Culver City Observer -

Senator Curren D. Price, Jr., (D-Culver City) has introduced , Senate Bill 1185, legislation relating to the establishment of a state interagency task force on the underground economy - the Centralized Intelligence Partnership Act.

The objective of this legislation is to tackle piracy, business fraud and the state’s expanding underground economy, which ranges from the sale of stolen or counterfeit products to the exploitation of victims of human trafficking

SB 1185 would create the Centralized Intelligence Partnership (CIP), a multiagency task force comprised of representatives from at least nine agencies, including the BOE, the Franchise Tax Board, Employment Development Department, as well as the Departments of Insurance, Justice, Health, Motor Vehicles, Consumer Affairs, and Industrial Relations. The bill is sponsored by the Board of Equalization and BOE Chairman Jerome Horton.

.Co-authored with Assembly Speaker pro Tempore Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco), this multiagency partnership would combat the illegal activities that cost California’s economy an estimated $8 billion annually.

Last June, Senator Price convened an informational hearing of the Joint Committee on the Arts to investigate piracy issues during which experts examined the current status of piracy and counterfeiting and the impact that these crimes have on the creative community and the economy.