BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 388|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 388
Author: Miller (R)
Amended: 3/26/09 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/9/09
AYES: Leno, Benoit, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,
Wright
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 5/04/09 (Consent) - See last page
for vote
SUBJECT : Firefighters uniforms: vendor requirements
SOURCE : California State Firefighters Association
DIGEST : This bill requires vendors of uniforms to verify
that a person purchasing a uniform identifying a
firefighting agency or department is an employee or
authorized member of the agency or department identified on
the uniform, as specified. Failure to do so would be a
misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $1,000.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that any person, other
than an officer or member of a fire department, who
willfully wears, exhibits, or uses the authorized uniform
of an officer or member of a fire department or a deputy
state fire marshal, with the intent of fraudulently
CONTINUED
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impersonating an officer or member of a fire department or
the Office of the State Fire Marshal, or of fraudulently
inducing the belief that he or she is an officer or member
of a fire department or the Office of the State Fire
Marshal, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
This bill requires vendors of uniforms to verify that a
person purchasing a uniform identifying a firefighting
agency or department is an employee or authorized member of
the agency or department identified on the uniform.
Acceptable forms of identification would be:
1.A valid photo identification card issued by a
firefighting agency or department that designates the
person as an employee or authorized member of the agency
or department identified on the uniform shall be
sufficient verification; or
2.An official letter of authorization from the firefighting
agency or department designating that person as an
employee or authorized member of the agency or department
together with a government issued photo identification
card bearing the same name as listed in the letter of
authorization issued by the agency or department.
This bill provides that any uniform vendor who sells a
uniform identifying a firefighting agency or department
without verifying that the purchaser is an employee or
authorized member of the agency or department is guilty of
a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than
$1,000.
This bill provides that the verification requirements
stated above do not apply if the uniform is to be used
solely as a prop for a motion picture, television, video
production, or a theatrical event, and prior written
permission has been obtained from the identified
firefighting agency or department.
Comments
With respect to the most serious potential misuse of a
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firefighter's uniform, the U.S. Fire Administration, an
agency within the Department of Homeland Security, has
advised as follows:
Last week the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued
an information bulletin: "Potential Terrorist Use of
Official Identification, Uniforms, or Vehicles." DHS
published it to advise owners and operators of the nation's
infrastructures about the possible use by terrorists of
official identification, uniforms, or vehicles to gain
access to sensitive locations for purposes of planning or
carrying out attacks. While DHS possesses no information
indicating an organized effort by extremist elements to
acquire these items, it has identified the recent theft or
disappearance of large numbers of the referenced items.
The CIPIC reminds all readers to remain vigilant to the
disappearance of, or unauthorized inquiries regarding
official identification cards, badges, decals, uniforms,
government license plates, and vehicles. Emergency
response departments are encouraged to establish practices
that account for missing items and to report suspicious
incidents to the proper authorities.
Recognizing that possession of some combination of these
items tends to reduce suspicion and might allow an
individual or vehicle greater access to sensitive
locations, DHS suggests the following protective measures:
1.Keep comprehensive records of all official identification
cards, badges, decals, uniforms, and license plates
distributed, documenting any anomalies, and canceling
access to items that are lost or stolen.
2.Practice accountability of all vehicles to include
tracking those that are in service, in repair status, or
sent to resale or salvage.
3.Safeguard uniforms, patches, badges, ID cards, and other
forms of official identification to protect against
unauthorized access to facilities, to include stripping
all decommissioned vehicles slated for resale or salvage
of all agency identifying markings and emergency warning
devices.
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4.Check multiple forms of valid identification for each
facility visitor.
5.Verify the legitimate business needs of all approaching
vehicles and personnel.
6.Improve identification card technology to eliminate reuse
or unauthorized duplication.
7.Alert uniform store vendors of the need to establish and
verify the identities of individuals seeking to purchase
uniform articles.
8.Ensure all personnel are provided a security briefing
regarding present and emerging threats.
(U.S. Fire Administration Infogram, July 2003,
http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/ fireservice/subjects/
mr-isac/infograms/ig2003/igjul3103.shtm
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/19/09)
California State Firefighters' Association (source)
California Professional Firefighters
California Fire Chiefs Association
California Conference of Arson Investigators
Sacramento-Sierra Regional Arson Task Force
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office:
Currently, there is no prohibition on purchasing a
firefighter uniform with department patches without
verification of employment of affiliation. This poses
a threat to public safety, as criminals are able to
impersonate a firefighter with relative ease, and past
examples have shown that they have done so.
This bill would simply create the same requirement for
firefighters as police officers by requiring that
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uniform vendors request verification that customers
are in fact employees or authorized members of the
fire department for which they are seeking to purchase
a uniform.
The Sacramento-Sierra Regional Arson Task Force states:
There are innumerable incidents of persons
impersonating firefighters for a variety of reasons,
and this poses an immediate threat to public safety.
It is unlawful to impersonate a firefighter or a
police officer in California, and the law currently
provides sanctions for vendors of law enforcement
uniforms who do not check for identification when
selling such uniforms. The same law should also apply
to vendors of firefighter uniforms. Though many
imposters obtain their badges and uniforms by theft,
the proposed statute would limit opportunities for a
person who is not a uniformed employee of a
firefighting agency to purchase a badge or uniform
without their employment being verified. This new law
would conceivably reduce the number of incidents of
persons posing as firefighting personnel. At the very
least, it would create another obstacle for persons
unlawfully attempting to obtain items identifying them
as official firefighting personnel.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A.
Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Huffman
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RJG:nl 6/19/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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