BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2220
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Date of Hearing: May 14, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2220 (Daly) - As Amended: April 10, 2104
Policy Committee: Business and
Professions Vote: 14 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill imposes new licensure requirements on all private
patrol operators (PPOs) and exempts a duly appointed peace
officer from requalification requirements to renew a firearms
qualification card. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services
within the Department of Consumer Affairs to require, as a
condition of issuance, reinstatement, reactivation, renewal,
or continued maintenance of a PPO license, that the applicant
or licensee file or have on file an insurance policy and a
certificate of workers' compensation coverage for its
employees
2)Requires all PPOs to maintain an insurance policy that
provides minimum limits of insurance of one million dollars
($1,000,000) for bodily injury or death, and one million
dollars ($1,000,000) for destruction of property, whether or
not the licensee employs an armed security guard.
3)Exempts a duly appointed peace officer, as defined, who is
employed by a PPO from firearms requalification requirements
and from having to pass a specified written examination in
order to renew a firearms qualification card.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Ongoing costs to the Bureau of Security and Investigative
Services in the range of $65,000 for one position to review,
verify, and monitor insurance policies and workers'
AB 2220
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compensation coverage for PPOs.
2)Minor and absorbable costs to the Bureau associated with a
potential increase in enforcement workload for PPOs found to
be uninsured or without workers' comp. coverage.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . This bill is intended to both increase and
standardize insurance requirements among PPOs so that clients
and the public are adequately protected regardless of which
PPO they hire. According to the author, "Current law does not
require a security guard company to have any insurance
coverage if they do not have armed guards and requires only
$500,000 for guard companies that have armed guards. The
security industry believes these levels to be inadequate to
protect customers and the public. As private security guard
companies expand their presence at critical infrastructure
sites, it is appropriate to assess and modernize their
requirements."
2)Background . According to Bureau of Security and Investigative
Services, there are over 3,000 PPO licensees, and over 280,000
registered security guards in California. Only PPOs that
employ armed security guards are required to carry an
insurance policy that, at a minimum, provides five hundred
thousand dollars ($500,000) in coverage for bodily injury or
death and five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) for
property damage. According to BSIS, 43,000 registered
security guards are authorized to carry firearms or weapons.
3)Previous legislation .
a) SB 385 (Block) of 2013 would authorize a PPO to be the
legal owner of a firearm, and establish procedures for PPOs
to assign its firearms to its employees who are licensed to
carry firearms. That bill was held in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
b) AB 2128 (Gaines) of 2010, would have increased the
minimum amount of insurance coverage PPOs carry from five
hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) to one million dollars
($1,000,000), regardless of whether their security guards
carried a firearm. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the
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bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Jennifer Swenson / APPR. / (916)
319-2081