BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  SB 1254|
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                                 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





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          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 







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          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







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          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

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