BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1154
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Date of Hearing: June 17, 2014
Counsel: Gabriel Caswell
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
SB 1154 (Hancock) - As Amended: May 29, 2014
SUMMARY : Expands the authority given to Bay Area Rapid Transit
(BART) police officers to include powers granted similarly
situated police officers in other jurisdictions. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Includes BART police officers in the provisions of law which
require every law enforcement agency in the state to develop,
adopt, and implement written policies and standards for
officers' responses to domestic violence calls that encourage
the arrest of domestic violence offenders if there is probable
cause that an offense has been committed. Includes members of
the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District Police
Department in the definition of "officers" for the purposes of
these provisions.
2)Permits officers of the BART Police Department to have the
ability to request an ex parte emergency protective order from
a judicial officer, if there are reasonable grounds to believe
a person is in immediate and present danger of stalking.
3)Permits BART police officers, who respond to the scene of a
domestic violence incident or assault, to temporarily take
custody of any firearms or deadly weapons that are in plain
sight or obtained during a lawful search.
4)Extends the sunset on the law that allows BART to issue
prohibition orders banning persons from entering district
property for determined periods of time for specified
offenses. Extends the sunset until January 1, 2018.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows BART, until January 1, 2015, to issue prohibition
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orders banning persons from entering the property, facilities,
or vehicles of the transit district for determined periods of
time for specified offenses. Specifically, current law allows
BART to issue a prohibition order to a person who has been
cited on at least three separate occasions within a period of
90 days for any of the following infractions committed in or
on a transit vehicle, bus stop, or station of the transit
district: (Pub. Util. Code § 99171.)
a) Interfering with the operator or operation of a transit
vehicle, or impeding the safe boarding or alighting of
passengers;
b) Committing any act or engaging in any behavior that may,
with reasonable foreseeability, cause harm or injury to any
person or property;
c) Willfully disturbing others on or in a transit facility
or vehicle by engaging in boisterous or unruly behavior;
d) Carrying an explosive or acid, flammable liquid, or
toxic or hazardous material in a public transit facility or
vehicle;
e) Urinating or defecating in a transit facility or
vehicle, except in a lavatory;
f) Willfully blocking the free movement of another person
in a transit facility or vehicle; or,
g) Defacing with graffiti the interior or exterior of the
facilities or vehicles of a public transportation system.
2)Allows BART to issue a prohibition order to a person who has
been arrested or convicted once for any of the following
misdemeanors or felonies committed in or on a vehicle, bus
stop, or station of the transit district: (Pub. Util. Code §
99171.)
a) Acts involving violence, threats of violence, lewd or
lascivious behavior, or possession or sale of any illegal
substance;
b) Loitering with the intent to engage in drug-related
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activity; or,
c) Loitering with the intent to commit prostitution.
3)Provides the maximum duration of a prohibition order is as
follows: (Pub. Util. Code § 99171.)
a) 30 days for a first order, 90 days for a second order
within one year, and 180 days for a third order within one
year related to infractions; or,
b) 30 days if issued pursuant to an arrest for a
misdemeanor or felony offense. Upon conviction for the
offense, the order may be extended to a total of 180 days
for a misdemeanor and one year for a felony.
4)States that a prohibition order is effective eleven days after
delivery is deemed complete unless the person contests the
proposed order within 10 days in accordance with procedures
adopted by the transit district. The procedures must include,
among other things, an opportunity to request an initial
review and the opportunity, if the person is dissatisfied with
the results of the initial review, to request an
administrative hearing. The hearing must provide an
independent, objective, fair, and impartial review of the
prohibition order, and the hearing officer's employment and
compensation may not be directly or indirectly linked to the
number of prohibition orders upheld. If the transit district
or hearing officer determines that the person did not
understand the nature and extent of his or her actions or did
not have the ability to control his or her actions, the
prohibition order shall be canceled. If the person is
dependent upon the transit system for trips of necessity,
including travel to or from medical or legal appointments,
school or training classes, places of employment, or obtaining
food, clothing, and necessary household items, the transit
district or hearing officer must modify the prohibition order
to allow for those trips. If the person is dissatisfied with
the result of the administrative hearing, he or she may seek
judicial review of the administrative hearing decision within
90 days. (Pub. Util. Code § 99171.)
5)Requires the transit district to establish an advisory
commission that is tasked, among other things, with monitoring
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the issuance of prohibition orders to ensure compliance with
anti-discrimination laws and with providing the governing
board of the transit district and the Legislature with an
annual report on the program. (Pub. Util. Code § 99172.)
6)Allows peace officers, as defined in Penal Code sections
830.1, 830.2 and 830.32, to request that a judicial officer
issue an ex parte emergency protective order. In the request,
the peace officer must assert reasonable grounds to believe
that a person is in immediate and present danger of stalking
based upon the person's allegation that he or she has been
willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly followed or harassed by
another person who has made a credible threat with the intent
of placing the person who is the target of the threat in
reasonable fear for his or her safety. If the judge issues
the protective order, it expires at the earlier of the
following times: (1) the close of judicial business on the
fifth court day following the day of its issuance; or, (2) the
seventh calendar day following the day of its issuance. (Pen.
Code § 646.91.)
7)Requires certain peace officers, who are at the scene of a
domestic violence incident involving a threat to human life or
a physical assault, or who are serving a protective order as
defined in section 6218 of the Family Code, to take temporary
custody of any firearm or other deadly weapon in plain sight,
or discovered pursuant to a consensual or other lawful search,
as necessary for the protection of the peace officer or other
persons present. (Pen. Code § 18250.)
8)Provides specified requirements concerning the law enforcement
response to domestic violence, including the development and
implementation of policies concerning officers' responses to
domestic violence calls, dispatchers' responses to domestic
violence calls, law enforcement records of domestic violence
protection orders, the provision of pamphlet information to
persons who are to be protected under a protective order, and
the collection of data. (Pen. Code § 13700 et seq.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "SB 1154 seeks
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to clarify that BART Police Officers, like other police
officers in the state, have the authority to issue Emergency
Protective Orders (EPO) for individuals in a domestic violence
situation within the transit system, and that they have the
authority to confiscate weapons while investigating such
circumstances.
"SB 1154 makes it clear that BART Police are included in
the definition of officers under the general provisions
of law enforcement response to domestic violence, and
clarifies that they have the authority to issue EPOs, and
take temporary custody of firearms or deadly weapons
while conducting domestic violence investigations.
Specifically, this bill adds BART Police to the following
Penal Code Sections: 13700, 646.91, and 18250."
2)Background : According to the background provided by the
author, "SB 1154 seeks to clarify that BART Police Officers,
like other police officers in the state, have the authority to
issue Emergency Protective Orders (EPO) for individuals in a
domestic violence situation within the transit system, and
that they have the authority to confiscate weapons while
investigating such circumstances.
"SB 1154 makes it clear that BART Police are included in the
definition of officers under the general provisions of law
enforcement response to domestic violence, and clarifies that
they have the authority to issue EPOs, and take temporary
custody of firearms or deadly weapons while conducting
domestic violence investigations. Specifically, this bill
adds BART Police to the following Penal Code Sections: 13700,
646.91, and 18250.
"The bill also extends the sunset provisions relating to BART
in AB 716 until January 1, 2018."
3)BART and Prohibition Orders : Prior to implementing the
prohibition order program, BART was required to establish an
advisory commission to monitor the issuance of prohibition
orders to ensure compliance with anti-discrimination laws and
with providing the governing board of the transit district and
the Legislature with an annual report on the program. (Pub.
Util. Code § 99172.)
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In its recent draft annual report, BART indicates that it
issued one hundred and forty-six
prohibition orders based on misdemeanor or felony arrests
between May 6, 2013, and December 31, 2013. None of the
alleged violators contested the order. The top violation was
for domestic battery under Penal Code section 243(e)(1). In
addition, BART issued six infraction citations over this same
period for violations on the list of infractions eligible for
a prohibition order. None of the cited offenders repeated the
violations three or more times within the 90-day period. This
legislation would permit BART to continue issuing these
prohibition orders.
Additionally, in response to the high percentage of
prohibition orders that were related to domestic battery, this
legislation would give BART police officers additional powers
relating to domestic violence crimes. According to BART:
"SB 1154 will clarify that BART Police Officers, like
other police officers around the state, are included in
the definition of officers under the general provisions
of law enforcement response to domestic violence, and
clarifies that they have the authority to issue
Emergency Protective Orders (EPOs), and take temporary
custody of firearms or deadly weapons while conducting
domestic investigations."
4)Argument in Support : According to BART, "In 2011, the
legislature passed and the Governor signed, AB 716 (Chapter
534, Statutes of 2011), which created a 3-year pilot program
for BART Police to help reduce the number of passenger
disruptions and improve employee safety by excluding
passengers from the transit system, under specified
circumstances, who are repeatedly cited for certain offenses.
Similar pilot program authority had been previously granted to
the Sacramento Regional Transit District (SacRT) and the
Fresno Area Express (FAX). In addition to creating the pilot
program for BART, AB 716 removed the sunset provisions for
SacRT and FAX, making their related authority permanent.
"In 2013 BART initiated its AB 716 implementation process and
related data has been collected for approximately six months.
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AB 716 required BART to submit a report of its findings to the
State Legislature and this report found a high percentage
(25%) of prohibition orders issued between May-December 2013,
were related to domestic battery.
"SB 1154 will clarify that BART Police Officers, like other
police officers around the state, are included in the
definition of officers under the general provisions of law
enforcement response to domestic violence, and clarifies that
they have the authority to issue Emergency Protective Orders
(EPOs), and take temporary custody of firearms or deadly
weapons while conducting domestic violence investigations.
"In addition, the bill will extend the sunset provisions in AB
716 relating to BART's pilot program, allowing for additional
data collection and analysis."
5)Prior Legislation : AB 716 (Dickinson), Chapter 534, Statutes
of 2011, created a 3-year pilot program for BART Police to
better be able to work to reduce the number of passenger
disruptions by excluding passengers from the transit system,
under specified circumstances, who are repeatedly cited for
certain offenses.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Peace Officers Research Association of California
San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
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