BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair A
2013-2014 Regular Session B
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AB 128 (Bradford)
As Introduced January 15, 2013
Hearing date: June 11, 2013
Penal Code
SM:mc
LOS ANGELES AIRPORT POLICE
HISTORY
Source: Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers' Association
Prior Legislation: AB 2137 (Bradford) - 2012, held on suspense
in Assembly Appropriations
AB 1377 (Butler) - 2011, held on suspense in
Assembly Appropriations
AB 1882 (Frommer) - 2006, died in Senate Public
Safety
Support: Airport Police Command Officer's Association of Los
Angeles; Alliance for a Regional Solution to Airport
Congestion (ARSAC); Barstow Police Officer's
Association (BPOA); Los Angeles Police Chief; Chula
Vista Police Officers Association; Deputy Sheriff's
Association of Alameda County; Eric Garcetti, Los
Angeles City Councilmember; Fresno Deputy Sheriff's
Association; Gardena Police Officer's Association;
Mayor of Inglewood; Inglewood Police Officers
Association; Irwindale Police Officer's Association;
Chief of Police of the Los Angeles World Airports; Los
Angeles Detention Officers Association; Los Angeles
Airport Police Supervisor's Association; Chief of Los
Angeles Port Police; Neighborhood Council of
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Westchester Playa; Oakland Police Officers Association;
Peace Officers Research Association of California
(PORAC); San Bernardino Police Officers Association;
Torrance Police Officers' Association; Tulare County
DSA; Westchester Democratic Club
Opposition:Los Angeles Police Protective League; Riverside
Sheriffs Association
Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 62 - Noes 4
KEY ISSUE
SHOULD THE PEACE OFFICER STATUS OF AIRPORT LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
REGULARLY EMPLOYED BY LOS ANGELES WORLD AIRPORT BE CHANGED TO PEACE
OFFICERS WHOSE AUTHORITY EXTENDS TO ANY PLACE IN CALIFORNIA, AS
SPECIFIED?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to (1) change the peace officer
status of airport law enforcement officers regularly employed by
Los Angeles World Airport to peace officers whose authority
extends to any place in California, as specified; and (2) define
"LAWA" as the department of the City of Los Angeles that owns
and operates the Los Angeles International Airport, the Ontario
International Airport, the Palmdale Regional Airport and the Van
Nuys Airport.
Current law provides that the following 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
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or to prevent the perpetrator's escape, as specified, or during
a state of emergency, as specified:
Members of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit
District Police Department if their primary duty is
enforcement of the law in or about property owned, operated
or administered by the district or when performing a
necessary duty with respect to patrons, employees and
properties of the district.
Harbor or port police if their primary duty is
enforcement of law in or about property owned, operated or
administered by harbor or port or when performing a
necessary duty with respect to patrons, employees and
properties of the harbor or port.
Transit police officers or peace offices of a county,
city, transit development board or district if the primary
duty is the enforcement of the law in or abut property
owned, operated or administered by the employing agency or
when performing a necessary duty with respect to patrons,
employees and properties of the employing agency.
Persons employed as airport law enforcement officers by
a city, county or district operating the airport or a joint
powers agency operating the airport if their primary duty
is the enforcement of the law in or about property owned,
operated and administered by the employing agency or when
performing a necessary duty with respect to patrons,
employees and properties of the employing agency.
Railroad police officers commissioned by the Governor if
their primary duty is the enforcement of the law in or
about property owned, operated or administered by the
employing agency or when performing necessary duties with
respect to patrons, employees and properties of the
employing agency. (Penal Code § 830.33.)
Current law declares specific persons to be peace officers: any
sheriff, under sheriff, deputy sheriff, chief of police, officer
of municipal public safety agency who performs police functions,
police officer, officer of the San Diego Unified Port District
Harbor Police, marshal or deputy marshal of a superior court or
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county, port warden or port police office of the Harbor
Department of the City of Los Angeles, or inspector or
investigator employed in that capacity in the office of the
district attorney. Provides that the authority of these peace
officers extends to any place in California as follows (Penal
Code § 830.1(a)):
As to a public offense committed or which there is
probable cause to believe has been committed within the
political subdivision that employs the peace officer or in
which the peace officer serves. (Penal Code §
830.1(a)(1).)
Where the peace officer has prior consent of the chief
of police or chief, director or chief executive officer of
a consolidated municipal public safety agency, or person
authorized by him or her to give consent if the place is
within a city or of the sheriff, or person authorized by
him or her to give consent if the place is within a county.
(Penal Code § 830.1(a) (2).)
As to a public offense committed or which there is
probable cause to believe has been committed in the peace
officer's presence, and with respect to which there is
immediate danger to person or property, or of the
perpetrator's escape. (Penal Code § 830.1(a)(3).)
Current law provides that in order to change peace officer
designation or status, the Commission on Peace Officers
Standards and Training (POST) must be requested to undertake a
study to assess the need for such a change and requires POST to
undertake the study in accordance with its regulations. (Penal
Code § 13540(b).)
This bill would change the peace officer status of airport law
enforcement officers regularly employed by Los Angeles World
Airport to peace officers whose authority extends to any place
in California, as specified.
This bill defines "LAWA" as the department of the City of Los
Angeles that owns and operates the Los Angeles International
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Airport, the Ontario International Airport, the Palmdale
Regional Airport and the Van Nuys Airport.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
For the last several years, severe overcrowding in California's
prisons has been the focus of evolving and expensive litigation
relating to conditions of confinement. On May 23, 2011, the
United States Supreme Court ordered California to reduce its
prison population to 137.5 percent of design capacity within two
years from the date of its ruling, subject to the right of the
state to seek modifications in appropriate circumstances.
Beginning in early 2007, Senate leadership initiated a policy to
hold legislative proposals which could further aggravate the
prison overcrowding crisis through new or expanded felony
prosecutions. Under the resulting policy known as "ROCA" (which
stands for "Receivership/ Overcrowding Crisis Aggravation"), the
Committee held measures which created a new felony, expanded the
scope or penalty of an existing felony, or otherwise increased
the application of a felony in a manner which could exacerbate
the prison overcrowding crisis. Under these principles, ROCA
was applied as a content-neutral, provisional measure necessary
to ensure that the Legislature did not erode progress towards
reducing prison overcrowding by passing legislation which would
increase the prison population. ROCA necessitated many hard and
difficult decisions for the Committee.
In January of 2013, just over a year after the enactment of the
historic Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011, the State of
California filed court documents seeking to vacate or modify the
federal court order issued by the Three-Judge Court three years
earlier to reduce the state's prison population to 137.5 percent
of design capacity. The State submitted in part that the, ". .
. population in the State's 33 prisons has been reduced by over
24,000 inmates since October 2011 when public safety realignment
went into effect, by more than 36,000 inmates compared to the
2008 population . . . , and by nearly 42,000 inmates since 2006
. . . ." Plaintiffs, who opposed the state's motion, argue in
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part that, "California prisons, which currently average 150% of
capacity, and reach as high as 185% of capacity at one prison,
continue to deliver health care that is constitutionally
deficient." In an order dated January 29, 2013, the federal
court granted the state a six-month extension to achieve the
137.5 % prisoner population cap by December 31st of this year.
In an order dated April 11, 2013, the Three-Judge Court denied
the state's motions, and ordered the state of California to
"immediately take all steps necessary to comply with this
Court's . . . Order . . . requiring defendants to reduce overall
prison population to 137.5% design capacity by December 31,
2013."
The ongoing litigation indicates that prison capacity and
related issues concerning conditions of confinement remain
unresolved. However, in light of the real gains in reducing the
prison population that have been made, although even greater
reductions are required by the court, the Committee will review
each ROCA bill with more flexible consideration. The following
questions will inform this consideration:
whether a measure erodes realignment;
whether a measure addresses a crime which is directly
dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there
is no other reasonably appropriate sanction;
whether a bill corrects a constitutional infirmity or
legislative drafting error;
whether a measure proposes penalties which are
proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other
reasonably appropriate remedy; and
whether a bill addresses a major area of public safety
or criminal activity for which there is no other
reasonable, appropriate remedy.
COMMENTS
1. Need for This Bill
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According to the author:
Existing law requires any person or person designated
as a peace officer and who desires a change in peace
officer designation or status to request the
Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training
(POST) to undertake a study to assess the need for the
change in designation or status. (Penal Code
13540(b))
This bill would reclassify any person regularly
employed as an airport law enforcement officer by the
Los Angeles World Airports from their current peace
officer status pursuant to Penal Code section 830.33
to the status and authority granted under Penal Code
section 830.1.
2. POST Feasibility Study
POST conducts feasibility studies when a change of designation
is requested regarding an existing peace officer position. LAWA
requested a feasibility study regarding a change in designation
for LAWA airport law enforcement officers from Penal Code
Section 830.33 to Penal Code Section 830.1. POST completed this
study on June 1, 2005.
At the conclusion of their study, POST recommended that LAWA
police officers be designated as peace officers under Penal Code
Section 830.1. The study included extensive interviews with
LAWA officers, the Los Angeles Police Department, and other
local law enforcement and federal law enforcement agencies. The
report acknowledged that the duties and responsibilities of LAWA
officers stem from the Airport Commission and cited 10 duties
and responsibilities which require the additional authority
provided by a Penal Code Section 830.1 designation:
The need to possess explosives for training canines
for bomb detection.
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The duty to seize explosives and incendiary devices,
including unclassified explosives.
The need to possess diversionary devices to
immediately control an incident at airports.
The duty to conduct background investigations on
people working at airports in accordance with the Federal
Transportation Security Agency regulations.
The authority for an officer to seize firearms or
other deadly weapons at the scene of domestic violence
calls in and around airport terminals, in residential
areas owned by airports and in businesses under LAWA's
control.
The responsibility to keep unsafe vehicles off
public roads in and around airport property and to
prevent them from entering airports.
The function of preventing gridlock on roads leading
to and from airports.
The prevention, enforcement and investigation of all
laws regarding making and giving false bomb reports.
The need to issue a citation to a person involved in
a traffic accident where there is reasonable cause to
believe the person committed a vehicular misdemeanor or
infraction. (POST, A Report to the Legislature and the
Los Angeles Airport Police Department on Peace Officer
Feasibility Study (June 1, 2005).)
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3. Statement in Support
The Los Angeles Airport Peace Officers Association states:
As you are aware, AB 128 would codify a recommendation
by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and
Training (POST), California's leading authority on law
enforcement, to classify the LAXPD within the
California Penal Code 830.1, providing our officers
official certification to the standard in our state.
It will afford airport police the respect reflective
of their training and education and provide the
citizens they serve services important to their
mission.
Although post has received requests by various law
enforcement agencies throughout the state for a
similar classification, only three entities have
fulfilled the rigorous requirements established by
POST to receive a recommended change to 830.1 status:
Los Angeles Port Police, the San Diego Airport and
Harbor Police, and the LAXPD. The state has never
refused a POST recommendation for 830.1 status.
4. Statement in Opposition
The Riverside Sheriffs Association states:
1. AB 128 undermines local control.
Last year, serious concerns about Los Angeles
international Airport security prompted Los Angeles
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to appoint a 26 member
"Blue Ribbon" Commission to study LAX and to report
back to the Mayor and City Council as soon as
feasible. There are many complex security,
deployment, and fiscal implications involved,
including consideration of upgrading the Los Angeles
International World Airport (LAWA) police to Penal
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Code 830.1 status. The issue of a merger of LAWA into
LAPD is still one being actively considered by the
Mayor and the City. AB 128 would "end run" this local
process, undermining local control!
2. AB 128 makes a "Special Statute" for the City of
Los Angeles.
LAWA has never had the support of the Mayor or City
Council in its efforts to achieve PC 830.1 status.
Indeed, the mayor has opposed to previous versions of
this legislation because LAWA is trying to accomplish
indirectly what they have not tried to accomplish
directly - namely, meet and confer and make their case
with local officials and not the state legislature.
AB 128 imposes a "special statute" on California's
largest charter city dictating to the mayor and city
council a policy direction they have not chosen!
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