Genocide bill waits for floor vote

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors lent its unanimous

support to a bill that would recognize the deaths of 1.5 million

Armenians from 1915 to 1923 as a genocide.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff, passed the House

International Relations Committee last week, but still has to get to

the floor for a vote.

The mark-up was the Armenian Genocide Resolution’s final hurdle

before it can be voted on by the full House of Representatives.

The committee approved the bill with a bipartisan vote of 36 to

11.

It seeks to guarantee that the foreign policy of the U.S. reflects

appropriate understanding and sensitivity relating to human rights

and ethnic cleansing associated with the Armenian Genocide.

“We have the support of both sides,” said Tony Bell,

representative for Supervisor Michael Antonovich. “We’re hoping that

when it reaches the House floor, we’ll have successful results.”

Officials crack down on fleeing fugitives

Rep. David Dreier and Rep. Adam Schiff introduced an updated

version of the Peace Officer Justice Act Tuesday to crack down on cop

killers who flee south of the border, Schiff said.

The new bill, Justice for Peace Officers Act, will still make it a

federal crime to murder a peace officer and flee the country, but it

will also call for increased penalties and will give the federal

government priority in prosecuting suspects, he said.

“It will give the federal government priority to prosecute these

cases and it will also send a message to Mexico that the federal

government will use its power to bring these people to justice,”

Schiff said.

The Justice for Peace Officers Act will raise the jail time for

second-degree murder to a minimum of 30 years to life in prison, and

also assigns a minimum of 15 years to those who aid the flight of a

suspected peace officer killer, he said.

“Both David [Dreier] and I both consider it high enough priority

that this is an area the federal government should have its voice be

heard,” Schiff said.

Liu check fraud bill signed into law

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a check fraud bill, written by

Assemblywoman Carol Liu (D-La Canada Flintridge), which will restrict

the recycling of checking account numbers, officials said.

The law will require banks to wait three years before reusing

account numbers to battle the rising threat of identity theft crimes,

officials from Liu’s office said.

The bill, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2006, was driven by the

banking industry’s habit of passing account numbers from one client

to the next, officials said.

DISARM confiscates weapons from probationers

The Los Angeles County Probation Department seized 23 weapons,

including handguns and knives, from 67 probationers last month,

officials from the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D.

Antonovich said.