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2017-2018 Biennial Report of Major Activities

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2017-2018 Biennial Report of Major Activities 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary – Highlights of 2017-2018 ................................ 1 Department Overview ........................................................................... 7 Division of Operations .......................................................................... 9 Division of Law Enforcement ............................................................... 19 Legal Services Division Public Rights Division ................................................................. 41 Civil Law ......................................................................................... 63 Criminal Law ................................................................................ 79 California Justice Information Services Division ............................ 89 Executive Programs ............................................................................... 99 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – HIGHLIGHTS OF 2017-2018 Confronting unprecedented challenges, the California Department of Justice in 2017-2018 remained steadfast in its mission to protect the people, values, and economy of our State. The last two years saw California continue to lead the nation and world in so many measures – even surpassing Great Britain to become the world’s ffth-largest economy – despite backlash from the Trump Adminis- tration and Washington, DC, against many of the people and policies that have made this success possible. Undeterred, the California Department of Justice continued to fght for rules that safeguard clean air and water, protect Californians’ access to healthcare, education, and economic opportunity, and promote public safety in our communities. Preserving the rights and liberties of all Californians in the face of new threats instantly became a top priority for the California Department of Justice. Taking offce just a few days after President Donald Trump was sworn in, Attorney General Becerra immediately jumped into the fght to stop the uncon- stitutional Muslim Travel Ban. He would go on to challenge several Trump Administration policies that targeted immigrants and LGBTQ Americans, as well as protecting funds for state and local law enforcement in light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s attack on “sanctuary jurisdictions.” Attorney General Becerra also secured a nationwide injunction to keep the Deferred Action for Childhood Ar- rivals (DACA) program in place so that DACA recipients can continue contributing to our economy and our communities. Over the last two years, the urgency of California’s efforts to protect the planet became greater than ever, with historic foods and wildfres devastating our communities and claiming dozens of lives. Eight of the state’s most destructive wildfres have occurred in the past fve years, a tragic fact made possible by a warming planet. The State of California continued to lead the way on policies to reverse climate change, from defending the state’s auto emissions standards to taking federal regula- tors to task for illegally undoing commonsense environmental policies. The Department also stood strong against reckless proposals to reopen out coast to offshore drilling. After President Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord, Attorney General Becerra in June 2017 proudly joined the “We Are Still In” coalition with leaders from government and business nationwide to reaffrm our commitment to confronting the most important global envi- ronmental issue of our time. At the heart of this work is protecting the people whose lives are upend- ed by a changing climate, whether they pay with their health or pocketbooks. The California Department of Justice went after companies that polluted the air and water, as well as ones that harmed consumers. For example, Attorney General Becerra secured a historic settle- ment with the Southern California Gas Company to resolve violations of state health and safety laws following a natural gas leak at its Aliso Canyon facility, as well as preventing oil giant Valero from acquiring a petroleum terminal in Benicia that could have meant higher gas prices for families in Northern California. Moreover, in the wake of natural disasters, the Department continued to enforce the state’s price-gouging law, bringing charges against those who would exploit fellow Californians in their time of greatest need. Ensuring that Californians maintain access to quality, affordable health coverage remained impera- 1 tive in 2017-2018, with the gains of the Affordable Care Act threatened by the Trump Administra- tion. The State of California intervened in a number of federal lawsuits to preserve the Affordable Care Act and its provisions that protect people with preexisting conditions and lower insurance pre- miums. The California Department of Justice also worked to ensure a level playing feld in the state health care market, fling suit against health-care corporations whose anticompetitive practices raised prices for California families. Leveling the playing feld for California businesses that play by the rules remained a top priority for the Department of Justice. Leading the Tax Recovery and Criminal Enforcement (TRaCE) Task Force, the California Department of Justice continued to crack down on the underground economy, which harms vulnerable workers, businesses that follow the law, and taxpayers whose public ser- vices go underfunded. The Task Force is comprised of investigators and special agents from multiple agencies working together to investigate, prosecute and recover revenue lost to the underground economy. The TRaCE Task Force recovered wages and unpaid taxes from businesses in several nota- ble cases in 2017-2018, including a janitorial subcontracting company in Orange County and a cloth- ing retailer in Los Angeles. In April 2018, Attorney General Becerra sponsored legislation to expand the Task Force and establish permanent teams in every major metropolitan region across the state. The national epidemic of gun violence also struck close to home in 2017-2018, with more than half of the victims in the Las Vegas shooting in October 2017 hailing from California. The California Department of Justice continued to enforce and defend the state’s robust gun-safety laws, including universal background checks and a ban on assault weapons. California remains the frst and only state in the nation to establish an automated system for tracking frearm owners who might fall into a prohibited status – due to a felony or violent misdemeanor conviction, serious mental illness, or protective order. Thanks to the work of the brave men and women of the California Department of Justice’s Bureau of Firearms, the number of subjects in the APPS database remains at a historic low. In response to the troubling expansion of self-manufactured weapons, Attorney General Becerra in June 2018 fled suit against the Trump Administration for reckless actions to allow blueprints for these weapons to become available without restriction. He concurrently released issued a consumer alert concerning the legal requirements that apply to self-manufactured guns. The California Depart- ment of Justice has also continued to keep up the drumbeat for real solutions to gun violence nation- wide, like banning assault weapons and investing in counseling resources in schools. Below are highlights from the biennial period: Defending the Civil Rights of All Californians Attorney General Becerra has worked to protect all Californians through the vigorous enforcement of civil rights laws and by taking a stand against discriminatory policies. The Attorney General inter- vened in Stockman v. Trump to challenge President Trump’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military. Joining individuals serving, and seeking to enlist in the United States armed forces, and Equality California, he challenged the ban under the First and Fifth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Together they secured a preliminary injunction against the ban, upholding transgen- dered American’s right to serve while litigation is ongoing. 2 In another move to protect the rights of members of the LGBT community, Attorney General Bec- erra continues to enforce State-sponsored travel restriction under AB 1887, a law that prohibits state-funded travel to states that allow discrimination against LGBTQ individuals and communities. Attorney General Becerra and the Department of Justice also took important steps to fnalize and implement regulations under AB 953, the Racial and Identity Profling Act (RIPA). These RIPA regulations help build trust between law enforcement agencies and the community by giving off- cers clear instructions for about the process for collecting data pertaining to law enforcement stops. These regulations were formulated in a collaborative process with important input from stakeholders including civil rights groups, community organizations and members of academic. The Attorney General also stood up against President Trump’s discriminatory travel ban, fling an amicus brief in Trump v. Hawai’i et al. to detail the harmful impact the ban would have on California. Defending the Environment & Holding Polluters Accountable The Attorney General has fought to advance the cause of environmental justice in California, holding both corporate polluters and the federal government accountable. Since taking offce, the Attorney General has successfully taken action against the Trump Administration on 14 occasions over their attempts to undermine the nation’s environmental protections. The Attorney General
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