BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair A
2013-2014 Regular Session B
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AB 979 (Weber)
As Amended May 24, 2013
Hearing date: June 25, 2013
Penal Code
SM:mc
MARITIME TRAINING FOR PEACE OFFICERS
HISTORY
Source: Port of Los Angeles
Prior Legislation: AB 2571 (Silva) - 2012, held on suspense in
Assembly Appropriations
Support: California Association of Harbor Masters and Port
Captains; California Association of Port Authorities;
California Marine Parks and Harbors Association;
California Yacht Brokers Association; Marina Recreation
Association; National Maritime Manufacturers
Association; Western Boaters Safety Group
Opposition:California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and
Training (POST) (Prior to May 24, 2013 amendments)
Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 77 - Noes 0
KEY ISSUES
SHOULD PEACE OFFICERS WHO SERVE AS CREW MEMBERS ON A WATERBORNE LAW
ENFORCEMENT VESSEL BE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE A COURSE IN BASIC
MARITIME OPERATIONS FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS, AS SPECIFIED?
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SHOULD THESE REQUIREMENTS ONLY APPLY TO LOCALITIES WHICH RECEIVE
FEDERAL DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY FUNDING, HAVE ADOPTED A
RESOLUTION TO IMPLEMENT THE ACT, AND HAVE IDENTIFIED THE PEACE
OFFICER CLASSIFICATIONS SUBJECT TO THESE TRAINING REQUIREMENTS?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to (1) require peace officers who
serve as crew members on a waterborne law enforcement vessel to
complete a course in basic maritime operations for law
enforcement officers, as specified; (2) specify the course
curriculum requirements; and (3) specify that these requirements
shall only apply to localities which receive federal Department
of Homeland Security funding, have adopted a resolution to
implement the Act, and have identified the peace officer
classifications subject to these training requirements.
Current law requires all peace officers to complete an
introductory course of training prescribed by the California
Commission on Peace Officers Standard and Training (POST),
demonstrated by passage of an appropriate examination developed
by POST. (Penal Code § 832(a).)
Current law empowers POST to develop and implement programs to
increase the effectiveness of law enforcement. (Penal Code §
13503.)
Current law authorizes POST, for the purpose of raising the
level of competence of local law enforcement officers, to adopt
rules establishing minimum standards related to physical, mental
and moral fitness and training that shall govern the recruitment
of any peace officers in California. (Penal Code § 13510(a).)
Current law requires POST to conduct research concerning
job-related educational standards and job-related selection
standards to include vision, hearing, physical ability, and
emotional stability and adopt standards supported by this
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research. (Penal Code § 13510(b).)
Current law requires POST to prepare a course of instruction for
the training of peace officers in the use of tear gas. (Penal
Code § 13514.)
Current law requires POST to develop and disseminate guidelines
and standardized training recommendations for all law
enforcement officers, supervisors, or managers whose agency
assigns them to perform, supervise, or manage Special Weapons
and Tactics (SWAT) operations. (Penal Code § 13514.1(a).)
Current law requires POST implement a course or courses of
instruction for the training of law enforcement officers in the
handling of acts of civil disobedience and adopt guidelines that
may be followed by police agencies in responding to acts of
civil disobedience. (Penal Code
§ 13514.5(a).)
Current law requires every police officer or deputy sheriff who
is assigned field or investigative duties to complete an elder
and dependent adult abuse training course certified by POST.
(Penal Code § 13515(a).)
Current law requires POST establish and update a continuing
education classroom training course related to law enforcement
interaction with mentally disabled persons. (Penal Code §
13515.25(a).)
Current law requires POST create and make available on DVD and
may distribute electronically a course on how to recognize and
interact with persons with autistic spectrum disorders. (Penal
Code § 13515.35(a).)
Current law requires every police officer or deputy sheriff who
is assigned field or investigative duties to complete a high
technology crimes and computer seizure training course certified
by POST. (Penal Code § 13515.55.)
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Current law requires POST to prepare guidelines establishing
standard procedures which may be followed by police agencies in
the investigation of sexual assault cases, and cases involving
the sexual exploitation or sexual abuse of children, including,
police response to, and treatment of, victims of these crimes.
This training must be included in the basic certificate issued
by POST or no reimbursement will be made to local agencies based
on attendance at any course which does not comply with this
requirement. (Penal Code § 13516(a) - (b).)
Current law requires POST to prepare guidelines establishing
standard procedures which may be followed by police agencies in
the detection, investigation, and response to cases in which a
minor is a victim of an act of abuse or neglect including
procedures for determining whether or not a child should be
taken into protective custody and minimizing the number of times
a child is interviewed by law enforcement personnel. (Penal
Code § 13517(a).)
Current law requires POST to prepare guidelines establishing
standard procedures which may be followed by police agencies and
prosecutors in interviewing minor witnesses. (Penal Code
§ 13517.5.)
Current law requires POST to develop guidelines and training for
use by state and local law enforcement officers to address
issues related to child safety when a caretaker parent or
guardian is arrested. (Penal Code § 13517.7(a).)
Current law requires POST to implement a course or courses of
instruction for the training of law enforcement officers in
California in the handling of domestic violence complaints and
also shall develop guidelines for law enforcement response to
domestic violence. (Penal Code
§ 13519(a).)
Current law requires POST to implement a course or courses of
instruction for the training of law enforcement officers in
California in the handling of stalking complaints and also shall
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develop guidelines for law enforcement response to stalking.
(Penal Code § 13519.05(a).)
Current law requires POST to implement a course or courses of
instruction for the training of law enforcement officers and law
enforcement dispatchers in the handling of missing person and
runaway cases and shall also develop guidelines for law
enforcement response to missing person and runaway cases.
(Penal Code § 13519.1(a).)
Current law requires POST to include in the basic training
course for law enforcement officers, adequate instruction in the
handling of persons with developmental disabilities or mental
illness, or both. (Penal Code § 13519.2(a).)
Current law requires POST to establish a course on the nature of
sudden infant death syndrome and the handling of cases involving
the sudden deaths of infants. (Penal Code § 13519.3(a).)
Current law requires POST to develop and disseminate guidelines
and training for all law enforcement officers in California who
adhere to the standards approved by the commission, on the
racial and cultural differences among the residents of this
state. (Penal Code § 13519.4(a).)
Current law requires POST to implement a course or courses of
instruction to provide ongoing training to the appropriate peace
officers on methods of gang and drug law enforcement. (Penal
Code § 13519.5.)
Current law requires POST to develop guidelines and a course of
instruction and training for law enforcement officers who are
employed as peace officers, or who are not yet employed as a
peace officer but are enrolled in a training academy for law
enforcement officers, addressing hate crimes. (Penal Code §
13519.6(a).)
Current law requires POST to develop a two-hour telecourse to be
made available to all law enforcement agencies in California on
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crimes against homeless persons and on how to deal effectively
and humanely with homeless persons, including homeless persons
with disabilities. (Penal Code § 13519.64(b).)
Current law requires POST to develop complaint guidelines to be
followed by city police departments, county sheriff departments,
districts, and state university departments, for peace officers
who are victims of sexual harassment in the workplace. (Penal
Code § 13519.7(a).)
Current law requires POST to implement a course or courses of
instruction for the regular and periodic training of law
enforcement officers in the handling of high-speed vehicle
pursuits and to develop uniform, minimum guidelines for adoption
and promulgation by California law enforcement agencies for
response to high-speed vehicle pursuits. (Penal Code §
13519.8(a)(1).)
Current law requires POST to establish the Robert Presley
Institute of Criminal Investigation which will make available to
criminal investigators of California's law enforcement agencies
an advanced training program to meet the needs of working
investigators in specialty assignments, such as arson, auto
theft, homicide, and narcotics. (Penal Code § 13519.9(a).)
Current law requires POST to establish training standards and
develop a course of instruction that includes the criteria for
the curriculum content recommended by the Emergency Response
Training Advisory Committee involving the responsibilities of
first responders to terrorism incidents. (Penal Code §
13519.12(a).)
Current law requires POST to implement a course or courses of
instruction for the training of law enforcement officers in
California in the handling of human trafficking complaints and
also shall develop guidelines for law enforcement response to
human trafficking. (Penal Code § 13519.14(a).)
Current law requires POST to prepare guidelines establishing
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standard procedures which may be followed by law enforcement
agencies in the investigation and reporting of cases involving
anti-reproductive-rights crimes. (Penal Code § 13519.15.)
This bill would require peace officers to complete a course in
basic maritime operations for law enforcement officers if they
meet all of the following criteria:
The officer is employed by a city, county, city and
county, or district that has adopted a resolution
implementing the Act;
The officer falls within a classification identified
by the local governing body;
The officer is assigned in a jurisdiction that
includes navigable waters; and,
The officer serves as a crew member on a waterborne
law enforcement vessel.
This bill specifies that the course shall include boat handling,
chart reading, navigation rules, and comprehensive training
regarding maritime boarding, arrest procedures, vessel
identification, searches, and counterterrorism practices and
procedures, and requires that the curriculum be consistent with
federal standards and tactical training.
This bill provides that the Act shall only become operative in a
city, county, city and county, or district when all of the
following conditions apply:
The federal Department of Homeland Security provides
funding to the locality;
The local governing body adopts a resolution agreeing to
implement the Act; and,
The local governing body identifies the specific
classification of peace officers in their jurisdiction that
will be subject to the training requirements.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
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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
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
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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
According to the author:
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Maritime training has not only evolved but become a
necessity among law enforcement agencies whose
jurisdictions may include maritime areas. For
emergencies or multi-jurisdictional operations, the
time to set a standard that all agencies and
departments can share and build upon is long overdue.
California must set in motion the necessary statutes,
regulations and curriculum to provide the level of
training and standards for safe effective waterborne
law enforcement across the state. AB 979 will provide
for these critical statewide standards and training
for law enforcement operating in a maritime
environment.
The Post commission has already approved three courses
for maritime peace officers that are taught at the
regional maritime law enforcement training center at
the port of Los Angeles. These courses can be
exported to any training facility. Additionally, this
bill would come at no cost to the state, as its
provisions would apply only if federal funds become
available.
California's dramatic and lengthy coastline, rivers,
dams, ports, harbors and the bay delta require a large
and constant waterborne presence of peace officers for
the protection of California's waterways, especially
in emergency situations such as natural and manmade
disasters.
Skill sets waterborne peace officers may need include
boat handling, navigation, weather knowledge, boating
laws, maritime boarding and arrest procedures, vessel
identification and counterterrorism practices.
As agencies such as the Coast Guard, sheriff's
departments, and police departments have enhanced
their maritime presence, concerns have arisen over the
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adequacy and consistency of training. Unlike other
requirements in the Police Officers Standards for
Training (POST) system (sic), there are no statewide
standards for tactical training for state and local
maritime officers.
2. Letter From POST
In a letter dated June 6, 2013, the Commission on Peace Officer
Standards and Training wrote to the author of this bill:
The purpose of this letter is to inform you that staff
will recommend to the
Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)
that it remove its opposition to Assembly Bill (AB) 979
(Weber) at its regular meeting on June 27, 2013.
Although the provisions in AB 979 do not address any
unmet public safety training needs in California, the
amendments will enable specified peace officers from
qualifying local law enforcement agencies to apply for
federal funding.
Previous versions of AB 979 would have unnecessarily
amended the Penal Code in a manner that would have
abdicated the training of California peace officers to
federal requirements and duplicate existing POST
maritime and terrorism training.
Since 1959, the Commission on POST has recognized the
value of law enforcement training programs. It also
recognizes that the improvement of any training
standards inevitably yields untold benefits not only
for those trained but, ultimately those served. Over
6,500 training courses for peace officers are
currently managed by POST for the purpose of improving
professional services to our communities.
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For these reasons, the Commission on Peace Officer
Standards and Training will consider the staff
recommendation to remove its opposition.
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