If the governor signs a sheriff’s oversight bill, Sheriff Steve Bernal may fight implementation.

Nearly 18 months after it was first introduced, a bill passed last month by the California Legislature could enable counties to better monitor the activities of their local sheriffs offices. With only a few weeks left before the clock runs out on it, though, the question now is: Will Gov. Gavin Newsom sign it into law?

Assembly Bill 1185, authored by Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, is what’s known as “opt in” legislation. If passed, each county board of supervisors will have the option to create an oversight board, composed of civilians who are appointed by the supervisors, which can empower the chair of that body with subpoena powers.

Newsom has until Sept. 30 to sign the bill into law. Should the Monterey County Board of Supervisors decide against implementing an oversight board, voters can force it to a ballot.

If the bill is signed and the supervisors or citizens take action to see it implemented, they’re going to face opposition from Monterey County Sheriff Steve Bernal. In an email, Bernal states the bill is “unnecessary” and the Board of Supervisors already maintains fiscal oversight of the sheriff’s office, with service contracts, equipment procurement and many policy decisions requiring Board of Supervisors’ authorization.

“The opportunity to establish civilian oversight of the Office of the Sheriff, beyond that provided by voter election of sheriffs, has been exercised by several jurisdictions. Counties across the state have created civilian oversight boards and at least one inspector general office without this measure or specific legislative authorization,” Bernal writes.

That some jurisdictions have independently created oversight boards or positions is a good step, McCarty says, but in some cases they lack teeth. In Sacramento, for example, County Inspector General Rick Braziel was locked out of his office, sheriff’s buildings and the jail by Sheriff Scott Jones after Braziel released a report critical of deputy behavior in the shooting death of Mikel McIntyre.

McCarty, though, calls AB 1185 the “ultimate in local control” and he’s optimistic that Newsom will sign it.

“Our argument is that these bodies don’t set sheriff’s policies – they provide oversight and sunshine,” McCarty says, adding that last year, his county spent $25 million in payouts on excessive force cases. “This has a real impact on the taxpayer.”

County Administrative Officer Charles McKee says AB 1185 appears to be an extension of powers the supervisors already have, and the challenge will be balancing the desire for transparency against the privacy rights of individual officers.

“There’s a legitimate need in promoting the good and rooting out the bad, and getting the balance right,” McKee says. “You don’t want to lose the momentum brought by Black Lives Matter and the horrific incidents that have happened, including the case of George Floyd. You want to address the issues in a smart way and a way that has a long-term benefit to society.”