BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1351|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1351
Author: Rubio (D), et al.
Amended: 3/28/12
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 3/27/12
AYES: Hancock, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/24/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
SUBJECT : Local correctional peace officers
SOURCE : Association of Cities Allied with Public Safety
DIGEST : This bill clarifies that the definition of local
correctional officer, as specified, includes peace officers
employed by a city, county, or city and county which
operates a local community correctional facility under
contract with public agencies other than the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), as specified, who
have the authority and responsibility for maintaining
custody of inmates sentenced to or housed in that facility,
and who perform tasks related to the operation of that
facility.
ANALYSIS : Current law establishes various
classifications of peace officer with limited powers. (See
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Penal Code Section 830, et seq.) One such classification
is a peace officer employed by a city, county, or city and
county which operates a local community correctional
facility under contract with the CDCR, as specified, who
has the authority and responsibility for maintaining
custody of specified state prison inmates or wards, and who
performs tasks related to the operation of a detention
facility used for the detention of persons who have
violated parole or are awaiting parole back into the
community or, upon court order, either for their own
safekeeping or for the specific purpose of serving a
sentence therein. (Penal Code Section 830.55(a))
Current law states that these local correctional officers
shall have no right to carry or possess firearms in the
performance of his/her prescribed duties, except, under the
direction of the superintendent of the facility, while
engaged in transporting prisoners, guarding hospitalized
prisoners, or suppressing riots, lynchings, escapes, or
rescues in or about specified detention facilities. (Penal
Code Section 830.55(b))
Current law provides that local correctional officers,
within 90 days following the date of the initial assignment
to that position, shall satisfactorily complete the
training course specified in Section 832. In addition,
these employees, within one year following the date of the
initial assignment as an officer, shall have satisfactorily
met the minimum selection and training standards prescribed
by the Board of Corrections pursuant to Section 6035.
These local correctional officers, before the expiration of
the 90-day and one-year periods described in this
subdivision, who have not yet completed the required
training, may perform the duties of a correctional officer
only while under the direct supervision of a correctional
officer who has completed the training required in this
section, and shall not carry or possess firearms in the
performance of their prescribed duties. (Penal Code
Section 830.55(c))
Current law provides that it shall not be construed to
confer any authority upon a local correctional officer
except while on duty. (Penal Code Section 830.55(d))
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Current law states that a local correctional officer may
use reasonable force in establishing and maintaining
custody of persons delivered to him/her by a law
enforcement officer, may make arrests for misdemeanors and
felonies within the local detention facility pursuant to a
duly issued warrant, and may make warrantless arrests
pursuant to Section 836.5 only during the duration of
his/her job. (Penal Code Section 830.55(e))
Current law provides that, upon agreement with the sheriff
or director of the county department of corrections, a
board of supervisors may enter into a contract with other
public agencies to provide housing for inmates sentenced to
county jail in community correctional facilities created
pursuant to Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of
Title 7. This section shall remain in effect only until
January 1, 2015, and as of that date is repealed, unless a
later enacted statute, that is enacted before that date,
deletes or extends that date. (Penal Code Section 4115.55)
This bill provides that the local correctional officer
classification described above would include peace officers
employed by a city, county, or city and county which
operates a local community correctional facility under
contract with public agencies other than CDCR, as
specified, who have the authority and responsibility for
maintaining custody of inmates sentenced to or housed in
that facility, and who perform tasks related to the
operation of that facility. (This clarifies that the
entity with authority to establish a community correctional
facility is the county board of supervisors.)
Background
Community Correctional Facilities (CCFs) . CCFs have
existed in California dating back to the 1960s. (Penal
Code Section 6250, et seq.) "The primary purpose of such
facilities is to provide housing, supervision, counseling,
and other correctional programs for persons committed to
the Department of Corrections." (Penal Code Section 6251.)
The Legislature has, from time to time, authorized CDCR to
establish CCFs for specific purposes, such as to provide
drug treatment (Penal Code Section 6250.5) and to serve as
"re-entry" centers:
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A community correctional reentry center shall prepare
the inmate for reintegration into society. These
centers shall provide counseling in the areas of drug
and alcohol abuse, stress, employment skills, victim
awareness, and shall, in general, prepare the inmate for
return to society. The program shall also emphasize
literacy training and utilize computer-supported
training so that the inmate can read and write at least
at a ninth grade level. (Penal Code §6258. For an
impermissible use of a CCF see Pitts v. Reagan , 14 Cal.
App. 3d 112 (1971) Ýuse of inmates as emergency farm
labor].)
Prior to last year's Public Safety Realignment, CCFs were
only authorized to be operated by CDCR. Under realignment,
the lower-level offenders previously housed at CDCR will
now be "realigned" to the custody of the counties. This is
the very inmate population that was previously housed in
CCFs. Therefore, along with the passage of realignment
last year, the Legislature authorized counties to contract
with local public agencies to use CCFs to house inmates
sentenced to county jail. (Penal Code Section 4115.55.)
This bill addresses the status of the correctional officers
who supervise inmates at CCFs.
This bill extends the same limited peace officer status to
local correctional officers employed at CCFs established by
counties as currently applies to those officers employed at
CC's established by CDCR. While the authority to establish
CCFs will now rest predominantly, if not exclusively with
counties, the duties of the correctional staff at these
facilities would appear to be the same.
Penal Code Section 13540 requires that the Commission on
Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) perform a
feasibility study when anyone who is not a peace officer
seeks peace officer status or whenever a peace officer
seeks a change to their status. POST performed such a
study in 1991 with respect to local correctional officers
employed at county correctional facilities for parole
violators authorized pursuant to Penal Code section 2910.5.
That study examined the duties of such officers and
concluded that the peace officer status created in Penal
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Code section 830.55 was appropriate for those employees in
that setting. ( A Report to the Legislature on Local
Correctional Peace Officer , Commission on Peace Officer
Standards and Training, on file with the Committee.)
With respect to this bill, POST states that the duties of
local correctional peace officers at CCF's would be
sufficiently similar to those that were the subject of the
1991 study as to preclude the need for any further
feasibility study and that peace officer status pursuant to
Penal Code Section 830.55 is appropriate for these
employees.
Prior legislation . AB 117 (Assembly Budget Committee),
Chapter 39, Statutes of 2011.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, unknown,
potential future costs in the range of $50,000 to $100,000
(General Fund) per year related to state reimbursement of
local costs covered under several existing reimbursable
mandates related to peace officers.
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/24/12)
Association of Cities Allied with Public Safety (source)
California State Association of Counties
California State Sheriffs' Association
City of Delano
City of Shafter
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Urban Counties Caucus
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "CCFs are
critical to ensuring that realignment works in California.
Currently, custody staff at CCFs across the state are
unable to work without peace officer status. In the
Central Valley, SB 1351 would restore over 200 well-paying
jobs at public CCFs. This bill would ensure these
employees are rehired with peace officer status and extend
to them the same powers and responsibilities that they held
under contract with CDCR. This would enable the CCFs to
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enter into new contracts with local counties for inmate
housing."
The City of Shafter states:
With the Legislature's recent passage of AB 109, the
Public Safety Realignment Program, that took effect
October 1, 2011, all public CCFs were closed due to the
state transferring its responsibilities to counties for
the supervision and housing of low-level inmates who are
designated non-sex, non-serious and non-violent
offenders. Through trailer bill language, public CCFs
are the only entities currently authorized to contract
with counties and sheriff departments to house their
local inmate population. This authorization is in
effect for the next three years.
However, overlooked through the realignment process was
the continued authorization for peace officer status of
public CCF custody staff. This designation, which has
been in effect since 1990, is critical in that many
counties and sheriff departments across California
require peace officer status for any entity they enter
into contract with to provide overflow beds for their
local inmates. Already, larger counties in California
are seeing their local jails reach design capacity
limits and are pursuing
contracts with public CCFs for additional bed space they
need to house their local inmate population.
RJG:mw 5/24/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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