Assemblyman Bob Huff's Public Safety Legislation Held in Senate Public Safety Committee
Bill would have provided law enforcement with tools to combat growing use of secret compartments 

Sacramento, CA (April 29, 2008) - AB 278, a bill by Assemblyman Bob Huff (R-Diamond Bar) was held today in the Senate Public Safety Committee due to the possibility that it could place more criminals in state prisons.

AB 278 would have expanded the scope of existing law relating to false compartments used in vehicles to store drugs and illegal firearms. It also provided a mechanism for law enforcement to disable a false compartment from a vehicle before returning the vehicle to the owner, which eliminates the possibility of future criminal usage.

"False compartments are becoming more frequent in our communities as a means to store illicit drugs, firearms and drug money. I am dismayed the committee did not see the need for law enforcement to have the appropriate legislative tools to destroy these compartments after they have been impounded. Our criminals do not wait to commit crimes, and the Legislature should not wait to protect our citizens. Public safety must remain one of our state's top priorities," Huff commented.

AB 278 was deemed a Receivership Overcrowding Crisis Aggravation (ROCA) bill, a policy the Senate Public Safety Committee uses as a blanket policy to hold bills that may result in greater prison populations. Last year, the Legislature passed AB 900 on a bi-partisan vote to fund prison construction and rehabilitation programs.

"Over 80 names on the California Peace Officers' Memorial are those of narcotics officers. We need to ensure that we do everything in our power to give law enforcement the tools they need to bring about safety not only for the public at large, but amongst their ranks too," Huff stated.

Assemblyman Huff is Chairman of the Assembly Republican Caucus.  He represents portions of Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.