California lawmakers on Wednesday approved measures intended to shine a light on racial profiling and the use of force by police officers, a response to recent deadly, racially charged incidents in Baltimore and Ferguson, Mo., says the Los Angeles Times. One proposal would require police officers to collect data on the people they stop, including perceived race and ethnicity. Republicans who spoke against the measure said it would be costly to implement.
The bill now goes back to the Assembly, where it originated, for final approval. The Assembly passed a bill requiring police departments to submit yearly reports detailing all cases in which officers are involved in uses of force that result in serious injury or death. Under that measure, it would fall to the state attorney general’s office to decide how the reporting would be done and to keep the data. However, the reports could not contain information that would identify the officers. The bill heads to Gov. Jerry Brown.