BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 703
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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
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Specifies that "honorably retired" peace officer
includes any peace officer who has met his or her department's
years of service requirement, and has accepted a separation of
service or disability retirement. Additionally, this bill
specifies that a retired Level I reserve peace officer is
entitled to an endorsement for a concealed weapons (CCW) permit
if he or she carried a firearm during the course and scope of
his or her employment and an he or she served in the aggregate
the minimum amount of time specified by the retiree's agency's
policy. This policy may not set an aggregate term requirement
that is less than 10 years or more than 20 years.
EXISTING LAW :
1)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 officer's identification certificate stating that the
issuing agency approves the officer's carrying of a concealed
weapon. [Penal Code Section 26300(b).]
2)Provides that any peace officer who was authorized to, and did
carry a firearm during the course and scope of employment as a
peace officer, shall have an endorsement on the officer's
identification certificate stating that the issuing agency
approves the officer's carrying of a concealed weapon. [Penal
Code Section 26300(c).]
3)Defines "honorably retired" to include any peace officer, who
has qualified for, and has accepted, a service or disability
retirement. As used in these provisions, "honorably retired"
does not include a peace officer who has agreed to a service
retirement in lieu of termination. (Penal Code Section
16690.)
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4)Provides that any peace officer, as specified, who has been
honorably retired shall be issued an identification
certificate by the law enforcement agency from which the
officer retired. The issuing agency may charge a fee
necessary to cover any reasonable expenses incurred in issuing
the certificate. [Penal Code Sections 25455(a) and (b).]
5)Provides a county sheriff or municipal police chief may issue
a license to carry a handgun capable of being concealed upon
the person upon proof of all of the following.
a) The person applying is of good moral character [Penal
Code Sections 26150 and 26155(a)(1)];
b) Good cause exists for the issuance [Penal Code Sections
26150 and 26155(a)(2)];
c) The person applying meets the appropriate residency
requirements [Penal Code Sections 26150 and 26155(a)(3)];
and,
d) The person has completed the appropriate training
course, as specified. [Penal Code Sections 26150 and
26155(a)(4).]
6)States that a county sheriff or a chief of a municipal police
department may issue a license to carry a concealed handgun in
either of the following formats:
a) A license to carry a concealed handgun upon his or her
person [Penal Code Sections 26150 and 26155(b)(1)]; or,
b) A license to carry a loaded and exposed handgun if the
population of the county, or the county in which the city
is located, is less than 200,000 persons according to the
most recent federal decennial census. [Penal Code Sections
26150 and 26155(b)(2).]
7)Provides that a chief of a municipal police department shall
not be precluded from entering into an agreement with the
sheriff of the county in which the city is located for the
sheriff to process all applications for licenses, or renewal
of licenses, to carry a concealed handgun upon the person.
[Penal Code Section 26155(b)(3).]
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8)Provides that a license to carry a concealed handgun is valid
for up to two years, three years for judicial officers, or
four years in the case of a reserve or auxiliary peace
officer. (Penal Code Section 26220.)
9)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).]
10)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).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement . According to the author, " 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 I retired reserve peace
officers are not afforded the same post employment protections
necessary to ensure their personal safety."
2)Argument in Support : The California Correctional Peace
Officers Association argues, "I am writing to inform you of
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)."
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3)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."
4)Prior Legislation : AB 829 (Knight), of the 2011-12
Legislative Session, was identical this bill in that AB 829
authorized reserve peace 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.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
AB 703
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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