BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
SB 1278 (Leno) - Animal control officers: mandated training.
Amended: April 23, 2014 Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: April 28, 2014
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 1278 would require animal control officers
(ACOs) and ACO supervisory personnel, as specified, to complete
a training course in the exercise of the powers of arrest and to
serve warrants. This bill would also mandate minimum continuing
education requirements, as specified, for ACOs and maintenance
of training records by local agencies employing ACOs.
Fiscal Impact:
Potentially significant state-reimbursable costs (General
Fund) to local agencies employing ACOs for mandated
training, both initial and ongoing. These costs could
potentially be offset in part by dog license tag fee
revenues to the extent funds are allowable for this use and
available after all other existing payment obligations are
satisfied.
One-time and ongoing state-reimbursable costs (General
Fund) to local agencies for the mandated maintenance of
training records by the ACO employing agency. Costs would be
dependent on the media utilized to maintain the records, the
retention period, and volume of records to be maintained.
Background: Existing law under Penal Code (PC) § 830.9 provides
that ACOs are not peace officers but may exercise the powers of
arrest of a peace officer and the power to serve warrants, as
specified, during the course and within the scope of their
employment if those officers successfully complete a training
course pursuant to PC § 832. Existing law provides that the part
of the training course pertaining to the carrying and use of
firearms is not required for any ACO whose employing agency
prohibits the use of firearms.
The PC 832 Arrest and Firearms Course, certified by the
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Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), is
the minimum training standard for California peace officers. The
course consists of two components, which total a minimum of 64
hours. The Arrest component has a 40-hour requirement, and the
Firearms component has a 24-hour requirement. These components
are divided into 14 individual topics which contain the minimum
required foundational information for given subjects.
ACOs enforce state and local laws pertaining to animal care and
control as well as public safety. While they are not peace
officers, ACOs may exercise the same powers of arrest and
serving warrants within the scope of their duties if the PC §
832 course is successfully completed. Unlike peace officers and
humane officers, ACOs are not mandated to attend any in-service
training or education in order to maintain their proficiency in
their law enforcement duties. This bill will require minimum ACO
training standards and seeks to not only standardize training on
the powers of arrest and serving warrants, but also requires
continuing education and training.
Proposed Law: This bill requires all ACOs to complete a training
course in the exercise of powers of arrest and to serve
warrants. Specifically, this bill:
Requires every person appointed as an ACO prior to July
1, 2015, to complete a course in the exercise of the powers
of arrest and to serve warrants no later than July 1, 2016.
Every ACO appointed on or after July 1, 2015, is required
to complete the course within one year of his or her
appointment.
Provides that an ACO who completed the basic training
course prior to January 1, 2015, is deemed to have
satisfied the aforementioned training requirements.
Requires every person appointed as a director, manager,
supervisor, or any person in direct control of an animal
control agency on or after July 1, 2015, to complete a
course in the exercise of powers of arrest and to serve
warrants within one year of his or her appointment.
Requires that during each three-year period following
the date of appointment for ACOs appointed after July 1,
2015, every ACO shall satisfactorily complete at least 40
hours of continuing education (CE) and training relating to
the powers and duties of an ACO as determined by the
California Animal Control Directors Association. For ACOs
appointed prior to July 1, 2015, the CE requirements must
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be completed by July 1, 2018, and every three years
thereafter.
Requires CE and training to include at least four hours
of course work in the exercise of the powers of arrest and
to serve warrants taught by POST certified instructor.
Provides that ACO employing agencies may provide
training utilizing instructors or curriculum from within
the agency or from an allied agency, provided the topic and
length of instruction otherwise comply with the provisions
of the subdivision.
Requires records of training to be maintained by the
ACO's employing agency.
Specifies that this section does not apply to an ACO who
is a peace officer pursuant to PC § 830.1.
Adds the cost of initial and in-service training for
persons charged with enforcing animal control laws,
including ACOs, to the list of expenses authorized to be
paid with from fees for the issuance of dog license tags
and fines collected from the regulation of the licensing of
dogs (Food and Agriculture Code (FAC § 30652).
Related Legislation: AB 1511 (Gaines) 2014 would allow the
Department of Justice and local criminal justice agencies to
furnish state and local summary criminal history information to
an ACO upon a showing of compelling need. This bill is pending
referral to committee in the Senate.
Prior Legislation: SB 655 (Presley) Chapter 82/1990 required
ACOs to successfully complete the training course on the powers
of arrest and to serve warrants, rather than simply receive that
course of training in order to exercise those powers during the
course and within the scope of their employment.
Staff Comments: By imposing new training requirements on local
employees, this bill imposes a state-mandated local program, the
costs of which would potentially be reimbursable by the state
subject to a claim submitted by local agency and a decision by
the Commission on State Mandates (CSM).
Government Code section 17556(e) states that the CSM shall not
find costs mandated by the state if offsetting savings or
additional revenue that was specifically intended to fund the
costs of the state mandate in an amount sufficient to fund the
cost of the state mandate exists. Of note, in its Parameters and
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Guidelines of the approved test claim for Animal Adoption (CSM
98-TC-11), the CSM deducted offsetting savings and other
reimbursements, including the fees from dog license tags issued
and fines collected pursuant to FAC § 30652, from the total
costs claimed.
While this bill specifically amends FAC § 30652 to authorize the
use of fees and fines collected to fund the training of persons
charged with enforcement of animal control laws, including ACOs,
it is unknown if the existing fee and fine revenues collected
are sufficient to cover the initial and ongoing increased costs
of this measure, as revenues are prioritized from rank 1 to 5,
with the expenses imposed under this measure to be paid last.
Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) estimate of ACOs
employed statewide (May 2012), there are about 12,300 ACOs
employed by local agencies. While it is unknown what percentage
of ACOs would be exempt (already taken the training course or
who are peace officers), for every 10 to 25 percent (1,230 -
3,075) of ACOs required to take the initial course, costs would
be in the range of $125,000 to $314,000 (General Fund) based on
an average PC § 832 training cost of $102 for the 40-hour basic
training course (without firearms component).
Training costs for supervisory personnel in direct control of an
ACO would be dependent on the number of applicable personnel,
which is unknown at this time, but would potentially be
significant. Supervisory personnel would not be exempt unless
they were an ACO who previously completed the training or a
peace officer. Continuing education costs, while also
significant, would be distributed across three years, for all
non-peace officer ACOs.
Recommended Amendments:
1. On page 4, in line 8, subdivision (d) as added, appears
to restate existing statute in subdivision (a) of PC §
830.9. As existing statute requires ACOs to successfully
complete a course in the exercise of the powers of arrest
and to serve warrants in order to exercise those powers,
staff recommends a technical amendment for consistency:
(d) Every animal control officer described in this section,
prior to the exercise of the powers of arrest and to serve
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warrants, shall have satisfactorily successfully completed
the course of training described in Section 832.
2. On page 4, in line 15, due to the inclusion of several
dates described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (f) of PC §
830.9, as drafted, the language "following the date
described in paragraph (2)" is unclear. For clarity, staff
recommends the following technical amendment:
(f) (1) During each three-year period following the date s
described in paragraph (2), every animal control officer
shall satisfactorily complete at least 40 hours of
continuing education?
3. On page 4, in lines 32-40, and page 5, lines 1-2, to
ensure the four hours of required training on the powers of
arrest are taught by a POST-certified instructor, staff
recommends the following amendment:
On page 4, in line 37, delete "This"
On page 4, delete lines 37-40
On page 5, delete lines 1-2
And add:
Nothing in this section shall restrict the ability of an
agency employing animal control officers from using
instructors or curriculum within the agency, or from an
allied agency, to provide the training required by this
section, provided that four hours of course work in the
exercise of the powers of arrest and to serve warrants is
taught by a Commission on Peace Officer Standards and
Training certified instructor.