BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 489 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 489 (Gonzalez) As Introduced February 23, 2015 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+------+-----------------------+--------------------| |Public Safety |7-0 |Quirk, Melendez, | | | | |Gonzalez, | | | | |Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, | | | | |Low, Santiago | | | | | | | |----------------+------+-----------------------+--------------------| |Appropriations |16-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, Bonta, | | | | |Calderon, Chang, Daly, | | | | |Eggman, Gallagher, | | | | |Eduardo Garcia, | | | | |Holden, Jones, Quirk, | | | | |Rendon, Wagner, Weber, | | | | |Wood | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Adds ocean lifeguards to the list of public safety officers eligible to receive the Public Safety Medal of Valor (PSMOV) for extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty, and authorizes a group to be named later to represent ocean lifeguards on the PSMOV Review Board. AB 489 Page 2 EXISTING LAW: 1)Provides that the Governor may annually present in the name of the State of California a Medal of Valor to one or more public safety officers cited by the Attorney General (AG) upon the recommendation of the Medal of Valor Review Board (Board) for extraordinary valor above and beyond the call of duty. The PSMOV shall be the highest state award for valor given to a public safety officer, which includes any person serving a public service agency, with or without compensation, as a firefighter, a law enforcement officer, including a corrections or court officer or a civil defense officer, or an emergency services officer. 2)Creates the "Medal of Valor Review Board," comprised of representatives or their designees, selected by the following organizations: a) California Association of Highway Patrolman; b) California Coalition of Law Enforcement Associations; c) California Correctional Peace Officers Association; d) California Peace Officers' Association; e) California Police Chiefs' Association; f) California Professional Firefighters; AB 489 Page 3 g) California State Firefighters' Association; h) California State Sheriffs' Association; i) California Statewide Law Enforcement Association; j) Peace Officers Research Association of California; and aa) A group representing emergency medical technicians and paramedics, to be selected by the Board. 3)Provides that the Board shall be chaired by a member elected by a majority of the members at the first official meeting of the Board each year. The Board shall meet at the call of the chair. Members shall serve without compensation or reimbursement for travel, per diem, or other expenses, and they shall minimize travel expenses to the greatest extent possible. Any cost incurred by a member as a result of serving as a member shall not be paid by the state. 4)Requires the Board to review applications for the PSMOV to determine which applicants, if any, to recommend to the AG. Not more than once each year, the Board may present to the AG the names of those persons, if any, it recommends for the PSMOV. 5)Authorizes the Board to receive donations to pay for meeting and witness expenses. Witnesses requested to appear before the Board may be paid no more than the fees paid to witnesses under Code of Civil Procedure. The per diem and mileage allowance may be paid by funds donated to the Board and shall not be paid by the state. If donated funds are not available to the Board, the Board shall not hold hearings or have witnesses. FISCAL EFFECT: AB 489 Page 4 According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, minor absorbable costs, probably less than $10,000, to the Department of Justice to include ocean lifeguard representatives on the Board, and to include ocean lifeguards on the eligibility list for the PSMOV. COMMENTS: According to the author, "The Public Safety Medal of Valor is the highest state award given to public safety officers for showing 'extraordinary valor beyond the call of duty'. Lifeguards in most jurisdictions in California are classified as public safety officers and they should be eligible to qualify for this award. Their heroic actions save thousands of lives each year and the dangerous work they perform has led some to pay the ultimate price, yet they cannot be considered for this honor. "AB 489 will become more inclusionary of those who risk their lives every day and add ocean lifeguards to the list of eligible public servants alongside firefighters, law enforcement officers, corrections officers and emergency service officers." Analysis Prepared by: Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0000177