BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 398
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Date of Hearing: April 10, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 398 (Fox) - As Introduced: February 15, 2013
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill adds county coroners and deputy coroners, who are not
also part of a sheriff's department, to the list of public
safety officers covered by the Public Safety Officers Procedural
Bill of Rights Act (POBOR), which provides specific conditions
and procedures to be followed whenever a public safety officer
is investigated for misconduct.
FISCAL EFFECT
Unknown, potentially moderate state costs, in excess of
$150,000, to the extent POBOR is utilized in additional and
complex cases. While the POBOR expansion in this bill may apply
to no more than 100 positions statewide - because most coroners
already are covered by POBOR as employees of sheriff's
departments - the cost per case could be high.
The existing POBOR mandate results in mandated costs on local
governments in the tens of millions of dollars annually. As
recently as 2011, the state's backlog of POBOR mandate claims
was about $150 million.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . Sponsored by the L.A. County Professional Peace
Officers Association (LACPPOC), this bill addresses what the
author views as an anomaly found in about 10 counties where
the coroner is not also the sheriff or under the sheriff's
administration. Though coroners and deputy coroners are peace
officers in all counties, in counties where coroners are not
part of the Sheriff's Department, coroners are not covered by
AB 398
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POBOR.
2)Similar legislation was vetoed in 2004. AB 2893 (Montanez)
passed off of the Suspense Files of both houses and was vetoed
by Gov. Schwarzenegger, who stated:
"The Public Safety Officer Procedural Bill of Rights Act was
intended to provide an additional layer of protection to peace
officers due to the unique circumstances that they face while
enforcing California's laws. Their job leads to a variety of
public interactions and requires split-second decision making
that could mean life or death for the officer or members of
the community. While I recognize the vital service that
coroners provide to the citizens of California, their job
duties do not generally place them in situations that would
necessitate the protections provided in this Act.
"In addition, as public employees, coroners already have
significant civil service protections. Mandating that they be
covered by the Act would simply remove local decision making
and increase State costs without providing a significant
benefit to the public."
3)Prior legislation includes several unsuccessful efforts more
than a decade ago to expand POBOR coverage to civilian
employees, specified custodial officers, reserve peace
officers, and others. These efforts failed largely due to
opposition from local governments and law enforcement
regarding cost and the contention that POBOR was meant to
create front-line law enforcement officers.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081