AB 1906 may not be the solution for San Bernardino County problems

Assemblyman Col. Paul Cook was very generous and statesmen-like in a recent Sun article, where he was quoted as saying he “wouldn’t push the county” to impanel a second civil grand jury. He also admitted that in his new addition to the criminal code, AB 1906, the presiding judge still has that responsibility.
There are two types of Grand Juries in California govern by Penal Code Sections 888-945. One is a criminal grand jury and is selected from the jury rolls and is impaneled for specify investigations with full indictment powers. The other, a civil grand jury which has no indictment powers, is the subject of this discussion. Its members are selected from five volunteers in each supervisor district for a total of 30, and then 19 of them are impaneled by a random drawing.
AB 1906 authorizes a second Civil Grand Jury for San Bernardino County only and has been signed into law by the Governor. Therefore, some of my concerns aren’t relevant, but I believe that the general public does not fully understand the powers and limitations of a civil grand jury. The most important one in my opinion, is a grand jury operates under a veil of complete secrecy. For example, what would happen if that second grand jury investigates the same case as the other regular grand jury? The existing code states that each grand jury sets its own agenda and AB 1906 does not completely address this.
A civil grand jury can only make public recommendations in its reports to the Board of Supervisors or complaints to the District Attorney. Remember, these are only recommendations. The Supervisors and the District Attorney have no obligation to follow up on those recommendations. Granted the Board has to make an official response within 90 days, and they can then file those recommendations and responses away and forget them. As far as the complaints to the District Attorney, unless it is an official accusation of a public official, he can also ignore it. If Col. Cook wants to make some more changes, I suggest that he look into this ignored section of the criminal code.
I am a firm supported of Col. Cook. He is a decorated Marine and a good legislator. I plan to support him Nov. 2 for re-election. What I want to do is to point out that even though AB 1906 might has some good sections, others parts, in my opinion, are just some of the same old stuff. I also understand that he introduced this legislation at the request of the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors. Remember, this is the same board that has ignored the ethical recommendations that the 2008-2009 Grand Jury made in its Government Reform Report.
Consequently, for better or worse, AB 1906 is now the law of the land. Its success will be determined by how it is used. Col. Cook’s concerns about the problems in San Bernardino County are justified. He is to be commended for using his legislative powers in an attempt to help solve them.