Restoration Magazine

The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) regularly updates a database for state legislation relating to missing and murdered Indigenous women and relatives (MMIWR). This database includes summaries, the latest actions, sponsors, and other pertinent information on state-level legislation regarding the prevention and advocacy around MMIWR. The MMIWR State Legislative Tracker does not advocate for any legislation, nor does it provide any analysis. It is a tool that allows advocates, legislators, allies, community members, and grassroots organizers to navigate current state legislation easily. 

Recently Acted Upon Legislation

California AB1863: “An act to amend Section 8594.13 of the Government Code, and to amend Section 1 of Chapter 476 of the Statutes of 2022, relating to the California Emergency Services Act”

• Approved by the Governor & Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 659, Statutes of 2024 on September 27, 2024.
• “Existing law, the California Emergency Services Act, authorizes use of the Emergency Alert System to inform the public of local, state, and national emergencies. Existing law authorizes a law enforcement agency to request the Department of the California Highway Patrol to activate a “Feather Alert,” as defined, if the law enforcement agency determines that specified criteria are satisfied with respect to an endangered Indigenous person who has been reported missing under unexplained or suspicious circumstances. 
• This bill would require the department, in consultation with specified groups, including Tribal Nations, to develop policies and procedures providing instructions specifying how a law enforcement agency and certain entities involved in emergency warnings are required to proceed after a missing person has been reported to a law enforcement agency, as defined, and prescribed conditions are met. The bill would require those policies and procedures to include, among other things, procedures for the transfer of information regarding the missing person and the circumstances surrounding the missing person’s disappearance, as specified.”

California AB2138: “An act to add and repeal Sections 830.83 and 832.55 of, and to add and repeal Article 2.45 (commencing with Section 11073) of Chapter 1 of Title 1 of Part 4 of, the Penal Code, relating to peace officers”

• Vetoed by the Governor on September 28, 2024.
• Existing law defines those persons who are peace officers in the state, grants certain authority to those individuals and their employing entities, and places certain requirements on those individuals and their employing entities. Existing law also grants specified limited arrest authority to certain other persons, including federal criminal investigators, park rangers, and peace officers from adjoining jurisdictions.
• This bill would, from July 1, 2025, until July 1, 2028, establish a pilot program under the Department of Justice and the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, granting peace officer authority to certain Tribal police officers on Indian lands and elsewhere in the state under specified circumstances. The bill would authorize the department to select three Tribal entities to participate, would set certain minimum qualifications and certification and training requirements for a Tribal officer to act pursuant to this authority, and would place certain requirements on the employing Tribe, including a limited waiver of sovereign immunity, and the adoption of a Tribal law or resolution authorizing that exercise of authority and providing for public access to certain records.

Note: Language has been edited for publication from the original Bill summaries for clarity and readability. You may sort current MMIWR legislation by state, date introduced, Bill #, or status.

For more information, the full Bill summaries can be found at legiscan.com.