Addressing the plague of gang violence in California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will sign five bills aimed at stemming the tide of killings, including the creation of a state office of gang and youth violence policy to oversee the efforts, a spokesman said Wednesday reports the Los Angeles Times.
Other bills scheduled to receive the governor’s signature today will allow judges to order parents of gang members to attend anti-violence classes, improve protection to witnesses of gang killings and arm prosecutors with power to evict gang members caught in possession of weapons in apartment buildings used as hangouts.
The governor’s office also announced that Schwarzenegger had signed 79 bills Wednesday, including measures to protect the publicity rights of dead celebrities and to prohibit smoking in cars where minors are passengers.
He vetoed 26 bills Wednesday, including a proposal to require children up to 8 years old to use special car seats.
A rash of gang violence in Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento and other major cities drew the attention of state lawmakers this year, resulting in nearly a dozen bills aimed at the problem.
In anticipation of the bill creating a new gang office, Schwarzenegger had already appointed former federal prosecutor Paul Seave to serve as a kind of gang czar, heading the office and coordinating various plans of attack against street gangs.
Read it here: New Laws Aimed at Fighting Gang Violence