BILL NUMBER: AB 1669 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 777
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 11, 2003
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 10, 2003
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 10, 2003
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2003
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 2, 2003
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 13, 2003
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 28, 2003
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 10, 2003
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Chu
FEBRUARY 21, 2003
An act to add Sections 2247 and 2960.2 to the Business and
Professions Code, to amend, repeal, and add Section 1031 of the
Government Code, and to add Section 832.05 to the Penal Code,
relating to peace officers.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1669, Chu. Peace officers: psychological evaluations.
(1) Existing law requires that public officers or employees
declared by law to be peace officers meet certain minimum standards,
including being found free from any emotional or mental condition
that might adversely affect the exercise of the powers of a peace
officer. Existing law requires that the person's emotional and
mental condition be evaluated by a licensed physician and surgeon or
by a licensed psychologist who has a doctoral degree in psychology
and at least 5 years of postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and
treatment of emotional and mental disorders. Existing law regulates
the professions of physicians and surgeons and psychologists, and
makes a violation of the provisions regulating psychologists a
misdemeanor.
This bill would, on and after January 1, 2005, instead require
that the evaluation be done by a physician and surgeon who has
completed specified residency and experience requirements or by a
licensed psychologist who has at least 5 full-time years of
postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional
and mental disorders, with at least 3 of these years accrued
postdoctorate, and would require the physician and surgeon or
psychologist to meet certain other educational and training
standards.
This bill, on and after January 1, 2005, would require a state or
local department or agency employing peace officers to utilize a
physician and surgeon or a psychologist meeting these requirements in
conducting a peace officer recruit's emotional and mental screening
evaluation or in conducting the evaluation of a peace officer to
determine fitness for duty. The bill would also, on or after January
1, 2005, prohibit a physician and surgeon or a psychologist from
performing such evaluations unless he or she meets the licensing,
education, and training requirements.
Because this bill would create prohibitions applicable to
psychologists, the violation of which would be a crime, it would
impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 2247 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
2247. (a) A licensee shall meet the requirements set forth in
subdivision (f) of Section 1031 of the Government Code prior to
performing either of the following:
(1) An evaluation of a peace officer applicant's emotional and
mental condition.
(2) An evaluation of a peace officer's fitness for duty.
(b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2005.
SEC. 2. Section 2960.2 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
2960.2. (a) A licensee shall meet the requirements set forth in
subdivision (f) of Section 1031 of the Government Code prior to
performing either of the following:
(1) An evaluation of a peace officer applicant's emotional and
mental condition.
(2) An evaluation of a peace officer's fitness for duty.
(b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2005.
SEC. 3. Section 1031 of the Government Code is amended to read:
1031. Each class of public officers or employees declared by law
to be peace officers shall meet all of the following minimum
standards:
(a) Be a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident
alien who is eligible for and has applied for citizenship, except as
provided in Section 2267 of the Vehicle Code.
(b) Be at least 18 years of age.
(c) Be fingerprinted for purposes of search of local, state, and
national fingerprint files to disclose any criminal record.
(d) Be of good moral character, as determined by a thorough
background investigation.
(e) Be a high school graduate, pass the General Education
Development Test indicating high school graduation level, pass the
California High School Proficiency Examination, or have attained a
two-year or four-year degree from an accredited college or
university. The high school shall be either a United States public
school meeting the high school standards set by the state in which it
is located, an accredited United States Department of Defense high
school, or an accredited nonpublic high school. Any accreditation
required by this paragraph shall be from an accrediting association
recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department of
Education. This subdivision shall not apply to any public officer or
employee who was employed, prior to the effective date of the
amendment of this section made at the 1971 Regular Session of the
Legislature, in any position declared by law prior to the effective
date of that amendment to be peace officer positions.
(f) Be found to be free from any physical, emotional, or mental
condition which might adversely affect the exercise of the powers of
a peace officer. Physical condition shall be evaluated by a licensed
physician and surgeon. Emotional and mental condition shall be
evaluated by a licensed physician and surgeon or by a licensed
psychologist who has a doctoral degree in psychology and at least
five years of postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and treatment
of emotional and mental disorders.
This section shall not be construed to preclude the adoption of
additional or higher standards, including age.
(g) This section shall become inoperative on January 1, 2005, and
as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, which is
enacted before January 1, 2005, deletes or extends the dates on
which it becomes inoperative and is repealed.
SEC. 4. Section 1031 is added to the Government Code, to read:
1031. Each class of public officers or employees declared by law
to be peace officers shall meet all of the following minimum
standards:
(a) Be a citizen of the United States or a permanent resident
alien who is eligible for and has applied for citizenship, except as
provided in Section 2267 of the Vehicle Code.
(b) Be at least 18 years of age.
(c) Be fingerprinted for purposes of search of local, state, and
national fingerprint files to disclose a criminal record.
(d) Be of good moral character, as determined by a thorough
background investigation.
(e) Be a high school graduate, pass the General Education
Development Test indicating high school graduation level, pass the
California High School Proficiency Examination, or have attained a
two-year or four-year degree from an accredited college or
university. The high school shall be either a United States public
school meeting the high school standards set by the state in which it
is located, an accredited United States Department of Defense high
school, or an accredited nonpublic high school. Any accreditation
required by this paragraph shall be from an accrediting association
recognized by the Secretary of the United States Department of
Education. This subdivision shall not apply to a public officer or
employee who was employed, prior to the effective date of the
amendment of this section made at the 1971 Regular Session of the
Legislature, in any position declared by law prior to the effective
date of that amendment to be peace officer positions.
(f) Be found to be free from any physical, emotional, or mental
condition that might adversely affect the exercise of the powers of a
peace officer.
(1) Physical condition shall be evaluated by a licensed physician
and surgeon.
(2) Emotional and mental condition shall be evaluated by either of
the following:
(A) A physician and surgeon who holds a valid California license
to practice medicine, has successfully completed a postgraduate
medical residency education program in psychiatry accredited by the
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, and has at
least the equivalent of five full-time years of experience in the
diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders, including
the equivalent of three full-time years accrued after completion of
the psychiatric residency program.
(B) A psychologist licensed by the California Board of Psychology
who has at least the equivalent of five full-time years of experience
in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders,
including the equivalent of three full-time years accrued
postdoctorate.
The physician and surgeon or psychologist shall also have met any
applicable education and training procedures set forth by the
California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training
designed for the conduct of preemployment psychological screening of
peace officers.
(g) This section shall not be construed to preclude the adoption
of additional or higher standards, including age.
(h) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2005.
SEC. 5. Section 832.05 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
832.05. (a) Each state or local department or agency that employs
peace officers shall utilize a person meeting the requirements set
forth in subdivision (f) of Section 1031 of the Government Code,
applicable to emotional and mental examinations, for any emotional
and mental evaluation done in the course of the department or agency'
s screening of peace officer recruits or the evaluation of peace
officers to determine their fitness for duty.
(b) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2005.
SEC. 6. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for
certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district because in that regard this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.
However, notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies
and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.