BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 242


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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          242 (Monning)


          As Amended  June 22, 2015


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  31-5


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Education       |6-1  |O'Donnell, Chávez,    |Kim                 |
          |                |     |McCarty, Santiago,    |                    |
          |                |     |Thurmond, Weber       |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
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          SUMMARY:  Requires the governing board of a school district that  
          establishes a school police department to prohibit the school  
          police department from receiving surplus military equipment  
          pursuant to United States Code Title 10, Section 257a unless the  
          school district does all of the following:












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          1)Votes to approve the acquisition of surplus military equipment  
            at a regularly scheduled public board meeting.




          2)Provides parents or guardians of pupils, and other members of  
            the public, a chance to comment at a regularly scheduled  
            public board meeting on the proposed acquisition of surplus  
            military equipment, and, clearly and in a manner recognizable  
            to the general public, identify in the agenda the topic to be  
            discussed at the meeting.




          3)Provides a detailed description of the function and purpose of  
            the surplus military equipment to be received.




          4)Identifies safe and secure storage for surplus military  
            equipment to be received by a school police department.




          5)Ensures that peace officers employed by a school police  
            department possess adequate training in the safe use and  
            handling of the surplus military equipment to be received.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  None.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel.


          COMMENTS:  School security and police departments.  Governing  
          boards are authorized to establish security departments headed  








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          by a Chief of Security and a police department headed by a chief  
          of police.  Security departments are considered supplementary to  
          city and county law enforcement agencies and are not vested with  
          general police powers.  Individuals employed and compensated as  
          members of a police department of a school district, when  
          appointed and duly sworn, are considered peace officers with  
          arrest powers.  There is no data on the number of school  
          districts that maintain school police departments; the estimate  
          is about 22.  Larger districts are more likely than smaller  
          districts to have school police departments.


          What does this bill do?  This bill specifies that the governing  
          board of a school district that maintains a school police  
          department shall not permit the school police department to  
          receive federal surplus military equipment unless the governing  
          board of the school district votes to approve the acquisition of  
          the equipment at a regularly scheduled public board meeting,  
          provides specified information, and gives the public a chance to  
          comment on the proposed acquisition at the board meeting.


          The author states, "The weapons and supplies received by school  
          police departments are often sought without the approval or  
          knowledge of the elected school boards that have statutory  
          control over them.  There is also almost no inclusion or input  
          from community members and parents about the decision to acquire  
          the military equipment that will be used in policing schools.   
          This lack of transparency can be frustrating for parents who  
          believe they should be notified when military-grade equipment  
          may be used around students who can be as young as 5 years old  
          in a K-12 school setting."


          Federal 1033 program.  The National Defense Authorization Act  
          authorizes the Secretary of Defense to transfer excess property  
          that it determines suitable for use in law enforcement  
          activities to federal, state, and local law enforcement  
          jurisdictions.  This is referred to as the 1033 Program.  The  








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          Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Law Enforcement Support Office is  
          assigned to determine whether property is suitable for use by  
          these agencies.  The DLA defines law enforcement activities as  
          those performed by government agencies whose primary function is  
          the enforcement of applicable federal, state, and local laws and  
          whose compensated law enforcement officers have powers of arrest  
          and apprehension.  The law enforcement agencies must be  
          authorized and certified annually to participate.


          The Governor's Office of Emergency Services implements the 1033  
          Program in California and conducts management and oversight of  
          the program through the California Public Safety Procurement  
          Program.  The Office of Emergency Services also provides support  
          and technical assistance to law enforcement agencies  
          participating (or interested in participating) in the program.


          Since 1997, the 1033 Program has provided over $5.1 billion of  
          military equipment to thousands of local law enforcement  
          agencies throughout the country, including more than 120 school  
          district police departments that serve K-12 students.  According  
          to a September 12, 2014, article by the Huffington Post, the  
          following school districts in California have received federal  
          surplus military equipment:


           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Baldwin Park         |a)Three M16 assault rifles                 |
          |School Police        |                                           |
          |Department           |                                           |
          |                     |                                           |
          |                     |                                           |
          |---------------------+-------------------------------------------|
          |Kern High            |a)30 magazine pouches for M4 assault       |
          |School District      |  rifle ammunition                         |
          |Police               |                                           |
          |                     |                                           |
          |                     |                                           |








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          |---------------------+-------------------------------------------|
          |Los Angeles          |a)61 M16 rifles                            |
          |School Police        |b)Three M79 grenade launchers              |
          |Department           |c)One mine-resistant vehicle (Los          |
          |                     |  Angeles Unified School District          |
          |                     |  announced later that it was              |
          |                     |  returning the three grenade              |
          |                     |  launchers)                               |
          |---------------------+-------------------------------------------|
          |Oakland Unified      |a)Tactical utility truck                   |
          |School Police        |                                           |
          |                     |                                           |
          |                     |                                           |
          |---------------------+-------------------------------------------|
          |San Diego            |a)One mine-resistant vehicle               |
          |Unified Schools      |                                           |
          |Police               |                                           |
          |                     |                                           |
          |                     |                                           |
           ----------------------------------------------------------------- 


          Executive Order.  Last month, President Obama issued an  
          executive order based on recommendations from the Law  
          Enforcement Equipment Working Group, formed following the death  
          of Michael Brown and the outcry from the local community and  
          social justice organizations over police use of federal military  
          equipment to confront protectors in Ferguson, Missouri.    


          The Executive Order established a "prohibited equipment list"  
          that would not be available to any local law enforcement agency,  
          including tracked armored vehicles, bayonets, grenade launchers,  
          large caliber weapons and ammunition.  The Executive Order also  
          established a "controlled equipment list," which are categories  
          of equipment that local law enforcement agencies may acquire, if  
          they provide specified information and meet specified  
          requirements.  The controlled list includes wheeled armored or  
          tactical vehicles, specialized firearms and ammunition,  








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          explosives and pyrotechnics, and riot equipment.  However, the  
          executive order appears to specifically exclude law enforcement  
          agencies that solely serve K-12 schools from acquiring any  
          equipment.  The Governor's Office of Emergency Services is  
          waiting for guidance from the federal law enforcement support  
          office on the interpretation of the Executive Order.  


          The author's office states that even if the Executive Order  
          halts the future acquisition of military equipment by school  
          police departments, it would be the result of an Executive  
          Order, which could be changed or eliminated at any time.  The  
          author believes that enacting state law requiring a local  
          governing board to deliberate whether a school district police  
          department should acquire military equipment will ensure that  
          there is an opportunity to provide community input in the event  
          the Executive Order is changed or removed.   


          Arguments in support.  The California State Conference of the  
          National Association for the Advancement of Colored People  
          states, "The militarization of campus law enforcement agencies  
          is becoming increasingly disturbing.  Often times, there is  
          little to no training provided for the equipment that the campus  
          law enforcement agencies request.  [SB] 242 is good policy in  
          that it will ensure that governing boards, parents, and teachers  
          are aware of law enforcements access to military equipment."


          Arguments in opposition.  The California Police Chiefs  
          Association opposes this bill and states, "The California Police  
          Chiefs Association supports transparency, community involvement,  
          and responsible decision making.  Unfortunately, SB 242 puts  
          California school law enforcement at a significant disadvantage.  
           While other law enforcement agencies around the country can  
          quickly apply to receive surplus military equipment, interested  
          California school agencies will be stalled and frozen out of the  
          process."









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          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Sophia Kwong Kim / ED. / (916) 319-2087  FN:  
          0001074