BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 298
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 298 (Wyland and Walters)
As Amended August 5, 2013
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :37-0
LOCAL GOVERNMENT 9-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-1
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|Ayes:|Achadjian, Levine, Alejo, |Ayes:|Gatto, Harkey, Bigelow, |
| |Bradford, Gordon, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Melendez, Mullin, Rendon, | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| |Waldron | |Gomez, Hall, Holden, |
| | | |Linder, Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Wagner, Weber |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Donnelly |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : 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)Allows the Board of Supervisors of Orange County or the city
council of a city within Orange County, as part of a pilot
project, to contract to provide supplemental law enforcement
services to homeowners' associations, as defined in current
law, on an occasional or ongoing basis to enforce the Vehicle
Code on a homeowners' association's privately owned and
maintained road, as specified.
2)Requires contracts entered into pursuant to this bill to
provide for full reimbursement to the county or city of the
actual costs of providing those services, as determined by the
county auditor or auditor-controller or the city auditor.
3)Requires the services provided pursuant to this bill to be
rendered by regularly appointed full-time peace officers, as
specified.
4)Allows services provided in connection with special events or
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occurrences, as specified, to be rendered by Level I reserve
peace officers, as specified, who are authorized to exercise
the powers of a peace officer, as specified, if regularly
appointed full-time peace officers are not available to fill
the positions as required in the contract.
5)Requires peace officer rates of pay to be governed by a
memorandum of understanding (MOU).
6)Requires a contract entered into pursuant to this bill to
encompass only law enforcement duties and not services
authorized to be provided by a private patrol operator, as
specified.
7)Prohibits contracting for law enforcement services, as
authorized by this bill, from reducing the normal and regular
ongoing service that the county or city or agency of the
county or city otherwise would provide.
8)Requires, prior to contracting for ongoing services under this
bill, the board of supervisors or city council to discuss the
contract and the requirements of this section at a duly
noticed public hearing.
9)Requires, on or before June 30, 2016, if the board of
supervisors or city council enters into the contract
authorized pursuant to this bill, the Department of Justice
(DOJ) to prepare and submit to the Legislature a report on the
impact that a contract entered into pursuant to this bill has
on the provision of law enforcement services to people in
communities within the county that are not served by
supplemental police services provided pursuant to this bill.
This report shall be submitted in compliance with current law
governing reports to the Legislature. If the board of
supervisors or city council enters into the contract, the
board of supervisors or city council, as appropriate, shall
reimburse DOJ for the costs of preparing and submitting the
report and may seek reimbursement from the homeowner's
association for these costs.
10)Provides that this bill shall remain in effect only until
January 1, 2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a
later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2017,
deletes or extends that date.
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11)Finds and declares that a special law is necessary and that a
general law cannot be made applicable within the meaning of
Section 16 of Article IV of the California Constitution
because of the presence within Orange County and a city within
Orange County of a unique homeowner association that is
comprised of over 15,000 people with extensive private roads
that need law enforcement.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, there are costs in the hundreds of thousands of
dollars to the DOJ to complete the required study.
COMMENTS : 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 request(s) in unincorporated
areas, such as crimes or criminal complaints. General law
enforcement services do not cover traffic enforcement, leaving
most homeowners' associations with no one to patrol their
private roads for vehicle code infractions?SB 298 will provide
statutory 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." This bill is
sponsored by the Orange County Board of Supervisors.
Current law allows the board of supervisors of any county to
contract on behalf of the sheriff of that county, and the
legislative body of any city to contract on behalf of the chief
of police of that city, to provide supplemental law enforcement
services to private individuals or entities at special events or
on an occasional basis. Contracting for these supplemental law
enforcement services must not reduce the normal and regular
ongoing service that the county, agency of the county, or city
otherwise would provide.
This bill expands current law to allow the Orange County Board
of Supervisors or a city within Orange County to enter into
contracts with private homeowners' associations to enforce the
Vehicle Code on the homeowners' associations' "privately owned
and maintained roads," as defined, on an occasional or ongoing
basis.
According to the sponsor of this measure, this bill is designed
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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. Coto de Caza is comprised of about
4,000 homes and is one of Orange County's oldest and most
expensive master-planned communities. The population of Coto de
Caza at the 2000 census was 13,057 and grew to approximately
18,600 in 2010. The majority of the community is tract housing,
with collections of custom-built homes on the outskirts off the
main streets. Although the area is patrolled by the California
Highway Patrol, Orange County Sheriff's Department, and the Coto
de Caza security force, the sponsor indicates that the community
nevertheless experiences persistent traffic violations -
primarily speeding along the community's main thoroughfares,
many of which have been equipped with speed bumps and other
traffic control measures to no avail. The author's office notes
that the community must rely on authorized peace officers for
this service because private patrol operators are not authorized
to enforce the Vehicle Code.
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 the purpose of
protecting any properties owned or operated by any public
agency, privately owned company, or nonprofit entity, whose
primary business supports national defense, or whose facility
qualified as a national critical infrastructure under federal
law, or that stores or manufactures material that, if stolen,
vandalized, or otherwise compromised, may compromise national
security or pose a danger to residents within the County of
Sacramento.
Support arguments: Supporters assert that this bill will
provide the additional law enforcement services, specifically
traffic enforcement that Orange County's private developments
need for their residents.
Opposition arguments: Opponents could argue that the provisions
of this bill could present a conflict for Orange County or
cities within the county in providing services to different
areas within their jurisdiction, despite language in the bill
that prohibits contracting for supplemental law enforcement
services from reducing the normal and regular ongoing service
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that the county or city otherwise would provide.
Analysis Prepared by : Angela Mapp / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958
FN: 0002103