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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-05-21; City Council; MinutesCITY COUNCIL May 21, 2018 5:30 p.m. CALL TO ORDER: 5:30 p.m. Faraday Center 1635 Faraday Avenue Carlsbad, CA 92008 ROLL CALL: Present: M. Hall, K. Blackburn, M. Schumacher, C. Schumacher, M. Packard. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Pro Tern Blackburn DEPARTMENTAL AND CITY MANAGER REPORTS: 1. CALIFORNIA "SANCTUARY STATE" LAWS -Consider the City's option with respect to SB54, which includes the California Values Act and other laws sometimes referred to as the "sanctuary state" laws enacted last year by the California Legislature and to provide direction to staff. (Staff Contact: Jason Haber, City Manager's Department) Mayor Hall opened the meeting with a reminder that all speakers should be treated respectfully and he invited the remaining Council Members to make any opening remarks. Council Member C. Schumacher encouraged meeting participants to act with civility, respect and dignity. No other Council Members made opening comments. Assistant City Attorney Walter Chung provided an overview of three laws passed by the California Legislature last year. AB450 (concerns workplace enforcement actions), AB103 (an omnibus public safety bill) and SB54 (commonly referred to as the "Sanctuary State" law). The Federal Government has filed a lawsuit against the State of California claiming that with passage of these laws, the State is circumventing the Federal Government's immigration laws and federal immigration work related rules. The other noteworthy lawsuit is the suit filed against the State of California by the City of Huntington Beach. The City of Huntington Beach believes these three laws are unconstitutional because they direct how a local entity uses their own resources and that the local entity should have the power to decide how they use their time, energy and funds. The last lawsuit filed is one brought by the ACLU against the City of Los Alamitos for an ordinance the City of Los Alamitos passed in March 2018 where they opted out of SB54 stating that the law is incompatible with the U.S. Constitution and noting that when the State Constitution conflicts with the U.S. Constitution, the U.S. Constitution prevails. Other entities have either joined in or filed Amicus Briefs. The Amicus Briefs are "friends of the court" briefs. Amicus Briefs are not parties to any of the three pending lawsuits, but they have interests in the lawsuits and present the court with their positions and their arguments. May 21, 2018 Carlsbad City Council Special Meeting Page 2 Staff identified five options available to the City Council: 1. Take no further action. 2. Direct staff to prepare a resolution expressing a policy position of support or opposition. 3. Take a "wait and see" approach and consider further action once the federal lawsuit against the state concludes. 4. Join a pending lawsuit against the state by filing an amicus brief when a currently pending case reaches the appellate level. 5. File Carlsbad's own legal challenge against the state. Mr. Chung provided a detailed evaluation on each potential action. For the benefit of the audience, Mayor Pro Tern Blackburn asked if a person is detained by law enforcement for committing a crime and is determined to be in the country illegally, once they are released from jail, was it traditionally the action of proper authorities to contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement {ICE) to let them know about the release? Mr. Chung stated that prior to SB54, when non-citizen criminals were released, ICE would be notified so that those agents could apprehend and present the offender to an immigration court for judgement. Mr. Chung explained that SB54 specifically disallows law enforcement from notifying ICE or any federal agency of a potential offender's release. Discussion continued about the local impact of SB54. In response to Council Member C. Schumacher, Mr. Chung confirmed that there are approximately 800 offenses listed within SB54 that allow law enforcement to contact ICE when an offender is released from custody. The legislature has listed specific felonies and some misdemeanors that exempt law enforcement from SB54, thus allowing them to contact ICE. It was further noted that equal protection, as written in the 14th Amendment, provides due process to all persons in the United States, regardless of their immigration status and that's why immigration authorities are required to bring offenders in front of an immigration judge. Council Member C. Schumacher, referring to the omnibus bill AB103, asked if the City of Carlsbad has or had a contract with ICE prior to passage of the three bills. Mr. Chung stated he is not aware of any contract the City of Carlsbad has with ICE and confirmed for Council Member C. Schumacher that the City of Carlsbad does not have its own jail. PUBLIC COMMENT: Seventeen speaker cards were received prior to introduction of Item 1. Glen Bernard, Brian Connor, DD Dominguez, Beverly Welch, Lela Panagides, Patricia Amador, Jesse (no last name provided), Laura Drelleshak, Melanie Burkholder, Kevin Frye, Felicia Gomez, Rosa Flores, Noel Breen, Linda Breen, Linda Trautman, Michele Bloomberg and Caroline Theiss-Aird addressed the council. Two speaker cards were received after Public Comment began and the City Clerk requested a council vote, which requires all five members to vote YES, if the remaining speakers are to be heard. May 21, 2018 Carlsbad City Council Special Meeting Page 3 ACTION: Motion made by Mayor Hall, seconded by Council Member C. Schumacher, that the speakers be heard. Motion carried unanimously, 5/0. PUBLIC COMMENT: Christine Flores Lopez and Jonathan Adler addressed the council. The City Council proceeded with discussion of Agenda Item l. Mayor Pro Tern Blackburn thanked the audience for their civility and stated that in his view, SB54 is a law enforcement issue and he is concerned about SB54's impact on the ability of our Carlsbad Police to perform their jobs properly. Mayor Pro Tern Blackburn supports a resolution in opposition to SB54 because it limits communication between law enforcement agencies which may result in jeopardy to one or more Carlsbad residents. Mayor Pro Tern Blackburn also supports the City of Carlsbad filing an Amicus Brief when the time is appropriate. Council Member M. Schumacher thanked the people who addressed Council on both sides of the issue. Council Member M. Schumacher stated that effective law enforcement is reliant upon communication, be it international, national, state or local law enforcement, to keep our community safe and that legislation that proposes to limit that communication, puts us all at risk. Council Member M. Schumacher supports Staff Recommendation No. 2, directing staff to return to Council with a resolution opposing SB54 and No. 4, filing an Amicus brief. Council Member C. Schumacher thanked the speakers who addressed Council about what it means to be treated less than equally in our society. Council Member C. Schumacher read some of the content in SB54 specific to the list of crimes exempted in the bill. Council Member C. Schumacher read a statement from James Madison about Constitutional protections and stated that illegal immigrants pay $13 billion dollars in taxes annually. Council Member C. Schumacher noted that supporting state's rights was a promise she made to the citizens of Carlsbad and the weighing in on this matter tonight by this Council is purely political and divisive. Council Member C. Schumacher will not support a resolution opposing SB54 nor the filing of an Amicus Brief. ACTION: Council Member C. Schumacher made a motion that the Council take no action. The motion failed due to the lack of a second. Council Member Packard thanked those who attended and participated at the meeting. Council Member Packard expressed his desire to clarify some comments he heard during the meeting -noting that SB54 was not passed by a bicameral state government and that the history of law enforcements cooperation has served us well, that border security is a federal issue and with SB54, the state is taking action prohibiting our state and local law enforcement from cooperating with federal laws. Council Member Packard supports abiding by the existing laws, but also supports the federal government's position opposing SB54. ACTION: Motion by Mayor Pro Tern Blackburn, seconded by Council Member M. Schumacher to direct staff to return with a resolution in opposition to SB54 and to file an Amicus brief in accordance with the advice of the City Attorney. May 21, 2018 Carlsbad City Council Special Meeting Page 4 Mayor Hall thanked the audience for their attendance and acknowledged that this issue can be contentious. Mayor Hall stated that he looks at this matter as one of safety and that over the years it seems our laws are becoming more difficult to enforce. The State of California is releasing prisoners early, changing felonies to misdemeanors and making it more and more difficult for our law enforcement to do their job. It takes many law enforcement agencies working collaboratively to try to keep us safe. ACTION: Mayor Hall stated he will support Mayor Pro Tern Blackburn's motion and called for the motion vote. Motion carried, 4/1 (C. Schumacher-No). In closing comments, Council Member C. Schumacher noted that it is costly to hold this meeting and to pursue this issue. Moving forward, Council Member C. Schumacher would like to see the Council work together on the opioid epidemic affecting so many today. Mayor Pro Tern Blackburn noted again that he appreciated the civility of the meeting participants tonight and that he agrees with Council Member C. Schumacher's plea to work together to address the opioid issue. COUNCIL REPORTS AND COMMENTS: Mayor and Council Members reported on activities and meetings of some committees and sub- committees of which they are members. Tuesday, May 22, 2018 -6:00 p.m. City Council Regular Meeting Council Chamber 1200 Carlsbad Village Dr. Carlsbad, CA CITY MANAGER COMMENTS: None. CITY ATTORNEY COMMENTS: None. CITY CLERK COMMENTS: None. ANNOUNCEMENTS: None. ADJOURNMENT: Meeting was adjourned at 7:47 p.m. cJ&n[WA £1/1~ ~ Barbara Engleson, CMC (I -City Clerk