Full Initiative Text

The people of Santa Monica ordain as follows:

Title 3 of the Santa Monica Municipal Code is amended to add a new chapter, 3.72, entitled “Lowest Law Enforcement Priority Policy Ordinance,” to read as follows:

Chapter 3.72
Sections
3.72.010 Purpose
3.72.020 Title
3.72.030 Findings
3.72.040 Definitions
3.72.050 Lowest Law Enforcement Priority Policy
3.72.060 Community Oversight
3.72.070 Notification of Federal and State Officials
3.72.080 Enforceability
3.72.090 Severability
3.72.010 Purpose

The purpose of this chapter is:
(a) to de-prioritize law enforcement of marijuana offenses where the marijuana is intended for adult personal use -- specifically, to make investigations, citations, arrests, property seizures, and prosecutions for those offenses the city of Santa Monica’s lowest law enforcement priority and (b) to transmit notification of the enactment of this initiative to state and federal elected officials who represent the city of Santa Monica.

3.72.020 Title
This chapter shall be known as the Lowest Law Enforcement Priority Policy Ordinance.

3.72.030 Findings
(a) Current marijuana policies needlessly harm medical marijuana patients.
(b) The federal government’s war on drugs has failed.
(c) Santa Monica should determine its marijuana policies locally, not hand them over to the federal Drug Enforcement
Administration.
(d) Otherwise law-abiding adults are being arrested and imprisoned for nonviolent marijuana offenses, which is clogging
courts and jails in California.
(e) Each year, California spends more than $150 million of taxpayer money enforcing marijuana laws.
(f) Law enforcement resources would be better spent fighting serious and violent crimes.
(g) Decades of arresting millions of marijuana users have failed to control marijuana use or reduce its availability.

3.72.040 Definitions
For the purposes of this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:
(a) “Adult” means an individual who is 21 years of age or older.___
(b) “Santa Monica law enforcement officer” means a member of the Santa Monica Police Department or any other city agency or department that engages in law enforcement activity.
(c) “Lowest law enforcement priority” means a priority such that all law enforcement activities related to all offenses other than adult, personal-use marijuana offenses shall be a higher priority than all law enforcement activities related to marijuana offenses, where the marijuana was intended for adult personal use, other than the exceptions designated in this chapter.
(d) “Marijuana" means all parts of the cannabis plant, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant, its seeds, or
its resin.

3.72.050 Lowest Law Enforcement Priority Policy
(a) Santa Monica law enforcement officers shall make law enforcement activity relating to marijuana offenses, where the marijuana was intended for adult personal use, their lowest law enforcement priority. Law enforcement activities relating to
marijuana offenses include, but are not limited to, investigation, citation, arrest, seizure of property, or providing assistance to the prosecution of adult marijuana offenses.
(b) This lowest law enforcement priority policy shall not apply to use of marijuana on public property or driving under the
influence.
(c) This lowest law enforcement priority policy shall apply to cooperating with state or federal agents to arrest, cite, investigate, prosecute, or seize property from adults for marijuana offenses included in the lowest law enforcement priority policy.
(d) Santa Monica law enforcement officers shall not accept or renew formal deputization or commissioning by a federal law enforcement agency if such deputization or commissioning will include investigating, citing, arresting, or seizing property from adults for marijuana offenses included in the lowest law enforcement priority policy.
(e) Santa Monica shall not accept any federal funding that would be used to investigate, cite, arrest, prosecute, or seize property from adults for marijuana offenses included in the lowest law enforcement priority policy. This shall not prevent Santa Monica from receiving any federal funding not used for purposes contrary to this chapter.

3.72.060 Community Oversight
(a) The Santa Monica City Council shall ensure the timely
implementation of this chapter by:
(1) designing, with consultation with the Santa Monica Police Department, a supplemental report form for Santa Monica law enforcement officers to use to report all adult marijuana arrests, citations, and property seizures and all instances of officers assisting in state or federal arrests, citations, and property seizures for any adult marijuana offenses. The supplemental report form shall be designed with the goal of allowing the City Council to ascertain whether the lowest law enforcement priority policy was followed;
(2) receiving grievances from individuals who believe they were subjected to law enforcement activity contrary to the lowest law enforcement priority policy;
(3) requesting additional information from any Santa Monica law enforcement officer who engaged in law enforcement activity relating to one or more marijuana offenses under circumstances which appear to violate the lowest law enforcement priority policy. An officer’s decision not to provide additional information shall not be grounds for discipline; and
(4) reporting semiannually on the implementation of this chapter, with the first report being issued nine months after the
enactment of this chapter. These reports shall include but not necessarily be limited to: the number of all arrests, citations,
property seizures, and prosecutions for marijuana offenses in Santa Monica; the breakdown of all marijuana arrests and
citations by race, age, specific charge, and classification as infraction, misdemeanor, or felony; any instances of law enforcement activity that the City Council believes violated the lowest law enforcement priority policy; and the estimated time and money spent by the city on law enforcement and punishment for adult marijuana offenses. These reports shall be made with the cooperation of the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, the Santa Monica Police Department, and any other Santa Monica law enforcement agencies in providing needed data.
(b) Santa Monica law enforcement officers shall submit to the City Council a supplemental report within seven calendar days after each adult marijuana arrest, citation, or property seizure or instance of assisting in a state or federal arrest, citation, or property seizure for any adult marijuana offense in Santa Monica.

3.72.070 Notification of Federal and State Officials
Beginning three months after the enactment of this chapter, the city clerk shall execute a mandatory and ministerial duty of sending letters on an annual basis to Santa Monica voters’ U.S. representative or representatives, both of California's U.S. senators, Santa Monica voters’ senators and Assembly members in the California State Legislature, the governor of California, and the president of the United States. This letter shall state, ”The citizens of Santa Monica have passed an initiative to deprioritize adult marijuana offenses, where the marijuana is intended for personal use, and request that the federal and California state governments take immediate steps to enact similar laws.” This duty shall be carried out until state and federal laws are changed accordingly.

3.72.080 Enforceability
All sections of this chapter are mandatory. If any provision of this chapter is not carried out properly, any resident of Santa Monica may seek a writ of mandate to ensure the law is fully implemented. Notwithstanding 1.08.010 of the Santa Monica municipal code, a violation of this chapter is not a criminal offense.

3.72.090 Severability
If any provision of this chapter or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the chapter and the application of such provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.