BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 703
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 30, 2013
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 703 (Hall) - As Amended: April 2, 2013
SUMMARY : Expands the authority of law enforcement agencies to
issue specified forms of identification to honorably retired
peace officers, and authorizes reserve peace officers to carry
concealed weapons upon retirement or separation from service,
and makes other conforming changes. Specifically, this bill :
1)Expands the list of law enforcement agencies authorized to
issue identification in the form of a badge, insignia, emblem,
device, label, certificate, card or writing, as well as to
revoke that identification in the event of misuse or abuse.
2)Expands the definition of an "honorably retired" peace officer
to be a person who has met his or her department's years of
service requirement, and has accepted a separation of service
or disability retirement.
3)Expands the list of peace officers entitled to an endorsement
for a concealed weapons (CCW) permit to Level I and Level II
reserve officers, as specified, if he or she carried a firearm
during the course and scope of his or her employment and
served at least 15 years in the aggregate as a California
reserve peace officer.
EXISTING LAW:
1)States that any person other than one who by law is given the
authority of a peace officer, who willfully wears, exhibits,
or uses the authorized uniform, insignia, emblem, device,
label, certificate, card, or writing, of a peace officer, with
the intent of fraudulently impersonating a peace officer, or
of fraudulently inducing the belief that he or she is a peace
officer, is guilty of a misdemeanor. [Penal Code Section
538d(a).]
2)States that any person, other than the one who by law is given
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the authority of a peace officer, who willfully wears,
exhibits, or uses the badge of a peace officer with the intent
of fraudulently impersonating a peace officer, or of
fraudulently inducing the belief that he or she is a peace
officer, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment
in a county jail not to exceed one year, by a fine not to
exceed $2,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine. [Penal
Code Section 538d(b)(1).]
3)States that any person who willfully wears or uses any badge
that falsely purports to be authorized for the use of one who
by law is given the authority of a peace officer, or which so
resembles the authorized badge of a peace officer as would
decieve any ordinary reasonable person into believing that it
is authorized for the use of one who by law is given the
authority of a peace officer, for the purpose of fraudulently
impersonating a peace officer, or of fraudulently inducing the
belief that he or she is a peace officer, is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to
exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $2,000, or by both
that imprisonment and fine. [Penal Code Section 538d(b)(2).]
4)States that except as specified, any person who willfully
wears, exhibits, or uses, or who willfully makes, sells,
loans, gives, or transfers to another, any badge, insignia,
emblem, device, or any label, certificate, card, or writing,
which falsely purports to be authorized for the use of one who
by law is given the authority of a peace officer, or which so
resembles the authorized badge, insignia, emblem, device,
label, certificate, card, or writing of a peace officer as
would deceive an ordinary reasonable person into believing
that it is authorized for the use of one who by law is given
the authority of a peace officer, is guilty of a misdemeanor,
except that any person who makes or sells any badge under the
circumstances described in this subdivision is subject to a
fine not to exceed $15,000. [Penal Code Section 538d(c).]
5)States that any person who falsely represents himself or
herself to be a deputy or clerk in any state department and
who, in that assumed character, does any of the following is
guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail not exceeding six months, by a fine not exceeding $2,500,
or both the fine and imprisonment:
a) Arrests, detains, or threatens to arrest or detain any
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person;
b) Otherwise intimidates any person;
c) Searches any person, building, or other property of any
person; or,
d) Obtains money, property, or other thing of value.
[Penal Code Section 146a(a).]
6)States that any person who falsely represents himself or
herself to be a public officer, investigator, or inspector in
any state department and who, in that assumed character, does
any of the following shall be punished by imprisonment in a
county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding
$2,500, or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by
imprisonment in the state prison:
a) Arrests, detains, or threatens to arrest or detain any
person;
b) Otherwise intimidates any person;
c) Searches any person, building, or other property of any
person; or,
d) Obtains money, property, or other thing of value.
[Penal Code Section 146a(b).]
7)States that any person who without authority impersonates, or
wears the badge of, a member of the California Highway Patrol
(CHP) with intention to deceive anyone is guilty of a
misdemeanor. (Vehicle Code Section 27.)
8)Authorizes the CHP Commissioner to issue to each CHP member a
badge of authority with the seal of the State of California in
the center thereof, the words "California Highway Patrol"
encircling the seal and below the designation of the position
held by each member to whom issued. (Vehicle Code Section
2257.)
9)States that neither the Commissioner nor any other person
shall issue a badge to any person who is not a duly appointed
CHP member. (Vehicle Code Section 2258.)
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10)Provides that any peace officer described in this section who
has been honorably retired shall be issued an identification
certificate by the law enforcement agency from which the
officer has retired. Defines the term "honorably retired" as
all peace officers who have qualified for, and accepted, a
service or disability retirement. States that the term
"honorably retired" does not include an officer who has agreed
to a service retirement in lieu of termination. [Penal Code
Section 12027(a)(1)(A).]
11)States that any peace officer employed by an agency listed in
Penal Code Section 830.1 or 830.2, or in Penal Code 830.5, who
retired after January 1, 1981, shall have an endorsement on
the identification certificate stating that the issuing agency
approves the officer's carrying of a concealed weapon. [Penal
Code Section 12027.1(a)(1)(B).]
12)Provides a county sheriff or municipal police chief may issue
a license to carry concealed a pistol, revolver, or firearm
capable of being concealed upon the person upon proof that:
a) The person applying is of good moral character [Penal
Code Section 12050(a)(1)(A)];
b) Good cause exists for the issuance [Penal Code Section
12050(a)(1)(A)];
c) The person applying meets the appropriate residency
requirements [Penal Code Section 12050(a)(1)(D)]; and,
d) The person has completed the appropriate training course
[Penal Code Section 12050(E)].
13)Provides that the license may either:
a) Allow the person to carry a concealed firearm on his or
her person [Penal Code Section 12050(a)(1)]; or,
b) Allow the person to carry a loaded and exposed firearm
in a county whose population is less than 200,000 persons
according to the most recent federal decennial census.
[Penal Code Section 12050(a)(1).]
14)Provides that a CCW license is valid for up to two years,
three years for judicial officers, or four years in the case
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of a reserve or auxiliary peace officer. [Penal Code Section
12050(a)(2).]
15)Provides that a license may include any reasonable
restrictions or conditions that the issuing authority deems
warranted, which shall be listed on the license. [Penal Code
Section 12050(b) and (c).]
16)Provides that the fingerprints of each applicant are taken
and submitted to the Department of Justice. Provides criminal
penalties for knowingly filing a false application for a
concealed weapon license. [Penal Code Section 12051(b).]
17)Provides that a person may lawfully possess a loaded firearm
in his or her place of business or residence. [Penal Code
Section 12031(h)(l).]
18)Makes it generally unlawful to carry a concealed handgun or a
loaded firearm in public and in vehicles. (Penal Code
Sections 12025 and 12031.)
19)Defines a "Level I reserve peace officer" as a reserve
officer deputized or appointed pursuant to specified sections
and assigned to the prevention and detection of crime and the
general enforcement of the laws of California, whether or not
working alone, and the person has completed the basic training
course for deputy sheriffs and police officers prescribed by
the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. [Penal
Code Section 832.6(a)(1).]
20)Defines a "Level II reserve peace officer" as a reserve
officer assigned to the prevention and detection of crime and
the general enforcement of the laws of California while under
the immediate supervision of a peace officer who has completed
the basic training course for deputy sheriffs and police
officers prescribed by the Commission on Peace Officer
Standards and Training, and the Level II reserve officer has
completed the course required by Section 832 and any other
training prescribed by the commission. [Penal Code Section
832.6(a)(1).]
21)States that the authority of a reserve peace officer extends
only for the duration of the person's specific assignment.
[Penal Code Section 830.6(a).]
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Whether off
duty or in retirement, peace officers may come into contact
with former arrestees, placing themselves and their loved ones
in potential harm. As a result, most peace officers receive a
Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) Endorsement which allows them to
carry a concealed weapon for their protection.
"Even though they face many of the same dangers associated with
a career in law enforcement, Level 1 and Level 2 retired
reserve peace officers are not afforded the same post
employment protections necessary to ensure their personal
safety."
2)Attorney General's Opinion on Issuing Badges : In response to
a question regarding whether it is lawful for a sheriff to
give honorary badges to private citizens from the Riverside
County District Attorney, the Attorney General issued a formal
opinion concluding that it is not. [90 Cal. Op. Atty. Gen. 57
(2007).] The Attorney General's opinion examines the language
of Penal Code Section 538d, which prohibits the false
impersonation of a peace officer. That section specifically
provides that it is a crime for any person, other than one who
by law has the authority of a peace officer, to wear, exhibit,
or use the badge of a peace officer with the intent of
fraudulently impersonating a peace officer or fraudulently
inducing the belief that he or she is a peace officer. The
Attorney General, citing its own opinion from 1985,
explains,"[t]he purpose of the prohibition is to prevent
confusion among members of the general public as to the
identity or authority of a person exhibiting a badge." (Id.
at p.4, citing 68 Cal. Op. Atty. Gen. 11 at 13-14.)
Accordingly, "the more an honorary badge resembles an
authorized peace officer badge in shape, markings, and other
indicia that connote genuineness, the more likely the badge
will deceive an ordinary reasonable person, and the more
likely that a person furnishing or displaying the badge will
be found to have violated Section 538d." (90 Cal. Op. Atty.
Gen. 57 at p.5.)
The Penal Code specifically delineates the scope of authority
for each of an array of persons with some type of law
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enforcement powers. Where such persons are granted the
authority of a peace officer, Penal Code Section 538d is
clear: they may be issued badges under current law. The
prohibition applies to "[a]ny person, other than one who by
law has the authority of a peace officer . . . . " [Penal
Code 538d(b)]. Where such a person does not have the
authority of a peace officer, authorizing that person to
exhibit a badge that would lead an ordinary person to believe
he or she has such authority would run counter to the very
purpose of the prohibition against impersonating a peace
officer contained in Penal Code Section 538d, namely, to
"prevent confusion among members of the general public as to
the identity or authority of a person exhibiting a badge."
(90 Cal. Op. Atty. Gen. 57 at p.4, citing 68 Cal. Op. Atty.
Gen. 11 at 13-14.)
SB 169 (Benoit), Chapter 349, Statutes of 2009, addressed this
issue by allowing for the issuance of badges and other forms
of identification to specified honorably retired peace
officers. The badge or other identification is required to
display the clearly visible words "honorably retired" on,
above or below the badge. The issuing agency is also
authorized to revoke the badge in the event of misuse or
abuse. This bill expands the list of law enforcement agencies
authorized to issue badges to retired officers to include
investigators of the Board of Dental Examiners, the California
Horse Racing Board, the Division of Labor Standards, the
Public Employees' Retirement System, and the Department of
Corporations; voluntary fire wardens; inspectors of the food
and drug provisions of the Health and Safety Code; the chief
and assistant chief security guard at the California Science
Museum; Lottery Security Personnel; and security officers for
county water districts.
3)Following Issuance of the 2007 Attorney General's Opinion, the
Attorney General's Office Reportedly Required its Staff
Attorneys to Return the Honorary Police-Type Badges that Had
Been Distributed: According to an article in the Oakland
Tribune, "the Attorney General's office is reclaiming honorary
police-type badges it distributed to its 1,200 staff
attorneys, including those in Oakland and San Francisco,
because the agency has declared the practice illegal."
[Greissinger, Honorary police badges running afoul of the law,
Oakland Tribune (August 31, 2007).] This article stated, "The
agencies that issue the badges - and by extension, taxpayers -
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could be subject to civil liability for any injury resulting
from misuse of the badges, the opinion states. Around the
state, honorary badges have been handed out to an untold
number of city council members, county supervisors, animal
control officers, prosecutors, public defenders, law
enforcement auxiliary groups, ceremonial mounted posses,
courtroom clerks, emergency dispatchers and others." The
article quoted a Deputy Attorney General who stated, "I don't
believe that the recall of badges would in any way affect our
ability to do our jobs" and added that deputy attorneys have
other credentials sufficient to allow them to complete their
work."
4)Past Problems with Badges: The Sacramento Bee recently
reported an incident involving a 78-year-old retired police
chief who was arrested for impersonating an officer after he
allegedly brandished a badge and gun at another motorist who
he felt had cut him off in traffic. According to the article,
"The Sacramento District Attorney has charged ? [t]he retired
Placer County sheriff's deputy with two misdemeanor counts:
brandishing a weapon and impersonating a police officer,
according to documents filed in Sacramento Superior Court."
[Retired Police Chief Arrested for Pulling a Gun in Citrus
Heights Road Rage Incident, Sacramento Bee (April 5, 2009).]
5)CCW Permits and Reserve Officers : This bill requires law
enforcement agencies to provide a CCW endorsement on the
identification of a Level I or II reserve officer stating that
the issuing agency approve the officer's carrying of a
concealed weapon if that officer carried a firearm during the
course and scope of his or her appointment, and he or she has
served at least 15 years in aggregate as a California reserve
peace officer. Level I reserve peace officers have similar
duties and training as a non-reserve peace officer and are
authorized to work without immediate supervision. In
contrast, Level II reserve peace officers do not have the same
training requirements as a Level I reserve peace officer, and
are required to be under the immediate supervision of a duly
trained officer at all times. Should Level II reserve peace
officers, who receive less training than non-reserve officers,
have the same right to a CCW endorsement as more highly
trained officers?
6)Argument in Support : The California Correctional Peace
Officers Association argues, "I am writing to inform you of
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our support for AB 703 which would extend to additional public
safety agencies the ability to issue and revoke specified
forms of identification upon retirement from service with the
agency. Among those agencies proposed to be added to these
provisions is the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CSDCR)."
7)Argument in Opposition : The Law Center to Prevent Gun
Violence states, "AB 703 would broadly concealed carrying for
retired Level I and Level II reserve officers, even though
both levels are subject to different training requirements and
are entrusted with different levels of responsibility. Most
significantly, unlike Level I officers, Level Ii officers must
be under the immediate supervision of a peace officer when
engaged in general law enforcement duties. Under AB 703,
Level II reserve officers would, upon retirement,
automatically be allowed to carry concealed weapons without
any supervision, even though their carrying of firearms during
service occurred only under immediate supervision.
"Like any other Californian, a retired Level II reserve officer
may officer may currently apply to local law enforcement for a
license to carry a concealed weapon, and may acquire a license
if he or she is, among other requirements, able to demonstrate
good cause, meaning a particularized, justifiable need to
carry a concealed firearm. The good cause requirement serves
as an important gatekeeper to prevent the issuance of
concealed carry licenses to individuals who have no reason to
carry a weapon in public. To the extent that any retired
Level II officer has a legitimate need to carry a concealed
handgun, he or she should be required to continue to meet this
threshold showing.
"Broad expansions to the laws governing the carrying of
concealed weapons in public places do not improve public
safety; rather, they weaken it. While carrying a concealed
handgun might make the firearm holder feel safer, it places
the public at an increased risk of gun violence. Given these
risks, concealed carry licenses should only be issued
following a showing of a legitimate, demonstrable need."
8)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 829 (Knight), of the 2011-12 Legislative Session, was
identical this bill in that AB 829 authorized reserve peace
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officers to carry concealed weapons upon retirement or
separation from service. AB 829 failed passage in this
Committee, was granted reconsideration and failed passage a
second time.
b) SB 169 (Benoit), Chapter 349, Statutes of 2009,
authorized the head of an agency that employs specified
peace officers to issue identification in the form of a
badge, insignia, emblem, device, label, certificate, card
or writing that clearly states that the person has
honorably retired following service as a peace officer from
that agency.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Correctional Peace Officers Association
Peace Officers Research Association of California
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department
Opposition
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744