BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1598
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 29, 2014
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 1598 (Rodriguez) - As Amended: April 23, 2014
SUMMARY : Requires fire, law enforcement, and emergency medical
services agencies to jointly establish standard operating
procedures and coordinated training programs for active shooter
incidents. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the Curriculum Development Advisory Committee (CDAC)
to consult with the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and
Training (POST).
2)Requires that the Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA)
training standards include criteria for coordinating between
different responding entities.
3)Requires the Interdepartmental Committee on Emergency Medical
Services (ICEMS) to consult with POST regarding emergency
medical services integration and coordination with peace
officer training.
4)Requires POST's guidelines and training standards to address
tactical casualty care and coordination with emergency medical
services providers.
5)Defines, for purposes of this bill, a "terrorism incident" to
include, but not limited to, an active shooter incident.
6)Defines an "active shooter incident" as an incident where an
individual is actively engaged in killing or attempting to
kill people in a confined area.
7)Makes various legislative findings and declarations regarding
active shooter incidents.
8)Provides that it is the intent of the Legislature to do the
following:
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a) Require development of collaborative protocols and
relationships between local and state first response
entities, including law enforcement agencies, fire
departments, and emergency medical services providers and
agencies, in order that those entities shall act
effectively and in concert to address active shooter
incidents across California.
b) Require first response entities to seek collaborative
training opportunities, including, but not limited to,
table top or simulation exercises, to assess plan
implementations, and to include other entities that may be
involved in active shooter incidents in those trainings,
such as schools, city or county personnel, and private
businesses.
c) Require basic and ongoing training for law enforcement
agency personnel, fire department personnel, emergency
medical services personnel, and the personnel for other
first responders include, as appropriate, training and
education on active shooter incidents, tactical casualty
care, and interagency coordination.
9)States that it is further the intent of the Legislature that
each first response entity, in collaboration with other law
enforcement agencies, fire departments, and emergency medical
service providers and agencies, develop protocols for
responding to active shooter incidents.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes POST within the Department of Justice. (Pen.
Code, § 13500.)
2)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. (Pen. Code, § 13510(a).)
3)Requires POST, on or before July 1, 2005, to develop and
disseminate guidelines and standardized training
recommendations for all law enforcement officers, supervisors,
and managers whose agency assigns them to perform, supervise,
or manage Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) operations. The
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guidelines and standardized training recommendations shall be
available for use by law enforcement agencies that conduct
SWAT operations. (Pen. Code, § 13514.1, subd. (a).)
4)Requires POST to establish training standards that include
recommendations from the Emergency Response Training Advisory
Committee, involving the responsibility of first responders to
terrorism incidents. Allows every police chief and sheriff,
the Commissioner of the Highway Patrol, and other general law
enforcement agency to determine the members of his, her, or
its agency to receive the emergency response to terrorism
incidents training developed by POST. (Pen. Code, §
13519.12.)
5)Requires the Director of Emergency Services to establish CDAC
to, among other things, provide advice on the development of
terrorism awareness course curricula and response training.
(Gov. Code, § 8588.10, subd. (a).)
6)Requires the Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) to contract
with the California Fire Fighter Joint Apprenticeship Program
to develop a fire service specific course of instruction on
the responsibilities of first responders to terrorism
incidents. (Gov. Code, § 8588.11.)
7)Establishes EMSA which is responsible for the coordination and
integration of all state agencies concerning emergency medical
services. (Health & Saf. Code, § 1797.1.)
8)Requires EMSA to establish training standards that include the
criteria for the curriculum content recommended by CDAC,
involving the responsibilities of first responders to
terrorism incidents and to address the training needs of those
identified as first responders. (Health & Saf. Code, §
1797.116, subd. (a).)
9)Establishes ICEMS which is required to advise EMSA on the
coordination and integration of all state activities
concerning emergency medical services. (Health & Saf. Code, §
1797.132.)
10)Requires the State Fire Marshall to establish training
standards that include recommendations from the Emergency
Response Training Advisory Committee, involving the
responsibility of first responders to terrorism incidents and
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to address the training needs of those identified as first
responders. (Health & Saf. Code, § 13159.1.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "In November of
2013, a gunman entered Terminal 3 at Los Angeles International
Airport (LAX) and opened fire. A TSA officer died and several
others were wounded. Because these types of incidences are
becoming increasingly more frequent, it is vital that our
local law enforcement agencies, emergency medical care
personnel, local government agencies and various venue
locations work together in a coordinated, cohesive manner.
"I have introduced AB 1598 to require that active shooter
incident training available to local fire, law enforcement,
and emergency medical services agencies is coordinated and
comprehensive. Decreasing response times to these incidences
and getting victims needed medical care will save lives."
2)Active Shooter Incidents : As stated by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), an active shooter is "an individual
actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a
confined and populated area." (Active Shooter/Mass Casualty
Incidents, Federal Bureau of Investigation
[as of Mar. 4, 2014].) Over the course of a
decade and a half, the number of those shot and killed in
active shooter incidents has increased 150% across the
country. (Eric Holder, U.S. Attorney General, address to the
Int'l. Assn. of Chiefs of Police Annual Conf. (Oct. 21,
2013).) The FBI provides the following additional statistics
information about active shooter incidents in the United
States:
a) Active-shooter incidents often occur in small- and
medium-sized communities where police departments are
limited by budget constraints and small workforces.
b) The average active-shooter incident lasts 12 minutes.
Thirty-seven percent last less than five minutes.
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c) Overwhelmingly, the offender is a single shooter (98
percent), primarily male (97 percent). In 40 percent of the
instances, they kill themselves.
d) Two percent of the shooters bring IEDs as an additional
weapon.
e) In 10 percent of the cases, the shooter stops and walks
away. In 20 percent of the cases, the shooter goes mobile,
moving to another location.
f) Forty-three percent of the time, the crime is over
before police arrive. In 57 percent of the shootings, an
officer arrives while the shooting is still underway.
g) The shooter often stops as soon as he hears or sees law
enforcement, sometimes turning his anger or aggression on
law enforcement.
h) Patrol officers are most likely responding alone or with
a partner. When responding alone, 75 percent had to take
action.
i) A third of those officers who enter the incident alone
are shot by the intruder. (Katherine W. Schweit, J.D.,
Addressing the Problem of the Active Shooter (May 7, 2013)
Federal Bureau of Investigation <
http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforceme
nt-bulletin/2013/May/active-shooter> [as of Mar. 4, 2014]
(internal citations omitted).)
3)LAX Airport Response Team : In the immediate aftermath of the
shooting incident at the Los Angeles International Airport
(LAX) that resulted in the death of a Transportation Security
Administration officer in November 2013, airport visitors and
passengers were forced to evacuate the terminal where the
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shooting took place. Lack of communication and direction
after the event took place left the airport in gridlock and
left passengers stranded and confused. According to one news
account: "Evacuated passengers sat on street curbs for hours
in the sun. Traffic jams and several airport roadways that
were blocked by police restricted people's ability to move.
Many camped out on lawns of hotels or waited in lobbies."
(Aguilar, LAX emergency response team will tend to passengers
in future emergencies, Southern California Public Radio (Dec.
31, 2013).) Partly in response to the November 2013 shooting,
LAX formed the Airport Response Team, the first formalized
employee team that the airport can deploy on the ground to
communicate with the public and offer care and information on
what to do and where to go during emergencies. (Ibid.)
4)Current Legislation : ACR 94 (Rodriguez) memorializes the
Legislature's recognition that active shooter incidents are
increasing and encourages local fire, law enforcement, and
emergency medical services agencies to develop standard
operating procedures and coordinate training programs in an
effort to respond more efficiently to active shooter incidents
in California. ACR 94 is pending a vote on the Senate Floor.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
(AFSCME)
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744