Grand juries would be prohibited from investigating police shootings and cases where an individual dies from excessive force during an arrest under a bill passed Thursday by the California state Senate. Protests sprouted up nationwide last fall after grand juries in Missouri and New York declined to indict white police officers who had killed unarmed black men during confrontations. The system, in which a jury of citizens weighs the evidence to decide whether to bring charges, came under fire for its secrecy. Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, who introduced Senate Bill 227, argued that the lack of transparency and oversight in grand jury deliberations, which do not involve judges, defense attorneys or cross-examination of witnesses, did not serve the public.

If this becomes full law in California, it's a game changer. The full bill can be viewed here . In order for it to become law, it must pass the California Assembly and be signed by the governor.

Ultimately, many cases of police violence, excessive force, and deaths caused by police officers die before grand juries, and the public is left with little insight as to why. Such was the case in the deaths of Mike Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York. Every state—arguably every major city in the country—needs a fully independent department that solely investigates and prosecutes matters of alleged police misconduct.