BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON
BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Jerry Hill, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1362 Hearing Date: April 4,
2016
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|Author: |Mendoza |
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|Version: |February 19, 2016 |
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|Urgency: |No |Fiscal: |Yes |
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|Consultant|Mark Mendoza |
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Subject: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority:
security officers
SUMMARY: Exempts a person regularly employed as a security officer by
the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority from the
requirements of the Private Security Services Act; authorizes
these persons who are not peace officers to exercise the power
of arrest; permits these persons to carry a wooden club or
baton; allows these persons to carry a shotgun, as specified;
authorizes the sale, giving, lending, and importation of any
large-capacity magazine to these persons.
Existing law:
1) Provides for the licensure and regulation of private patrol
operators (PPOs), armored contract carriers, and security
guards by the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services
(BSIS or Bureau) in the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA)
under the Private Security Services Act (Act). (Business and
Professions Code (BPC) § 7580 et. seq.)
2) Defines a PPO as a person who, for any consideration,
furnishes a watchman, guard, patrolperson or other
person to protect persons or property. (BPC § 7582.1)
3) Defines a security guard or security officer as an
employee of a PPO whose job duties include protecting
persons or property. (BPC § 7582.1)
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4) Exempts from the Act specific persons from its
requirements.
(BPC § 7582.2)
5) Exempts from the Act, an officer or employee of the United
States of America, or of this state or a political
subdivision thereof, while the officer or employee is engaged
in the performance of his or her official duties. (BPC §
7582.2(b))
6) Authorizes certain persons who are not peace officers to
exercise the powers of arrest under certain
circumstances, if they have completed a specific
training course prescribed by the Commission on Peace
Officer Standards and Training. (Penal Code (PEN) §
830.7).
7) Provides that PEN § 16580 does not prohibit a police
officer, special police officer, peace officer, or law
enforcement officer from carrying a wooden club or
baton. (PEN § 22295)
8) Provides that a person is guilty of carrying a loaded
firearm when the person carries a loaded firearm upon
the person or in a vehicle while at any public place or
on any public street in an incorporated city or in any
public place or on any public street in a prohibited
area of an unincorporated territory.
(PEN § 25850(a))
9) Provides that security guards are allowed to carry
concealed weapons while actually shipping, transporting,
or delivering money or other things of value. (PEN §
25630)
10)Provides that uniformed security guards or night watch
persons employed by any public agency, while acting
within the scope and course of their employment, may
carry loaded firearm as long as they have been issued a
certificate from the DCA indicating they have completed
a course in the carrying and use of firearms and a
course training in the exercise of the power of arrest.
(PEN § 26030)
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11)Provides that, except as specified, any person in this
state who manufactures or causes to be manufactured,
imports into the state, keeps for sale, or offers or
exposes for sale, or who gives, or lends, any
large-capacity magazine is punishable by specific
penalties or as a felony. (PEN § 32310)
12)Exempts any federal, state, county, city, and county, or
city agency that is charged with the enforcement of any
law from the sale of, giving of, lending of, importation
into this state of, purchase of, any large capacity
magazine. (PEN § 32400)
This bill:
1) Exempts a person regularly employed as a security officer by
the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority
(LACMTA) from the requirements of the Act.
2) Extends the power of arrest to persons regularly employed as
a security officer by LACMTA, if they successfully complete a
specified training course prescribed by the Commission on
Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).
3) Authorizes a person regularly employed by LACMTA as a
security officer to carry a wooden club or baton.
4) Authorizes a person regularly employed by LACMTA as a
security officer to carry a shotgun, as defined, in a patrol
vehicle or armored vehicle owned by the authority for use in
carrying out the security officer's official duties.
5) Authorizes the sale of, giving of, lending of, importation
into this state of, or purchase of, any large-capacity
magazine to or by the LACMTA for use by its employee security
officers in the discharge of their official duties.
6) States legislative findings and declarations as to the
necessity of a specific statute for the County of Los
Angeles.
FISCAL
EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed "fiscal" by Legislative
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Counsel.
COMMENTS:
1. Purpose. The Teamsters are the sponsors of this bill.
According to the Author, "In the course of their duties,
LACMTA officers may need access to weapons, such as a baton
or a firearm, in order to handle volatile situations
appropriately. In addition to protecting the public,
officers risk bodily harm as they perform their duties.
Under current law, the use of batons and firearms by LACTMA
officers is unclear, forcing these officers to choose between
patrolling unprotected or risking liability issues."
The Teamsters underscore that, [because of] "LA County Counsel's
opinion that LACMTA lacked clear authority to allow their
security guard officers to possess certain weapons on the job
and to arrest individuals who are suspected of committing
criminal acts on LACMTA property, over the past year,
officers have been forced to perform dangers duties without
adequate protection and to make citizens arrest when criminal
conduct occurs. This obviously puts these officers in harm's
way, both physically and legally for no good reason. SB 1362
will rectify the situation and allow these officers to
continue to provide their vital services in a safe manner."
2. Background. LACMTA is the public transportation operating
agency for the County of Los Angeles formed in 1993 out of a
merger of the Southern California Rapid Transit District and
the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission. It is
chartered under state law as a regional transportation
planning agency.
Metro directly operates bus, light rail, heavy rail, and bus
rapid transit services. It provides funding and directs
planning for commuter rail and freeway/expressway projects
within Los Angeles County. In February 2016, LACMTA reports
that there were 26,233,143 boardings for the bus system.
With respect to the rail system, LACMTA highlights that there
were 34,785,787 boardings.
The agency develops and oversees transportation plans,
policies, funding programs, and both short-term and
long-range solutions that address the county's increasing
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mobility, accessibility and environmental needs. The agency
is also the primary transit provider for the City of Los
Angeles providing the bulk of such services while the City of
Los Angeles Department of Transportation operates a much
smaller system of its own Commuter Express bus service to
outlying suburbs in the city of Los Angeles and the Downtown
Area Short Hop (DASH), mini-bus service in downtown and other
neighborhoods in the city of Los Angeles.
3. BSIS. The Bureau currently licenses about 380,000 companies
and employees serving in the areas of alarm services,
locksmith services, private investigation, private security,
repossession, and firearm and baton training. Based on the
past three fiscal years, the Bureau issues an average of
1,900 company licenses, 71,000 employee registrations, and
12,000 Bureau firearm permits. On average, the Bureau renews
9,500 company licenses, 105,000 employee registrations, and
11,500 Bureau firearm permits each year.
Specifically, the Bureau regulates the following Acts:
a) Alarm Company Act
b) Locksmith Act
c) Private Investigator Act
d) Private Security Services Act
e) Proprietary Security Services Act
f) Collateral Recovery Act
1. LACMTA, Firearms, and Batons. Currently, BSIS does not have
jurisdiction over LACMTA since it is a public agency.
However, the Bureau does regulate individuals that desire to
be a security guard and carry a firearm and baton.
Standard procedure for LACMTA security guards include
registering with BSIS as a security guard and applying for a
firearms and baton permit. Applicants undergo a rigorous
application process where they must complete a background
check and other mandatory training requirements. Once
registration is complete and both permits are received,
LACMTA security guards can carry both a firearm and baton.
Approximately 90% of LACMTA's security guards are classified
as armed guards.
2. The LA County Sherriff's Department. Unlike LACMTA security
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officers, a police officer has the power to arrest and detain
an individual. LACMTA security officers serve as the eyes
and ears for law enforcement, but do not have the power to
detain an individual. Police officers have extensive
training in investigative searches, arrests, and search and
seizure situations. They also do six months of on the job
training where they interact in situations as if they were on
patrol. This overall training includes a minimum of 664
hours of POST-developed training and testing in 42 separate
areas of instruction called Learning Domains. Most
POST-certified basic training academies exceed the 664 hour
minimum by 200 or more hours with some academies presenting
over 1000 hours of training and testing.
This bill would require these security guard officers to
complete specified POST courses that relate to the arresting
and detaining individuals. In essence, these individuals
would be acting as quasi-police officers.
Following the January 2016 separation of the LA County
Sherriff's Department with LACMTA, there has been competing
analysis as to whether or not these guards have statutory
authority to carry concealed weapons, shotguns, batons, and
high capacity magazines. LA County Counsel and the
Teamsters' Counsel are the main entities at odds on this
issue.
3. Policy Issue : If SB 1362 is implemented, who will regulate
these security guards? Currently, BSIS registers LACMTA
security guards that request to hold a firearm and baton
permit. Not only does this bill seek to explicitly exclude
these guards from the requirements of this Act, but it also
would allow LACMTA security guards full access to a firearm,
baton, and magazine without a BSIS required permit.
Expanding access to firearms and other weapons, without some
safeguard that checks the background and mental health of the
security guard, appears problematic. There has also been
discussion that LACMTA guards currently believe that they are
not required to comply with the Act since they are public
employees and not private security guards. The Committee may
wish to ask the Author which local or state authority, if
any, would have jurisdiction over regulating these exempted
security guards.
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NOTE : Double-referral to the Senate Committee on Public Safety.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support: Teamsters (Sponsor)
Opposition: None on file as of March 29, 2016.
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