BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Senator Loni Hancock, Chair A 2013-2014 Regular Session B 1 2 8 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 (More) AB 128 (Bradford) Page 2 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 (More) AB 128 (Bradford) Page 3 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 (More) AB 128 (Bradford) Page 4 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 (More) AB 128 (Bradford) Page 5 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 (More) AB 128 (Bradford) Page 6 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 (More) AB 128 (Bradford) Page 7 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. (More) AB 128 (Bradford) Page 8 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).) (More) 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 (More) AB 128 (Bradford) Page 10 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! ***************