BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Mark Leno, Chair A
2009-2010 Regular Session B
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AB 1385 (Miller) 5
As Amended March 31, 2009
Hearing date: July 14, 2009
Vehicle Code
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ARSON INVESTIGATORS: BLUE EMERGENCY LIGHTS
HISTORY
Source: California State Firefighters Association
Prior Legislation: None
Support: California Conference of Arson Investigators
Opposition:None known
Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 79 - Noes 0
KEY ISSUE
SHOULD ARSON INVESTIGATORS AND OTHER PEACE OFFICERS EMPLOYED BY FIRE
DEPARTMENTS, AS ENUMERATED ABOVE IN PENAL CODE SECTION 830.37, BE
ADDED TO THE LIST OF PEACE OFFICERS WHO MAY DISPLAY A STEADY OR
FLASHING BLUE WARNING LIGHT VISIBLE FROM THE FRONT, SIDES, OR REAR
OF THEIR VEHICLE?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to add arson investigators and other
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peace officers employed by fire departments, as specified, to
the list of peace officers who may display a steady or flashing
blue warning light visible from the front, sides, or rear of
their vehicle.
Existing law requires that every authorized emergency vehicle be
equipped with at least one steady burning red warning lamp
visible from at least 1,000 feet to the front of the vehicle to
be used as provided in this code. In addition, authorized
emergency vehicles may display revolving, flashing, or steady
red warning lights to the front, sides or rear of the vehicles.
(Vehicle Code 25252.)
Existing law provides that an authorized emergency vehicle used
by specified peace officers in the performance of their duties,
may, in addition, display a steady or flashing blue warning
light visible from the front, sides, or rear of the vehicle.
(Vehicle Code 25258 (b).)
Existing law provides that the following persons are peace
officers whose authority extends to any place in the state for
the purpose of performing their primary duty or when making an
arrest as to any public offense with respect to which there is
immediate danger to person or property, or of the escape of the
perpetrator of that offense, as specified. These peace officers
may carry firearms only if authorized and under terms and
conditions specified by their employing agency:
Members of an arson-investigating unit, regularly paid
and employed in that capacity, of a fire department or fire
protection agency of a county, city, city and county,
district, or the state, if the primary duty of these peace
officers is the detection and apprehension of persons who
have violated any fire law or committed insurance fraud.
Members other than members of an arson-investigating
unit, regularly paid and employed in that capacity, of a
fire department or fire protection agency of a county,
city, city and county, district, or the state, if the
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primary duty of these peace officers, when acting in that
capacity, is the enforcement of laws relating to fire
prevention or fire suppression.
Voluntary fire wardens as are designated by the
Director of Forestry and Fire Protection pursuant to
Section 4156 of the Public Resources Code, provided that
the primary duty of these peace officers shall be the
enforcement of the law as that duty is set forth in
Section 4156 of the Public Resources Code.
Firefighter/security guards by the Military Department,
if the primary duty of the peace officer is the enforcement
of the law in or about properties owned, operated, or
administered by the employing agency or when performing
necessary duties with respect to patrons, employees, and
properties of the employing agency.
(Penal Code 830.37.)
Existing law requires that upon the immediate approach of an
authorized emergency vehicle which is sounding a siren and which
has at least one lighted lamp exhibiting red light shall yield
the right-of-way and shall immediately drive to the right-hand
edge or curb of the highway, clear of any intersection, and
thereupon shall stop and remain stopped until the authorized
emergency vehicle has passed. (Vehicle Code 21806.)
Existing law provides that emergency vehicles are exempted from
various traffic laws under the following conditions:
If the vehicle is being driven in response to an
emergency call or while engaged in rescue operations or
is being used in the immediate pursuit of an actual or
suspected violator of the law or is responding to, but
not returning from, a fire alarm, except that fire
department vehicles are exempt whether directly
responding to an emergency call or operated from one
place to another as rendered desirable or necessary by
reason of an emergency call and operated to the scene of
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the emergency or operated from one fire station to
another or to some other location by reason of the
emergency call.
If the driver of the vehicle sounds a siren as may be
reasonably necessary and the vehicle displays a lighted
red lamp visible from the front as a warning to other
drivers and pedestrians.
(Vehicle Code 21055 (a) and (b).)
This bill adds arson investigators and other peace officers
employed by fire departments, as enumerated above in Penal Code
section 830.37, to the list of peace officers who may display a
steady or flashing blue warning light visible from the front,
sides, or rear of their vehicle.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
California continues to face a severe prison overcrowding
crisis. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
currently has about 170,000 inmates under its jurisdiction. Due
to a lack of traditional housing space available, the department
houses roughly 15,000 inmates in gyms and dayrooms.
California's prison population has increased by 125% (an average
of 4% annually) over the past 20 years, growing from 76,000
inmates to 171,000 inmates, far outpacing the state's population
growth rate for the age cohort with the highest risk of
incarceration.<1>
In December of 2006 plaintiffs in two federal lawsuits against
CDCR sought a court-ordered limit on the prison population
pursuant to the federal Prison Litigation Reform Act. On
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<1> "Between 1987 and 2007, California's population of ages 15
through 44 - the age cohort with the highest risk for
incarceration - grew by an average of less than 1% annually,
which is a pace much slower than the growth in prison
admissions." (2009-2010 Budget Analysis Series, Judicial and
Criminal Justice, Legislative Analyst's Office (January 30,
2009).)
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February 9, 2009, the three-judge federal court panel issued a
tentative ruling that included the following conclusions with
respect to overcrowding:
No party contests that California's prisons are
overcrowded, however measured, and whether considered
in comparison to prisons in other states or jails
within this state. There are simply too many
prisoners for the existing capacity. The Governor,
the principal defendant, declared a state of emergency
in 2006 because of the "severe overcrowding" in
California's prisons, which has caused "substantial
risk to the health and safety of the men and women who
work inside these prisons and the inmates housed in
them." . . . A state appellate court upheld the
Governor's proclamation, holding that the evidence
supported the existence of conditions of "extreme
peril to the safety of persons and property."
(citation omitted) The Governor's declaration of the
state of emergency remains in effect to this day.
. . . the evidence is compelling that there is no
relief other than a prisoner release order that will
remedy the unconstitutional prison conditions.
. . .
Although the evidence may be less than perfectly
clear, it appears to the Court that in order to
alleviate the constitutional violations California's
inmate population must be reduced to at most 120% to
145% of design capacity, with some institutions or
clinical programs at or below 100%. We caution the
parties, however, that these are not firm figures and
that the Court reserves the right - until its final
ruling - to determine that a higher or lower figure is
appropriate in general or in particular types of
facilities.
. . .
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Under the PLRA, any prisoner release order that we
issue will be narrowly drawn, extend no further than
necessary to correct the violation of constitutional
rights, and be the least intrusive means necessary to
correct the violation of those rights. For this
reason, it is our present intention to adopt an order
requiring the State to develop a plan to reduce the
prison population to 120% or 145% of the prison's
design capacity (or somewhere in between) within a
period of two or three years.<2>
The final outcome of the panel's tentative decision, as well as
any appeal that may be in response to the panel's final
decision, is unknown at the time of this writing.
This bill does not appear to aggravate the prison overcrowding
crisis outlined above.
COMMENTS
1. Need for This Bill
According to the author:
Currently, certain peace officers are unintentionally
precluded from displaying steady or flashing blue
warning lights on their vehicles. These peace
officers, designated by the Director of Forestry and
Fire Protection as either members of a fire
department, fire protection agency, volunteer fire
warden, firefighter, security guards, or arson
investigation unit, are only allowed to display white
lights. Though these peace officers work with fire
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<2> Three Judge Court Tentative Ruling, Coleman v.
Schwarzenegger, Plata v. Schwarzenegger, in the United States
District Courts for the Eastern District of California and the
Northern District of California United States District Court
composed of three judges pursuant to Section 2284, Title 28
United States Code (Feb. 9, 2009).
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protection, they many times work more closely with
law enforcement.
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This bill would make consistent the definition of a
peace officer for purposes of allowing peace officers
who work with or for a fire department, to display
steady or flashing blue warning lights from the
front, sides or rear of their emergency vehicle.
2. Significance of Blue and Red Lights on Emergency Vehicles
The Vehicle Code requires that all emergency vehicles be
equipped with at least one steady burning red warning lamp.
(Vehicle Code 25252.) The Vehicle Code also permits an
authorized emergency vehicle used by specified peace officers in
the performance of their duties, to, in addition, display a
steady or flashing blue warning light visible from the front,
sides, or rear of the vehicle. (Vehicle Code 25258 (b).)
Most importantly, the Vehicle Code requires that, upon the
immediate approach of an authorized emergency vehicle which is
sounding a siren and which has at least one lighted lamp
exhibiting red light shall yield the right-of-way and shall
immediately drive to the right-hand edge or curb of the highway,
clear of any intersection, and thereupon shall stop and remain
stopped until the authorized emergency vehicle has passed.
(Vehicle Code 21806.)
This bill would add specified fire department employees who are
peace officers to the list of peace officers whose vehicles may
be equipped with a blue warning light.
3. Argument in Support
The California State Firefighter's Association states:
This bill does not expand the definition of a peace
officer. It does not grant firefighters with special
law enforcement abilities. This bill only adds those
that are already peace officers that happen to work
for a fire department with the ability to operate a
vehicle equipped with blue lights.
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The law enforcement division within the Los Angeles
Fire Department averages nearly 300 felony arrests
per year, and utilizes their "lights and sirens" over
1,000 times a year.
When making a vehicle stop the blue lights
immediately identify the arson investigators as law
enforcement. Another law enforcement agency seeing
the blue lights during a vehicle stop or
investigation would recognize the officers as law
enforcement and [would be] more likely to "back up"
the investigators. Amber and red lights are
associated with other non-law enforcement agencies
such as fire, emergency medical service, and towing
services and would not elicit such a response.
If other law enforcement agencies do stop to assist,
the mind set of that agency would be assisting one of
the non-blue light agencies (fire, ems, tow) and not
a potential incident involving the use of deadly
force. The appearance of the arson investigators,
many of whom are plain clothes, with firearms could
result in a mistaken identity situation by the other
law enforcement officers.
The ability of arson investigators to "back up" other
law enforcement agencies could be potentially
dangerous as other agencies would not immediately
recognize the vehicle as law enforcement. Arson
vehicles are often unmarked.
WOULD ALLOWING FIREFIGHTERS WITH PEACE OFFICER STATUS TO HAVE
BLUE LIGHTS ON THEIR CARS ENCOURAGE OTHER PEACE OFFICERS TO
PROVIDE THEM WITH ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE?
WOULD ALLOWING FIREFIGHTERS WITH PEACE OFFICER STATUS TO HAVE
BLUE LIGHTS ON THEIR CARS HELP IDENTIFY THOSE OFFICERS IF THEY
WERE TO PROVIDE "BACK-UP" TO OTHER PEACE OFFICERS?
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