BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1872
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 4, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1872 (Gray) - As Amended April 4, 2016
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill adds the County of Merced to the list 32 counties
within which deputy sheriffs assigned to perform duties
exclusively or initially relating to custodial assignments with
responsibility for operating a county custodial facility are
peace officers whose authority extends to any place in the state
while engaged in the performance of the duties of his or her
respective employment, and appropriates $1,315,000 from the
General Fund (GF) to be allocated to the University of
AB 1872
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California (UC), Merced for the purpose of purchasing public
safety equipment.
FISCAL EFFECT:
$1,315,000 GF appropriation to UC Merced, but not additional
cost associated with the peace officer designation provision.
COMMENTS:
1)Background/Purpose. According to the author, "According to
the California Department of Justice's 2014 homicide
statistics, Merced County has the highest homicide rate in the
state among counties with populations of 100,000 or more. The
Merced County Sheriff's Office and local police departments
continue to have difficulties filling deputy sheriff and
police officer vacancies. For example, Merced County currently
has 21 deputy sheriff vacancies and continues to experience
double digit unemployment and significantly higher poverty
rates than the rest of the state. AB 1872 will help Merced
County maximize its existing law enforcement resources and
join the 32 other counties in California that currently have
this status.
"During the initial growth of the UC Merced campus, some areas
related to safety were under-resourced and do not presently
have the safety equipment of the sister UC campuses in the
police and fire areas. Although the November 4, 2015 incident
on the UC Merced campus was handled in a professional manner
by the responding UC Merced Police Officers, it caused the
Assistant Vice Chancellor for Campus and Public Safety to
conduct a review of safety equipment available to police and
fire during and after an emergency situation or major event.
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After consultation with other UC Chiefs of Police and first
responder partners, a list of equipment was developed which
would benefit not only the UC Merced campus, but also the
larger Merced city and county region."
2)Support. The Merced County Law Enforcement Chief's
Association states that with this bill correctional staff can
be deployed to positions requiring peace officer powers during
a local state of emergency. In past emergencies, these
officers were unable to assist in the field. At the recent UC
Merced incident, these officers could have handled traffic
control, freeing up deputies for other duties. Also,
correctional staff could be utilized in criminal courtrooms
allowing deputies to be utilized for patrol duties."
3)Opposition. According to the Peace Officers Research
Association of California, "For over a decade, PORAC has
worked with the California State Sheriff's Association to
ensure that any bill introduce creating a new category of
peace officers is done so with full agreement between the
sheriff and the sheriff's deputies. There is no agreement in
Merced County and although they are in talks, PORAC opposes
the precedent that this bill will set moving forward, without
an agreement".
4)Prior Legislation:
a) SB 1254(La Malfa), Chapter 66, Statutes of 2012, added
Trinity and Yuba Counties to the list of specified counties
within which deputy sheriffs assigned to perform duties
exclusively or initially related to custodial assignments
are peace officers whose authority extends to any place in
the state while engaged in the duties of his or her
respective employment .
b) AB 1695(Bell), Chapter 575, Statutes of 2010, allowed
the duties of custodial officers employed by the Santa
Clara County Department of Corrections to be performed at
other health care facilities in Santa Clara County, in
addition to their duties performed at the Santa Clara
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Valley Medical Center.
c) AB 2215 (Berryhill), Chapter 15, Statutes of 2008, added
Calaveras, Lake, Mariposa, and San Benito Counties to the
list of specified counties within which deputy sheriffs
assigned to perform duties exclusively or initially related
to custodial assignments are peace officers whose authority
extends to any place in the state while engaged in the
duties of his or her respective employment .
d) AB 151 (Berryhill), Chapter 84, Statutes of 2007, added
Glenn, Lassen, and Stanislaus to the list of specified
counties within which deputy sheriffs assigned to perform
duties exclusively or initially related to custodial
assignments are peace officers whose authority extends to
any place in the state while engaged in the duties of his
or her respective employment .
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081