BILL NUMBER: AB 1586 INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Swanson SEPTEMBER 2, 2009 An act to add Section 28767.8 to the Public Utilities Code, relating to transportation. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1586, as introduced, Swanson. San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District. Existing law creates the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART), governed by an elected board of directors, with various duties and responsibilities relative to the operation of a rail transit system. Existing law authorizes the district to maintain a police department. This bill would authorize the BART board of directors to establish an office of independent police auditor that would report directly to the board and investigate complaints filed by members of the public against district police officers relative to on-duty misconduct, as specified. If the board establishes an office of independent police auditor, the bill would require the board to organize, reorganize, and manage the office and would require the auditor to prepare reports of his or her activities. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be cited as, the Bart Public Safety Accountability Act. SEC. 2. Section 28767.8 is added to the Public Utilities Code, to read: 28767.8. (a) The board may establish an office of independent police auditor, reporting directly to the board, to investigate complaints filed by members of the public against district police officers. (b) The independent police auditor shall have the following powers and duties: (1) To investigate those complaints or allegations of on-duty misconduct by district police officers received from members of the public, within the independent police auditor's purview as it is set by the board. (2) To reach independent findings as to the validity of each complaint. (3) To recommend appropriate disciplinary action against district police officers for those citizen complaints determined to be sustained. (c) The board shall organize, reorganize, and manage the office of the independent police auditor. Notwithstanding the authority granted the general manager in this part, the board may, by resolution, authorize a citizen review board to participate in recommending appropriate disciplinary action, if any, within the independent police auditor's authority. (d) The independent police auditor shall prepare, in accordance with the rules of the office, reports of his or her activities as permitted by law.