SACRAMENTO – Assemblymember Wesley Chesbro (D-North Coast) presented to the Assembly Appropriations Committee this week his bill that would reimburse Mendocino County for expenses incurred for housing and feeding the mutual aid responders who came to assist in a massive manhunt last year.

“AB 1863 was triggered by an unprecedented manhunt for the suspected killer of Matthew Coleman and Councilmember Jere Melo,” Chesbro said. “This manhunt involved 30 agencies and 300 officers. The manhunt spanned 36 days and required K-9 teams, SWAT teams and aerial units. The nature of this event, particularly the terrain involved, required far more resources than the small Fort Bragg community could provide, especially for such an extended duration.”

AB 1863 has two parts.

The first is an appropriation of about $40,000 to Mendocino County to reimburse the cost of hosting mutual aid responders. The second part establishes a framework to allow local law enforcement agencies to seek reimbursement for future extraordinary events such as the Mendocino manhunt.

“This bill is designed for very rare circumstances and in those cases would be very beneficial for small rural counties like Mendocino,” Chesbro said. “Furthermore, this bill includes a number of safe guards to prevent extensive costs such as requiring the Governor’s approval through a Disaster Declaration.”

The Appropriations Committee voted to move AB 1863 to its “Suspense File.”

Bills on “Suspense” are analyzed further to determine their fiscal impact.

The committee will vote on AB 1863 at a later, undetermined date.