BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Senator Loni Hancock, Chair S 2011-2012 Regular Session B 1 4 6 SB 1466 (De León) 6 As Amended August 27, 2012 Hearing date: In accordance with SR 29.10(d) Penal Code SM:dl PEACE OFFICERS COMMENTS Please see the attached Senate Floor analysis. This bill is before the Committee pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10. The Committee, by a majority vote of the membership, may: 1. hold the bill; or 2. return the bill to the Senate Floor for consideration of the bill as amended in the Assembly. ***************** (More) SB 1466 (De León) Page 2 (More) SB 1466 (De León) Page 3 ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1466| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 1466 Author: De León (D) Amended: 8/27/12 Vote: 21 PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available SUBJECT : Peace officers: City of Los Angeles SOURCE : City of Los Angeles DIGEST : This bill transfers control over the authorization of peace officer status for officers employed by the Department of General Services (GSD) of the City of Los Angeles from GSD to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Assembly Amendments delete the Senate version of the bill relating to the Cal Grant Program, and instead add the current language. ANALYSIS : Existing law: (More) SB 1466 (De León) Page 4 1. Provides that an officer of GSD is a peace officer if he or she is designated by the general manager of the department and his or her primary duty is the enforcement of the law in or about properties owned, operated, or administered by the department or when performing necessary duties with respect to patrons, employees, and properties of the department. 2. Requires, for a peace officer designated pursuant to existing law and authorized to carry firearms by GSD, the completion of an introductory course of firearm training and requalification for the use of firearms every six months. 3. Prohibits authorization for a peace officer designated pursuant to existing law and authorized to carry firearms by GSD to carry a firearm when he or she is not on duty. 4. Provides that the following persons are peace officers, who may carry firearms only if authorized and under terms and conditions specified by their employing agency, whose authority extends to any place in California for the purpose of performing their primary duty, or when making an arrest for a public offense where there is immediate danger to a person or property or to prevent the perpetrator's escape, as specified, or during a state of emergency, as specified: A. A police officer of the County of Los Angeles, if the primary duty of the officer is the enforcement of the law in or about properties owned, operated, or administered by his/her employing agency or when performing necessary duties with respect to patrons, employees, and properties of his/her employing agency; B. A person designated by a local agency as a park ranger and regularly employed and paid in that capacity, if the primary duty of the officer is the protection of park and other property of the agency and the preservation of the peace therein; and C. A housing authority patrol officer employed by the (More) SB 1466 (De León) Page 5 housing authority of a city, district, county, or city and county or employed by the police department of a city and county, if the primary duty of the officer is the enforcement of the law in or about properties owned, operated, or administered by his/her employing agency or when performing necessary duties with respect to patrons, employees, and properties of his/her employing agency. This bill: 1. Revises the authorization of peace officer status for individuals employed by GSD to require transfer to LAPD and designation by the Chief of Police of LAPD, or his/her designee, instead of the general manager of GSD. 2. Specifies that GSD peace officers may be authorized to carry firearms by LAPD, instead of GSD. 3. Defines "properties", as they relate to the City of Los Angeles and the necessary duties of peace officers transferred from GSD to LAPD, to mean "city offices, city buildings, facilities, parks, yards, and warehouses." Comments In 1979, GSD established within it a Security Services Division to provide security and basic law enforcement services to City-owned and managed properties. In 1987, the Los Angeles City Council authorized select security officers to become unarmed peace officers with arrest powers to enforce crimes that were occurring at the various City yards, warehouses and facilities. In 1998, the City Council approved the creation of a GSD police force with fully trained, accredited and armed peace officers. By 2005, the City Council had expanded the GSD police role by combining several City security sections and patrol operations in the newly-created Office of Public Safety (OPS), under GSD. State statute specifies that the primary duty of OPS peace officers is law enforcement in or about property owned or operated by GSD, and places certain (More) SB 1466 (De León) Page 6 restrictions on those officers' ability to carry firearms. 97 sworn and roughly 300 civilian OPS employees are responsible for the safety and security of municipal facilities including the Civic Center, the L.A. Zoo, the Convention Center, Bureau of Sanitation plants, over 70 Libraries and 400 City Parks. On May 21, 2012, the Los Angeles City Council formally adopted a recommendation from the Office of the City Administrative Officer (CAO) to consolidate OPS into LAPD to save money in the City's 2012-13 budget, effective July 1, 2012. The CAO's recommendation that the City Council approve the consolidation plan was based on "the need to increase service levels through operational efficiencies, enhance the professionalism and accountability of security services, and provide General Fund savings." Concurrently, LAPD created the Security Services Division (SECSD) within its own Office of Special Operations in expectation of the transfer. All civilian employees of OPS were transferred to SECSD on July 1, 2012. LAPD plans to absorb the responsibilities of 37 GSD sworn officers currently assigned to patrol duties into the existing patrol function of LAPD. The remaining 60 sworn OPS personnel will remain on the GSD payroll until their statutory authorization has been amended to allow them to maintain their peace officer status while employed by LAPD, at which time they will also be transferred to SECSD. (More) According to an August 20, 2012 memorandum from the CAO, all OPS employees will retain their existing job classifications and pension plans. The bill does not change the peace officers' authority to carry firearms. The August 2012 CAO memorandum also states that the consolidation is expected to result in savings of $2.23 million to the City's General Fund in FY 2012-13 due to the elimination of one police academy class of 40 officers. The on-going General Fund savings are estimated to be at least $2 million per year thereafter. The City also expects to realize additional equipment savings from the reduced GSD sworn officer deployment level. The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) was established by the Legislature in 1959 to set minimum selection and training standards for California law enforcement. POST also frequently conducts feasibility studies when a change of peace officer designation is requested. Penal Code Section 13540 requires that peace officers desiring a change in peace officer designation or status to request the Commission to undertake a study to assess the need for a change in designation or status. The Commission may charge any person, agency, or organization requesting a study, a fee, not to exceed the actual cost of undertaking the study. The City of Los Angeles has not requested a POST study in relation to the proposed personnel transfer from GSD to LAPD. Related and Prior Legislation AB 1763 (Davis, 2012) contains language similar in effect to this bill. The bill is currently pending in the Senate Rules Committee. AB 2137 (Bradford, 2012) would have extended the authority of Los Angeles World Airports peace officers to reach any place within California without restrictions on their arrest powers and authority to carry firearms. The bill was held under submission in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. AB 1377 (Butler, 2011) was virtually identical to AB 2137, and was held under submission in the Assembly Appropriations Committee. (More) SB 1466 (De León) Page 8 AB 1882 (Frommer, 2006) was virtually identical to AB 2137 and was held in the Senate Public Safety Committee at the author's request. AB 1308 (Cardenas), Chapter 446, Statutes of 1997, authorized the peace officers of GSD to carry firearms, as permitted by GSD. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/12) City of Los Angeles (source) Los Angeles Police Protective League JJA:m 8/30/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****