Amended in Assembly March 17, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2228

Introduced by Assembly Member Cooley

February 18, 2016

An act to begin delete amend Section 829.5 of the Penal Code end delete begin insert add Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 26205) to Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code end insert , relating to code enforcement officers.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2228, as amended, Cooley. Code enforcement officers.

Existing law defines the term “code enforcement officer” as a person who is not a peace officer, who has enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare requirements, and who is authorized to issue citations or file formal complaints, as specified.

begin insert

This bill would require the Board of Directors of the California Association of Code Enforcement Officers (CACEO) to develop and maintain standards for the designation of Certified Code Enforcement Officers or CCEOs. The bill would require the board to designate minimum training, qualifications, and experience requirements for applicants to qualify for the CCEO designation. The bill would also require the board to qualify cities, counties, cities and counties, and accredited educational institutions as Certified Code Enforcement Officer Education Program Providers, and would require all students, participants, or employees who successfully pass the minimum education and certification requirements to be granted CCEO status in an equivalent manner as applicants who attain certification through the CACEO.

end insert begin insert

The bill would require the board to set annual fees in amounts that are reasonably related and necessary to cover the costs of administering these provisions, to maintain a register of applications for certification, and adopt procedures for discipline, revocation, and sanctions against applicants, registrants, and certificants. The bill would allow all orders of the board resulting in revocation, suspension, or other action to be appealed by a writ of mandate or petition for judicial review to the superior court.

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This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to that provision.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

end insert

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert begin insert The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following: end insert

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(1) There is statewide interest in preventing homes,
neighborhoods, commercial properties, and public ways from
deteriorating and falling into disrepair creating blight conditions.

end insert begin insert

(2) Blight adversely impacts community quality-of-life issues,
creates hazards and unsafe conditions that endanger the public,
causes citizen dissatisfaction, and leads to dangerous buildings,
increased crime, and reduced property values.

end insert begin insert

(3) Setting the standards, minimum requirements, and ongoing
educational requirements for local code enforcement officers who
elect to attain the Certified Code Enforcement Officer title helps
local agencies identify, select, and train qualified public officers
to enforce laws and codes necessary to help preserve safe,
well-ordered communities.

end insert begin insert

(4) Public officers who perform code enforcement functions
require a unique skill set that is not available through traditional
vocational offerings.

end insert begin insert

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this measure
to protect human safety, preserve property values, reduce crime,
and abate public nuisances by helping to regulate the standard of
training and certification for local code enforcement officers that
public agencies may rely on. The municipal code enforcement
function is sufficiently important to justify having a standard by
public authority, with the title Certified Code Enforcement Officer
having a legally defined meaning.

end insert begin insert

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature that compliance with this
measure be voluntary and not to mandate local agencies or
employers to require their code enforcement officers to become
certified. The voluntary program created pursuant to this measure
will ensure that individuals who are Certified Code Enforcement
Officers have met prescribed education, training, and experience
requirements and have passed a comprehensive examination
reflective of the demands encountered in the code enforcement
profession.

end insert begin insert

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature to recognize the California
Association of Code Enforcement Officers professional
development and credentialing program by establishing a Certified
Code Enforcement Officer title to help local agencies define,
standardize, and regulate this important function.

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begin insert

begin insert SEC. 2. end insert   

end insert

begin insert Chapter 20 (commencing with Section 26205) is added
to Division 20 of the end insert begin insert Health and Safety Code end insert begin insert , to read: end insert

begin insert

 

Chapter   begin insert 20. end insert Certified Code Enforcement Officers

 

begin insert 26205. end insert   

This chapter shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Code Enforcement Officer Standards Act.

begin insert 26206. end insert   

For purposes of this chapter, the following terms have
the following meanings:

(a) “Board” means the duly elected Board of Directors of the
California Association of Code Enforcement Officers.

(b) “CACEO” means the California Association of Code
Enforcement Officers, a public benefit corporation domiciled in
California.

(c) “Certified Code Enforcement Officer” or “CCEO” means
a person registered or certified as described in this chapter.

(d) “Code enforcement officer” has the same meaning as defined
in Section 829.5 of the Penal Code.

begin insert 26207. end insert   

(a) The board shall develop and maintain standards
for the various classes of CCEOs that it designates. The standards
for education, training, and certification shall be adopted by
administrative rule of the board, and they shall be no less than as
described in this chapter. CCEOs shall not have the power of
arrest except as authorized by the city, county, or city and county
charter, code, or regulation in which they operate. CCEOs shall
not have access to summary criminal history information pursuant
to this section, but persons regularly employed by a city, county,
or city and county designated pursuant to this subdivision may be
furnished state summary criminal history information upon a
showing of compelling need pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
11105 of the Penal Code if the criteria specified in that section is
otherwise met. A person may not be designated or certified as a
CCEO under this section if that person is disqualified pursuant to
the criteria set forth in Section 1029 of the Government Code.

(b) The board shall review all applications from cities, counties,
cities and counties, and accredited educational institutions who
seek to develop and provide education designed to qualify their
students, participants, or employees as CCEOs. All applications
that are submitted on approved forms that, subject to the board’s
review and approval, demonstrate the equivalency of the standards
adopted under the rules of the board shall qualify as Certified
Code Enforcement Officer Education Program Providers (program
providers). All program providers are subject to ongoing program
review and evaluation under the board’s administrative rules. A
program provider shall renew its program provider application
and obtain approval under the board’s administrative rules no
later than 36 months from the date of the last approval or else it
shall lapse and be subject to renewal under the board’s
administrative rules. All students, participants, or employees who
successfully pass the minimum education and certification
requirements of the program providers approved curriculum shall,
subject to the same fees as other registered CCEOs under the
board’s administrative rules, be granted status as CCEOs in an
equivalent manner as applicants who attained certification or
registration status through the CACEO educational and
certification programs and academies.

(c) The development and perpetual advancement of code
enforcement officer professional standards and actively providing
related educational offerings that lead to increased professional
competence and ethical behavior shall be the highest priority for
the board in its licensing, certification, and disciplinary functions.
Whenever the advancement of code enforcement officer
professional standards and the provision of related educational
offerings is inconsistent with other interests sought to be promoted,
the former shall be paramount.

begin insert 26208. end insert   

The board’s administrative rules shall designate
minimum training, qualifications, and experience requirements
for applicants to qualify for the CCEO designation, including, but
not limited to, training and competency requirements in the areas
of land use and zoning laws, health and housing codes, building
and fire codes, environmental regulations, sign standards, public
nuisance laws, applicable constitutional law, investigation and
enforcement techniques, application of remedies, officer safety,
and community engagement. The board may, by administrative
rule, designate additional classes of certifications to help meet its
mission.

begin insert 26209. end insert   

The board shall conspicuously and continually publish
its list of CCEOs on the CACEO Internet Web site, containing the
registrant’s full name, summary status as to individual disciplinary
concerns, active or inactive status, date of active CCEO expiration,
and business address, unless the business address is a residence,
which shall be treated as confidential.

begin insert 26210. end insert   

A CCEO shall hold a valid certificate designating the
person as a CCEO issued by the CACEO, shall at all times remain
a member in good standing of the CACEO, and shall be subject
to ongoing continuing education and registration requirements as
designated by the board’s administrative rules.

begin insert 26211. end insert   

Failure to maintain the continuing education
requirements shall cause the certification status to lapse, subject
to redemption as specified by the board’s administrative rules.
Once a certification lapses, the certification status shall
automatically convert to inactive CCEO status unless it is
redeemed. The rights, privileges, and procedures or limitations
on redemption of inactive CCEOs shall be specified in the board’s
administrative rules.

begin insert 26212. end insert   

The board shall annually set fees in amounts that are
reasonably related and necessary to cover the cost of administering
this chapter. The fees shall be set by the board and published on
the CACEO Internet Web site and maintained at the CACEO’s
headquarters.

begin insert 26213. end insert   

The board shall maintain a register of each application
for a certificate of registration under this chapter. The register
shall include all of the following:

(a) The name, residence, date of birth, and driver’s license
number (including state or country of origin) of the applicant.

(b) The name and address of the employer or business of the
applicant.

(c) The date of the application.

(d) The education and experience qualifications of the applicant.

(e) The action taken by the board regarding the application and
the date of the action.

(f) The serial number of any certificate of registration issued
to an applicant.

(g) Any other information required by board rule.

begin insert 26214. end insert   

A person may not hold himself or herself out to be a
Certified Code Enforcement Officer in this state or use the title
“Certified Code Enforcement Officer” in this state unless the
person holds a certificate of registration pursuant to this chapter.

begin insert 26215. end insert   

The board shall, by administrative rule, create a process
to timely consider and review all applicants who hold certification
from any other agency, and allow them to seek review and potential
approval of the qualifications to potentially be recognized as a
CCEO in this state. A denial of full recognition as a CCEO shall
be accompanied by written justification and a list of required steps
that may be required for the individual applicant to complete the
registration and certification process. Recognition fees shall be
set as described in Section 26212.

begin insert 26216. end insert   

(a) The board shall adopt administrative rules to
process information, investigate allegations or suspicions of
applicants or licensees providing false information, failing to
disclose material information on the registration application, or
not providing any information that may, either before or during
the certification process, disqualify the applicant or certificant
under subdivision (a) of Section 26207. The board shall adopt
procedures and guidelines to impose any discipline, revocation of
certification, or sanction, for cause, against any applicant,
registrant, or certificant.

(b) The administrative rules shall provide the applicant or
registrant with adequate and fair notice and hearing opportunities
prior to the board taking any adverse action against the applicant
or certificant.

(c) Any factual finding after a hearing that the board concludes
is cause for revocation, suspension, or other disciplinary or
administrative action against a registration or certification shall
result in an order after hearing that meets the fair notification
requirements of this section.

(d) All orders after hearing shall be deemed final under the
board’s authority and procedures and may be appealed as provided
for in Sections 1094.5 and 1094.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

begin insert 26217. end insert   

This chapter does not interfere with regulation or
certification requirements for building inspectors as defined by
Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 18949.25) of Part 2.5 of
Division 13.

end insert

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SECTION 1.  

Section 829.5 of the Penal Code is amended to
read:

829.5.  

(a) “Code enforcement officer” means any person who
is not described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830)
and who is employed by any governmental subdivision, public or
quasi-public corporation, public agency, public service corporation,
any town, city, county, or municipal corporation, whether
incorporated or chartered, who has enforcement authority for
health, safety, and welfare requirements, whose duties include
enforcement of any statute, rule, regulation, or standard, and who
is authorized to issue citations, or file formal complaints.

(b) “Code enforcement officer” also includes any person who
is employed by the Department of Housing and Community
Development and who has enforcement authority for health, safety,
and welfare requirements pursuant to the Employee Housing Act
(Part 1 (commencing with Section 17000) of Division 13 of the
Health and Safety Code); the State Housing Law (Part 1.5
(commencing with Section 17910) of Division 13 of the Health
and Safety Code); the Manufactured Housing Act of 1980 (Part 2
(commencing with Section 18000) of Division 13 of the Health
and Safety Code); the Mobilehome Parks Act (Part 2.1
(commencing with Section 18200) of Division 13 of the Health
and Safety Code); and the Special Occupancy Parks Act (Part 2.3
(commencing with Section 18860) of Division 13 of the Health
and Safety Code).

end delete