Full Initiative Text

The people of West Hollywood ordain as follows:

SECTION 1

Title 9 of the West Hollywood Municipal Code is amended to add a new Chapter, 9.50, entitled “Lowest Law Enforcement Priority Policy Ordinance,” to read as follows:

Chapter 9.50
Sections
9.50.010 Title
9.50.020 Purpose
9.50.030 Findings
9.50.040 Definitions
9.50.050 Lowest Law Enforcement Priority Policy
9.50.060 Community Oversight
9.50.070 Marijuana Policy Reform
9.50.080 Enforceability
9.50.090 Severability
9.50.010 Title

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

9.50.020 Purpose
The purpose of this chapter is:
a. to make investigations, citations, arrests, property seizures, and prosecutions for adult marijuana offenses West Hollywood’s lowest law enforcement priority;
b. to establish a city policy supporting changes in state and federal laws that support a system of taxation and regulation for adult use of marijuana; and
c. to transmit notification of the enactment of this chapter to state and federal elected officials who represent West Hollywood.

9.50.030 Findings
a. The federal government’s war on drugs has failed.
b. West Hollywood should determine its marijuana policies locally, not hand them over to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.
c. Otherwise law-abiding adults are being arrested and imprisoned for nonviolent marijuana offenses, which is clogging courts and jails in California.
d. Each year California spends over $150 million of taxpayer money enforcing marijuana laws.
e. Law enforcement resources would be better spent fighting serious and violent crimes.
f. Making adult marijuana offenses West Hollywood’s lowest law enforcement priority will reduce the city’s spending on law enforcement and punishment.
g. Decades of arresting millions of marijuana users have failed to control marijuana use or reduce its availability.
h. Current marijuana policies continue to needlessly harm medical marijuana patients.
i. It is the hope of the citizens of West Hollywood that the federal and California state governments will change the laws to tax and regulate marijuana, thus eliminating the problems and costs caused by marijuana prohibition and raising revenues for vital public services.

9.50.040 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 18 years of age or older.
b. “West Hollywood law enforcement officer” means a member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department or any other agency that engages in law enforcement in West Hollywood pursuant to contract, or any employee of a West Hollywood agency or department who engages in law enforcement activity in West Hollywood.
c. “Lowest law enforcement priority” means a priority such that all law enforcement activities related to all offenses other than adult marijuana offenses shall be a higher priority than all law enforcement activities related to adult marijuana offenses, other than the exceptions designated in this chapter.
d. “Marijuana" means all parts of the plant Cannabis, 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.

9.50.050 Lowest Law Enforcement Priority Policy
a. Any new, amended, or renewed city contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department or another law enforcement agency shall specify that the agency and its agents shall make law enforcement activity relating to adult marijuana offenses their lowest law enforcement priority in West Hollywood. Law enforcement activities relating to adult 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 the following:
(1) distribution or sale of marijuana to minors;
(2) distribution, sale, cultivation, or use of marijuana on public property; or
(3) 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. Any new, amended, or renewed city contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department or another law enforcement agency shall specify that its agents who work in West Hollywood 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. West Hollywood 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.
f. If a West Hollywood Police Department or other city agency responsible for law enforcement in West Hollywood is established, its agents shall abide by the lowest law enforcement priority policy and reporting requirements that this chapter mandates for contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

9.50.060 Community Oversight
a. The Public Safety Commission shall oversee the implementation of this chapter. Its responsibilities shall include:
(1) ensuring timely implementation of this chapter, with the cooperation of the Sheriff’s Department or other law enforcement agencies in providing needed data;
(2) receiving any grievances from individuals who believe they were subjected to law enforcement activity contrary to the lowest law enforcement priority policy;
(3) designing a supplemental report form for West Hollywood 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 in West Hollywood; the report shall be designed with the goal of allowing the commission to ascertain whether the lowest law enforcement priority policy was followed;
(4) requesting additional information from any West Hollywood 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
(5) submitting written reports semi-annually to the West Hollywood City Council 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 West Hollywood; 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 commission 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.
b. Any new, amended, or renewed city contract with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department or another law enforcement agency shall specify that its agents shall submit to the commission 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 the West Hollywood.

9.50.070 Marijuana Policy Reform
a. This chapter makes it the policy of West Hollywood that the city of West Hollywood supports policies to tax and regulate marijuana for adults.
b. 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 West Hollywood voters’ U.S. representative or representatives, both of California's U.S. senators, West Hollywood 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 West Hollywood have passed an initiative to deprioritize marijuana offenses and request that the federal and California state governments take immediate steps to tax and regulate marijuana use, cultivation, and distribution and to authorize state and local communities to do the same.” This duty shall be carried out until state and federal laws are changed accordingly.

9.50.080 Enforceability
All sections of this chapter are mandatory. If any provision of this chapter is not carried out properly, any person who is registered to vote in West Hollywood may seek a writ of mandate to ensure the law is fully implemented.

9.50.090 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.

SECTION 2

2.60.080 of the West Hollywood Municipal Code is amended to read as follows:

2.60.080 Duties.
The Public Safety Commission shall have the power and be required to:
a. Analyze the level of law enforcement needs and make policy recommendations to the City Council;
b. Evaluate and recommend mechanisms to involve the Fire Department in community services;
c. Analyze the level of emergency services preparedness and make policy recommendations to the City Council;
d. Evaluate and make policy recommendations to the City Council on ways to maximize community relations between the Sheriff's Department and the gay and lesbian community, the Russian community, the senior community, and any other group that may have special needs; serve as the principal citizen liaison with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, the Fire Department, and other emergency service agencies;
e. Serve, in conjunction with a staff person in the City Manager's office, as the city's main mechanism to establish and maintain communications with citizens relative to public safety, including processing, hearing, and monitoring trends in complaints received by the city regarding law enforcement;
f. Assist the City Council in monitoring and evaluating all contracts with public safety agencies, develop recommendations for improving citizen input on public safety issues, and propose service level recommendations for Council consideration;
g. Assist the City Manager's Office and the City Council in strengthening community response to emergencies;
h. Evaluate and make recommendations regarding neighborhood livability.; and
i. Oversee the implementation of the Lowest Law Enforcement Priority Policy Ordinance, Chapter 9.50, as provided in Chapter 9.50.060.

SECTION 3

2.60.090 of the West Hollywood Municipal Code is amended to read as follows:

2.60.090 Limitation.
It shall not be the role of the Public Safety Commission to conduct investigations into individual complaints related to the services being provided by the city or any of its contractors including the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Nor shall it be the role of the Commission to direct the process or the procedure by which service level recommendations are carried out. Notwithstanding this provision, the Public Safety Commission is permitted to receive grievances and request additional information relating to the lowest law enforcement priority policy pursuant to 9.50.060.

SECTION 4
If any provision of this initiative or the application thereof to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the initiative and the application of such provisions to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby.