppose unless amended.

Let us be clear: As professional probation-peace officers, we strongly support transparency and accountability. Local 685 members work every day in some of the most challenging environments in public service, and we understand the public’s expectation for transparency. However, we also made clear throughout this process that transparency must be bilateral. If body-worn cameras are used, they cannot focus solely on scrutinizing us while ignoring assaults, violence, and misconduct occurring against staff and among youth inside the facilities.

Based on member feedback, Local 685 formally engaged in the legislative process and worked constructively to address serious operational, legal, safety, and labor concerns. Among the amendments requested by Local 685 were protections involving:

• Preservation of collective bargaining rights, recognizing that body-worn cameras are a mandatory subject of bargaining under California law

• Statewide application of any body camera policy, rather than singling out Los Angeles County alone

• Protections for juvenile confidentiality, privacy, and mental health treatment interactions

• Recognition of the rehabilitative and therapeutic mission of juvenile facilities

• Requirements that footage be used to review youth-on-staff and youth-on-youth assaults, not solely officer actions

• Provisions allowing officers involved in critical incidents to review footage prior to submitting official reports

• Clarification that serious in-custody assaults on staff carry accountability and do not unintentionally reduce confinement exposure under existing SYTF law

• Recognition of the substantial unfunded costs associated with storage, redaction, compliance, supervision, and administration of body-worn camera systems

Unfortunately, these proposed amendments were rejected by the supporters of the bill.

As a result, Local 685 continued to advocate forcefully to ensure legislators fully understood the serious consequences and unintended impacts the legislation could have on staff, operations, labor rights, and the rehabilitative mission of juvenile facilities.

Sisters and Brothers, this is what leadership looks like:

• Listening to the members

• Respecting the voices of frontline staff

• Fighting for those voices wherever they need to be heard

The Local 685 Executive Board would like to extend a special thank you to our Sacramento lobbying team, Willie Pelote and Matt Siverling, along with longtime Local 685 consultant Barbara Maynard, for their tireless advocacy throughout this process. Their efforts helped ensure that the concerns of Local 685 members were heard loudly and clearly in the State Capitol.

Local 685 remains committed to accountability, professionalism, officer safety, and the successful rehabilitation of justice-involved youth. We will continue to engage constructively on legislation impacting our profession while always protecting the rights, safety, and working conditions of our members.

In Solidarity,

AFSCME Local 685 Executive Board