BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1254| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: SB 1254 Author: La Malfa (R) Amended: 4/9/12 Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/24/12 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price, Steinberg SUBJECT : Custodial officers: Trinity and Yuba SOURCE : Trinity County Sheriff Yuba County Sheriff DIGEST : This bill grants to Trinity and Yuba Counties the authority currently granted to several other counties to employ "custodial deputy sheriffs" who are "employed to perform duties exclusively or initially relating to custodial assignments," pursuant to Penal Code Section 830.1(c). ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that any deputy sheriff of the County of Los Angeles, and any deputy sheriff of the Butte, Calaveras, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake, Lassen, Mariposa, Mendocino, Plumas, Riverside, San Benito, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, and Tuolumne Counties who is employed to perform duties exclusively or initially relating to custodial assignments with responsibilities for CONTINUED SB 1254 Page 2 maintaining the operations of county custodial facilities, including the custody, care, supervision, security, movement, and transportation of inmates, is a peace officer whose authority extends to any place in the state only while engaged in the performance of the duties of his/her respective employment and for the purpose of carrying out the primary function of employment relating to his/her custodial assignments, or when performing other law enforcement duties directed by his/her employing agency during a local state of emergency. (Penal Code (PEN) Section 830.1(c)) 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. (PEN Section 831) Notwithstanding Section 831, in counties with a population 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 Section 831 and 831.5 officers). Existing law establishes within the Department of SB 1254 Page 3 Corrections and Rehabilitation the Corrections Standards Authority and makes the Authority responsible for general oversight of local detention facilities, including selection, training, and education of custodial personnel. (PEN Section 6024 et seq.) Existing law requires every peace officer to complete an introductory course of training prescribed by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training and requires any person who completes that training, but is not employed as a peace officer within three years, or who has a three-year or longer break in service as a peace officer, to pass a specified examination, except for specifically exempted persons, including a peace officer specified in PEN Section 830.1(c) who is assigned to perform duties exclusively or initially relating to specified custodial assignments, if the peace officer has previously successfully completed the required training, and since that time has been continually employed as a custodial officer by the agency appointing him/her as a peace officer. (PEN Section 832) Existing law sets qualifications for "holding office as a peace officer" including that applicants be found to be free from any physical, emotional, or mental condition which might adversely affect the exercise of the powers of a peace officer. (Government Code Sections 1029 and 1031) This bill adds Trinity and Yuba Counties to the list of counties that may employ custodial deputy sheriffs as defined in PEN Section 830.1(c). Prior Legislation AB 1695 (Bell), Chapter 575, Statutes of 2010 AB 2215 (Berryhill), Chapter 15, Statutes of 2008 AB 151 (Berryhill), Chapter 84, Statutes of 2007 AB 272 (Matthews), Chapter127, Statutes of 2005 AB 1931 (La Malfa), Chapter 516, Statutes of 2004 AB 1254 (La Malfa), Chapter 70, Statutes of 2003 SB 570 (Chesbro), Chapter 710, Statutes of 2003 AB 2346 (Dickerson), Chapter 185, Statutes of 2002 SB 926 (Battin), Chapter 68, Statutes of 2001 SB 1762 (Alpert), Chapter 61, Statutes of 2000 SB 1254 Page 4 AB 574 (Villariagosa), Chapter 950, Statutes of 1996 FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 4/25/12) Trinity County Sheriff (co-source) Yuba County Sheriff (co-source) California State Sheriffs' Association ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author: This bill adds Trinity and Yuba Counties to the existing authority currently granted to Los Angeles County and 31 other counties to employ deputy sheriffs who are "employed to perform duties exclusively or initially relating to custodial assignments" who are peace officers pursuant to Penal Code section 830.1(c). This change will provide Yuba and Trinity Counties the necessary flexibility to properly operate their custodial facilities, which is even more pressing in light of public safety realignment which will result in the transfer of many current state prison inmates to county jails and other facilities. Custodial classifications allow counties a wider array of means to staff facilities and transport prisoners, flexibility which is particularly important in rural counties. RJG:kc 4/26/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****