BILL ANALYSIS ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1695| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1695 Author: Beall (D) Amended: 2/24/10 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/15/10 AYES: Leno, Cogdill, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg, Wright ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 69-0, 3/15/10 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Custodial officers: Santa Clara County SOURCE : Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors DIGEST : This bill extends the authority of custodial officers in Santa Clara County to perform specified duties not only at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, but at other health care facilities in the County of Santa Clara, as needed and only as they directly relate to guarding in-custody inmates. ANALYSIS : Under existing law, all cities and counties are authorized to employ custodial officers (public officers who are not peace officers) for the purpose of maintaining order in local detention facilities. (Section 831 of the Penal Code [PEN]) Notwithstanding Section 831, in counties with a population CONTINUED AB 1695 Page 2 of 425,000 or less - and San Diego, Fresno, Kern, Riverside, and Stanislaus counties - "enhanced powers" custodial officers may be employed. Santa Clara County is also included in this section with specified authority for custodial officers who are employed by the Santa Clara County Department of Corrections. (PEN Section 831.5) Those "enhanced powers" custodial officers may carry firearms under the direction of the sheriff while fulfilling specified job-related duties. They, too, are designated as "public officers," not "peace officers"; they are empowered to serve warrants, writs, or subpoenas within the custodial facility, and, as with regular custodial officers, they may use reasonable force to establish and maintain custody, and may release from custody misdemeanants on citation to appear or individuals arrested for intoxication who are not subject to further criminal proceedings. They may also make warrantless arrests within the facility (pursuant to Section 836.5 - misdemeanor in the presence of the officer). Training standards are specified. A peace officer is required to be present in a supervisorial capacity whenever 20 or more custodial officers are on duty (for both Sections 831 and 831.5 officers). (PEN Section 831.5) Existing law also provides that custodial officers employed by the Santa Clara County Department of Corrections are authorized to perform the following additional duties in the facility: 1. Arrest a person without a warrant whenever the custodial officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed a misdemeanor or felony in the presence of the officer that is a violation of a statute or ordinance that the officer has the duty to enforce. 2. Search property, cells, prisoners, or visitors. 3. Conduct strip or body cavity searches of prisoners pursuant to Section 4030. 4. Conduct searches and seizures pursuant to a duly issued warrant. CONTINUED AB 1695 Page 3 5. Segregate prisoners. 6. Classify prisoners for the purpose of housing or participation in supervised activities. These duties may be performed at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center as needed and only as they directly relate to guarding inpatient, in-custody inmates. This subdivision shall not be construed to authorize the performance of any law enforcement activity involving any person other than the inmate or his/her visitors. (PEN Section 831.5(g)) This bill permits custodial officers in Santa Clara County to perform these duties at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, or at other health care facilities in the County of Santa Clara, as needed and only as they directly relate to guarding in-custody inmates. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 6/16/10) Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors (source) ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author: "State law allows county correctional officers to perform their duties at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center while guarding hospitalized inmates. "However, there are instances when individuals in the Department's custody are hospitalized or receive medical treatment at other local hospitals or health care facilities. "AB 1695 would change state law to allow County correctional officers to guard inmates at any hospital or health care facility in Santa Clara County. "This is a simple district bill that will allow the CONTINUED AB 1695 Page 4 County Department of Corrections to maintain custody of individuals, clarify correctional officer's authority, and ensure public safety." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, De La Torre, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez NO VOTE RECORDED: Bass, Blumenfield, Davis, De Leon, Hall, Harkey, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Tran, Vacancy RJG:mw 6/16/10 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED