Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, presents a bill during session on June 1. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas on Nov. 21 appointed McCarty as leader of the Committee on Public Safety.
hamezcua@sacbee.com
California Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, appointed last week as the public safety committee’s first new leader in seven years, vowed to champion bipartisanship when funneling bills through the powerful panel increasingly scrutinized by voters who rank crime as a top concern.
The Sacramento Democrat referenced his track record when promising balanced solutions to divisive criminal justice issues. McCarty has authored some significant police reform bills, such as Assembly Bill 1506 requiring the state attorney general’s office to review police shooting in which an unarmed person dies.
And McCarty has also secured some law enforcement support, such as Sacramento and Yolo counties’ district attorneys, to back Assembly Bill 1360, which passed this year and involves drug treatment programs opportunities for defendants.
It’s “provocative” and “innovative” bills that McCarty hopes to explore in the upcoming legislative session starting Jan. 3. After being appointed Nov. 21 by California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, he said his priorities include retail theft, Proposition 47 reform, illegal drug use and gun violence.
“If both sides are unhappy at the end … you probably did something good for the people of California,” McCarty said in a recent phone interview. “It all depends, but I am not new to working with opposing interests and bringing about compromise.”
But it’s not the only balancing act for McCarty: The 51-year-old, who once served on Sacramento’s City Council, will compete against three others in the March primary to be Sacramento’s next mayor. Voters shouldn’t worry the high-profile appointment will siphon his focus away from the mayor’s race, though, he said.
McCarty said he has grappled with two-year election cycles when first elected in 2014 to the state Assembly. Lawmakers constantly juggle committee assignments with elections, he said.
“I am used to walking and chewing gum at the same time,” McCarty added.
McCarty will preside over the committee for 2024 even if he wins the mayor’s seat. The candidate with 50 plus one percent of the vote in March’s primary wins outright. If no candidate passes that threshold, then competitors will vie for the seat in November.
The winner of the mayoral race will be sworn into office in December. The 2024 legislative session ends in August.
Committee members can choose to step down from their role at any time, or Rivas can ask an Assemblymember to vacate a post.
Los Angeles Assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, a Democrat, presided over the Assembly’s Committee on Public Safety for seven years. He has said in a statement he sought to step down as chair several months ago because he’s seeking a seat on the Los Angeles City Council.
“I would like to thank Assemblymember McCarty for stepping up to serve as the new incoming Chair of the Committee and wish him well throughout his term,” Jones-Sawyer said.
In a statement, Rivas called McCarty a problem solver and proven leader. A spokesperson in the speaker’s office said simply the announcement of other appointees to the public safety committee are forthcoming.
“Californians have a right to be safe in their homes and on their streets, and I’m confident Assemblymember McCarty will bring commitment, balance and conscientiousness to this role,” the statement said.
Crime in California has ballooned into a top concern for voters, according to a poll conducted in February by the Public Policy Institute of California. The public safety committee’s decisions have drawn scorn from Republicans and from constituents.
Prop 47 passed in 2014, with a majority of voters seeking to make some non-violent property crimes to misdemeanors. Law enforcement leaders have blamed Prop 47 for the sensational incidents such as so-called smash and grab robberies. Some researchers studying crime, though, have said there is no correlation between Prop 47 and increased theft.
McCarty said there are flaws in Prop 47’s implementation because people haven’t been held accountable.
He’s also seeking to explore issues of fentanyl consumption and its illegal trade.
Accountability doesn’t necessarily mean increased incarceration and stiff penalties — the public realized there must be smarter solutions, he said.
But it’s too soon to tell what those solutions will look like, McCarty said when asked for his specific thoughts.
He pointed to AB 1360, the bill approved by Sacramento County District attorney Thien Ho and Yolo County District Atttorney Jeff Reisig, for the kind of tone he seeks to set. It allowed judges to offer defendants the chance to participate in a drug treatment program if convicted of a “qualifying drug-motivated felony.”
“No solution is off the table,” McCarty said.
The Bee Capitol Bureau’s Lindsey Holden contributed to this story.
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Ishani Desai is a breaking news reporter for The Sacramento Bee. She previously covered crime and courts for The Bakersfield Californian.
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