BILL NUMBER: AB 801 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Swanson
FEBRUARY 17, 2011
An act to add Section 829.7 to amend
Sections 829.5 and 830.7 of the Penal Code, relating to code
enforcement officers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 801, as amended, Swanson. Code enforcement officers:
training. officers.
Existing law defines "code enforcement officer" to mean specified
persons employed by any governmental subdivision, public or
quasi-public corporation, public agency, public service corporation,
any town, city, county, or municipal corporation, whether
incorporated or chartered, who have enforcement authority for health,
safety, and welfare requirements, and whose duties include
enforcement of any statute, rules, regulations, or standards, and who
are authorized to issue citations, or file formal complaints. The
term also refers to any person who is employed by the Department of
Housing and Community Development who has enforcement authority for
health, safety, and welfare requirements relating to housing, as
specified.
Existing law provides that "illegal dumping enforcement officers"
are not peace officers but may exercise the powers of arrest of a
peace officer, as specified, during the course and within the scope
of their employment, if they successfully complete a specified course
in the exercise of those powers.
This bill would delete references to "illegal dumping enforcement
officers" and would instead authorize a code enforcement officer, as
specified, to exercise the powers of arrest of a peace officer in the
manner described above.
Existing law defines a code enforcement officer to include
specified public employees whose duties include enforcement of any
statute, rules, regulations, or standards, and who are authorized to
issue citations or file formal complaints. That definition also
includes specified public employees of the Department of Housing and
Community Development who have enforcement authority for health,
safety, and welfare requirements imposed pursuant to specified
provisions of state law relating to housing.
This bill would establish minimum training standards and a
continuing education requirement for code enforcement officers. The
bill would require each of these employees to complete a certified
basic training program within one year of his or her initial
appointment, and to complete intermediate and advanced levels of
certified training, as specified. The bill would require public
entities that employ a code enforcement officer to adopt requirements
for, and require all code enforcement officers to wear, apparel or a
uniform that allows members of the public to recognize the person
wearing the apparel or uniform as a public officer.
By imposing new requirements on local employees and employers, the
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes
no . State-mandated local program: yes
no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 829.5 of the Penal
Code is amended to read:
829.5. (a) "Code enforcement officer" means any person
who is not described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) and
who is employed by any governmental subdivision, public or
quasi-public corporation, public agency, public service corporation,
any town, city, county, or municipal corporation, whether
incorporated or chartered, who has enforcement authority for health,
safety, and welfare requirements, whose duties include enforcement of
any statute, rule, regulation, or standard, and who is authorized to
issue citations, or file formal complaints.
(b) "Code enforcement officer" also includes any person who is
employed by the Department of Housing and Community Development who
has enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare
requirements pursuant to the Employee Housing Act (Part 1 (commencing
with Section 17000) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code);
the State Housing Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 17910) of
Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); the Manufactured Housing
Act of 1980 (Part 2 (commencing with Section 18000) of Division 13 of
the Health and Safety Code); the Mobilehome Parks Act (Part 2.1
(commencing with Section 18200) of Division 13 of the Health and
Safety Code); and the Special Occupancy Parks Act (Part 2.3
(commencing with Section 18860) of Division 13 of the Health and
Safety Code).
SEC. 2. Section 830.7 of the Penal Code
is amended to read:
830.7. The following persons are not peace officers but may
exercise the powers of arrest of a peace officer as specified in
Section 836 during the course and within the scope of their
employment, if they successfully complete a course in the exercise of
those powers pursuant to Section 832:
(a) Persons designated by a cemetery authority pursuant to Section
8325 of the Health and Safety Code.
(b) Persons regularly employed as security officers for
independent institutions of higher education, recognized under
subdivision (b) of Section 66010 of the Education Code, if the
institution has concluded a memorandum of understanding, permitting
the exercise of that authority, with the sheriff or the chief of
police within whose jurisdiction the institution lies.
(c) Persons regularly employed as security officers for health
facilities, as defined in Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code,
that are owned and operated by cities, counties, and cities and
counties, if the facility has concluded a memorandum of
understanding, permitting the exercise of that authority, with the
sheriff or the chief of police within whose jurisdiction the facility
lies.
(d) Employees or classes of employees of the California Department
of Forestry and Fire Protection designated by the Director of
Forestry and Fire Protection, provided that the primary duty of the
employee shall be the enforcement of the law as that duty is set
forth in Section 4156 of the Public Resources Code.
(e) Persons regularly employed as inspectors, supervisors, or
security officers for transit districts, as defined in Section 99213
of the Public Utilities Code, if the district has concluded a
memorandum of understanding permitting the exercise of that
authority, with, as applicable, the sheriff, the chief of police, or
the Department of the California Highway Patrol within whose
jurisdiction the district lies. For the purposes of this subdivision,
the exercise of peace officer authority may include the authority to
remove a vehicle from a railroad right-of-way as set forth in
Section 22656 of the Vehicle Code.
(f) Nonpeace officers regularly employed as county parole officers
pursuant to Section 3089.
(g) Persons appointed by the Executive Director of the California
Science Center pursuant to Section 4108 of the Food and Agricultural
Code.
(h) Persons regularly employed as investigators by the Department
of Transportation for the City of Los Angeles and designated by local
ordinance as public officers, to the extent necessary to enforce
laws related to public transportation, and authorized by a memorandum
of understanding with the chief of police, permitting the exercise
of that authority. For the purposes of this subdivision,
"investigator" means an employee defined in Section 53075.61 of the
Government Code authorized by local ordinance to enforce laws related
to public transportation. Transportation investigators authorized by
this section shall not be deemed "peace officers" for purposes of
Sections 241 and 243.
(i) Persons regularly employed by any department of the City of
Los Angeles who are designated as security officers and authorized by
local ordinance to enforce laws related to the preservation of peace
in or about the properties owned, controlled, operated, or
administered by any department of the City of Los Angeles and
authorized by a memorandum of understanding with the Chief of Police
of the City of Los Angeles permitting the exercise of that authority.
Security officers authorized pursuant to this subdivision shall not
be deemed peace officers for purposes of Sections 241 and 243.
(j) Illegal dumping enforcement officers
Code enforcement officers , to the extent necessary to
enforce laws related to illegal waste dumping, or littering, and
authorized by a memorandum of understanding with, as
applicable, the sheriff or chief of police within whose jurisdiction
the person is employed, permitting the exercise of that authority.
An "illegal dumping enforcement officer" is defined,
A "code enforcement officer" refers to, for
purposes of this section, as a person employed
full-time, part-time, or as a volunteer after completing training
prescribed by law, by a city, county, or city and county,
whose duties include illegal dumping enforcement and
who is designated by local ordinance as a public officer
and who performs the duties described in Section 829.5 .
An illegal dumping control officer may also be a person
A code enforcement officer who is not regularly
employed by a city, county, or city and county, but who has met all
training requirements and is directly supervised by a regularly
employed dumping control officer. This person
code enforcement officer shall not have the power of arrest or
access to summary criminal history information pursuant to this
section . No person may be appointed as an illegal
dumping enforcement officer if that person A code
enforcement officer who is disqualified pursuant to the
criteria set forth in Section 1029 of the Government Code shall
not have the power of arrest or access to summary criminal history
information pursuant to this section . Persons regularly
employed by a city, county, or city and county designated pursuant to
this subdivision may be furnished state summary criminal history
information upon a showing of compelling need pursuant to subdivision
(c) of Section 11105.
SECTION 1. Section 829.7 is added to the Penal
Code, to read:
829.7. (a) The purpose of this section is to establish uniform
minimum training standards designed to increase the level of
competency and reliability of code enforcement officers, to improve
and expand the professional training available to code enforcement
officers, to encourage the active participation of local governments
in the code enforcement training standards process, and to develop
training criteria that will enhance each local government's ability
to protect the lives and property of its citizens.
(b) A public agency employing a code enforcement officer shall
adopt requirements for, and require all code enforcement officers to
wear, apparel or a uniform that allows members of the public to
recognize the person wearing the apparel or uniform as a public
officer.
(c) A public agency employing a code enforcement officer shall
adopt a set of standards and minimum education requirements that do
all of the following:
(1) Establish the number of hours of continuing education required
for an employee to be certified as a code enforcement officer.
(2) Establish an approved curriculum, which shall include material
regarding changes in applicable law.
(3) Require code enforcement officers to complete, and certify
code enforcement officers as having successfully completed, the
following training programs:
(A) A code enforcement officer shall successfully complete a
certified basic training program within 12 months of his or her
initial appointment. Training may be suspended in the event of an
interruption in employment, but each period of service as a code
enforcement officer shall be counted toward the 12-month time period
described in this subparagraph. The failure of a code enforcement
officer to complete a certified basic training program within two
years after his or her initial appointment shall result in the
forfeiture of any accrued training credit.
(B) A code enforcement officer shall successfully complete the
intermediate level of certified training within 12 months from when
he or she successfully completes the basic training program.
(C) A code enforcement officer shall successfully complete the
advanced level of certification within 24 months from when he or she
successfully completes the intermediate training program.
(D) Code enforcement officers shall successfully complete a
minimum of 16 hours of in-service training each year to maintain a
minimum level of proficiency and certification by California
Association of Code Enforcement Officers or an institute of higher
education.
(d) The certified training program described in paragraph (3) of
subdivision (c) shall be administered by any of the following:
(1) An organization comprised of at least 750 code enforcement
officers, which provides at least 20,000 hours of annual person-hours
of training.
(2) A career technical education program.
(3) An institution of higher education.
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.