BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 298
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 21, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
SB 298 (Wyland) - As Amended: August 5, 2013
Policy Committee: Local
GovernmentVote:9-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill allows Orange County, or a city within Orange County,
to contract for supplemental law enforcement services to enforce
the Vehicle Code on a homeowners' association's privately owned
and maintained road. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires these contracts to provide for full reimbursement to
the county or city of the actual costs of providing those
services.
2)Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prepare and submit
to the Legislature a report on the impact of such contracts on
law enforcement services within the county that were not
served by the supplemental police services. This report shall
be submitted by June 30, 2016. The county or city that
entered into the contract shall reimburse the department for
the costs of preparing and submitting the report and may seek
reimbursement from the homeowner's association for these
costs.
FISCAL EFFECT
Costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to the DOJ to
complete the required study.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, state law currently limits
the options available to homeowner's associations for law
enforcement services. Traditionally, local law enforcement
responds to general law enforcement requests in unincorporated
SB 298
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areas, such as crimes or criminal complaints. Police do not
enforce traffic laws on private roads, leaving most
homeowners' associations with no one to patrol their private
roads for vehicle code infractions. The author argues SB 298
will provide authority for Orange County to enter into a
contract with a homeowners' association that owns and
maintains their own private roads for the purpose of providing
vehicle code enforcement on an occasional or ongoing basis.
2)Support . According to the sponsor of this measure, the County
of Orange, SB 298 is designed primarily to benefit the
community of Coto de Caza, the largest guard-gated private
community in the County. Coto de Caza is an unincorporated
area within the sphere of influence of the City of Rancho
Santa Margarita. The population of Coto de Caza was
approximately 18,600 in 2010. Although the area is patrolled
by the California Highway Patrol, Orange County Sheriff's
Department and the Coto de Caza security force, the sponsor
states the community nevertheless experiences persistent
traffic violations. The sponsor notes the community must rely
on authorized peace officers for this service because private
patrol operators are not authorized to enforce the Vehicle
Code.
3)Previous legislation . A similar bill, AB 1643 (Dickinson),
Chapter 48, Statutes of 2012, expanded the authority of the
Sacramento County Sheriff and the Chief of Police of the City
of Sacramento to hire sheriffs or police security officers for
a broad array of purposes.
4)There is no registered opposition to this bill .
Analysis Prepared by : Roger Dunstan / APPR. / (916) 319-2081