E-Notify Bill Passed by State Assembly

A bill that would allow for electronic victim notification was approved 70-0 Thursday by the California State Assembly.

Senate Bill 852, authored by Republican State Rep. Tom Harman, would allow the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide crime victims the option to be electronically notified of an offender’s status.

"I am very pleased to see overwhelming bipartisan support for modernizing victim notification in California," Harman said. "If signed into law, my will bill will make it much easier for victims to quickly receive critical information on an offender’s status. SB 852 will update an antiquated section of California law and bring victim notification into the computer age.

Existing law only allows the department to use traditional mail when it provides notification to victims and other individuals who have requested to be notified regarding an adult offender’s status. The Department has received a federal grant to develop and implement an automated victim notification system through the Victim Information and Notification Everyday application. SB 852 would amend existing law to enable CDCR to implement this system.