BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 626|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 626
Author: McGuire (D), et. al.
Amended: 4/16/15
Vote: 21
SENATE TRANS. & HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 4/14/15
AYES: Beall, Cannella, Allen, Bates, Gaines, Galgiani, Leyva,
McGuire, Mendoza, Roth, Wieckowski
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/12/15
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Leno, Liu, McGuire, Monning, Stone
SUBJECT: Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District: police
forceSonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District: police
force.
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill authorizes the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit
(SMART) District to establish the position of chief of police.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law establishes the SMART District for the purpose of
providing a unified, comprehensive institutional structure for
the ownership and governance of a passenger rail system within
the counties of Sonoma and Marin. SMART will provide rail
service along 70 miles of the historic Northwestern Pacific
Railroad alignment, serving 14 stations from Cloverdale in
Sonoma County to the San Francisco-bound ferry terminal in
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Larkspur, Marin County. SMART began construction on the system
in May 2012, and plans to begin revenue service in 2016.
This bill:
1)Authorizes the SMART board to establish the position of chief
of police.
2)Specifies that the police chief will be a duly sworn police
officer and must meet the standards for recruitment and
training of peace officers established in existing law.
3)Specifies that, should the SMART board determine that more
than one officer is needed, it may contract for those services
with any law enforcement agencies located within Marin and/or
Sonoma counties.
Comments
Purpose. The author contends that, without a sworn police
officer on staff, law enforcement agencies will not share
sensitive information with SMART. Without this information,
SMART becomes vulnerable and unable to respond to sensitive
information pertaining to service disruption, acts of vandalism,
and violence. The author suggests that this bill solves this
problem; with a sworn police chief, SMART will be able to access
sensitive information from other law enforcement agencies.
Transit operator police forces. Very few transit operators in
California have legislative authority to establish their own
police forces. In fact, of the roughly 250 entities statewide
that are eligible to receive state transit funding, only four
transit operators are statutorily allowed to maintain their own
police department. All other transit service providers contract
with local law enforcement or private entities to provide their
security needs.
Some operators cite the increased costs of in-house peace
officers, including the higher benefit and retirement costs of
these types of employees, as the reason they contract for
security services. Others point to the high risk involved with
managing a police force authorized to use deadly force,
suggesting that recent incidents some transit operators have
experienced demonstrate the problems that can arise with an
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in-house police force. Finally, some suggest that an
organization dedicated to providing transit service is
ill-equipped to, at the same time, manage a police force and
would therefore appreciate the benefits of contracting out for
such services.
This bill does not propose to authorize the SMART board to
establish a police force, but instead grants authority to only
hire one sworn police officer and to contract for any additional
law enforcement services deemed necessary. While a sworn police
chief would be eligible under existing law to review sensitive
law enforcement information, as the author suggests, it is
unclear whether this would assure timely access to this
information, nor whether the increased cost of a sworn officer
on staff is worth this access.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified5/14/15)
Sonoma-Marin Rail Transit District
Central Marin Police Authority
Marin County Sheriff's Office
Novato Police Department
San Rafael Police Department
Sonoma County Sheriff's Office
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/14/15)
None received
Prepared by:Eric Thronson / T. & H. / (916) 651-4121
5/15/15 15:29:08
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