BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1828
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 16, 2010
Counsel: Nicole J. Hanson
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 1828 (Cook) - As Introduced: February 11, 2010
SUMMARY : Reinstates the Commission on Peace Officer Standards
and Training (CPOST), which will be responsible for developing,
approving, and monitoring standards for the selection and
training of state correctional peace officers and apprentices
subject to the approval of the State Personnel Board (SPB).
Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes the following legislative findings and declarations:
a) The Legislature finds and declares that peace officers
of the state correctional system, including youth and adult
correctional facilities, have a role in the criminal
justice system that has been previously ignored in terms of
creation and application of sound selection criteria for
applicants and their training prior to assuming their
duties. For the purposes of this section, correctional
peace officers are peace officers as defined in Penal Code
Section 830.5 and employed by the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR).
b) The Legislature further finds that sound applicant
selection and training are essential to public safety and
in carrying out CDCR's missions in the custody and care of
California's offender population. The greater degree of
professionalism which will result from sound screening
criteria and a significant training curriculum will greatly
aid CDCR in maintaining smooth, efficient, and safe
operations and effective programs in CDCR.
2)Creates within CDCR the Commission on Peace Officer Standards
and Training and creates a position for a CPOST Commissioner.
3)Mandates that the executive board of CPOST shall be composed
of seven voting members and include as following:
AB 1828
Page 2
a) Three members from, appointed by, and representing the
management of, CDCR.
b) Three members from, appointed by, and representing the
membership of, the California Correctional Peace Officers'
Association (CCPOA). Two members shall be rank and file
persons from State Bargaining Unit 6 and one member shall
be supervisory.
c) One member with at least five years experience in a
higher education environment providing instruction in
either corrections or employee training. This member shall
be selected as follows:
i) Within three months of appointment, the group of
three members representing management and the group of
three members representing the membership of CCPOA shall
each nominate five persons who are qualified to be
appointed as the seventh member.
ii) The group of three members representing
management and the group of three members representing
the membership of CCPOA shall alternatively strike one
name from the combined list of 10 nominees. The last name
remaining shall be the seventh member and shall serve a
term of three years. The order in which the group of
three members representing management and the group of
three members representing the membership of CCPOA strike
names from the list shall initially be determined by lot.
iii) Six months prior to the expiration of the
seventh member's term, the six members of the commission
appointed to represent the management and the membership
of CCPOA shall vote on whether to extend the seventh
members' term for an additional term of three years. If
the six voting members fail to extend the seventh
member's term by a majority vote, the Commission shall
replace that member with a new member appointed pursuant
to the initial procedure used to appoint a seventh
member.
d) Each appointing authority shall appoint one alternate
member for each regular member whom they appoint. Every
alternate member shall possess the same qualifications as
the regular member and shall substitute for, and vote in
AB 1828
Page 3
place of, the regular member whenever he or she is absent.
4)States the rules for voting on the executive board of the
CPOST shall be as follows:
a) Decisions shall be made by a majority vote; and,
b) Proxy voting shall not be permitted.
c) Tentative approval of a decision may be taken by a
telephone vote. CPOST's members' decisions shall be
documented in writing and submitted to the CPOST for
confirmation at the next scheduled CPOST meeting so as to
become a part of the permanent record.
d) The executive board of the CPOST shall adopt rules as it
deems necessary for efficient operations, including, but
not limited to, the appointment of advisory members for
forming whatever subcommittee it deems necessary to conduct
its business. These rules shall be in conformance with SPB
rules and regulations, the Department of Personnel
Administration rules and regulations, and the provisions of
the State Bargaining Unit 6 Memorandum of Understanding.
5)Enables CPOST to develop, approve, and monitor standards for
the selection and training of state correctional peace officer
apprentices.
6)Allows CPOST to approve standards for a course in the
carrying, and use, of firearms for correctional peace
officers.
7)Requires CPOST develop, approve, and monitor standards for
advanced rank-and-file and supervisory state correctional
peace officer and training programs for the CDCR.
8)Demands CPOST to develop, approve and monitor standards for
the training of state correctional peace officers in the
handling of stress associated with their duties.
9)Recommends CPOST confer with, and may avail itself of the
assistance and recommendations of, other state and local
agencies, boards, or commissions.
10) Gives CPOST the authority to design, deliver and monitor
AB 1828
Page 4
compliance of training programs, and conduct validation
studies thereon.
11) Mandates CPOST to disapprove of any training courses
created by CDCR if CPOST determines that the courses do not
meet the prescribed standards.
12) Requests CPOST to annually submit an estimate of costs to
conduct those inquiries and audits as may be necessary to
determine whether CDCR and each of CDCR's institutions and
parole regions are adhering to the standards developed by
CPOST.
13) Provides that CPOST shall establish and implement
procedures for reviewing and issuing decisions concerning
complaints or recommendations from interested parties.
14) Demands each new correctional peace officer cadet who
attends an academy shall complete the course of training,
pursuant to standards approved by CPOST, before he or she may
be assigned to a post or job as a peace officer.
15) Allows CPOST to approve of proposed on-the-job training
requirements for correctional peace officer cadets.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Abolishes CPOST and replaces it with the CSA. [Penal Code
Section 13600(a).]
2)Establishes within the CDCR the CSA. (Penal Code Section
6024.)
3)Mandates that the CSA shall be composed of 19 members:
a) One of whom shall be the CDCR Secretary, or his or her
designee, who shall be designated as the chairperson;
b) Four of whom shall be subordinate officers of the
secretary; and,
AB 1828
Page 5
c) The remaining 14 members shall be appointed by the
Governor after consultation with, and the advice of, the
CDCR Secretary and with advice and consent of the Senate.
[Penal Code Section 6026(a).]
4)Assigns the following duties to the CSA:
a) Develop, approve, and monitor standards for the
selection and training of state correctional peace officer
apprentices;
b) Approve standards for a course in the carrying and use
of firearms for correctional peace officers;
c) Develop, approve, and monitor standards for advanced
rank-and-file and supervisory state correctional peace
officer and training programs for the CDCR;
d) Develop, approve and monitor standards for the training
of state correctional peace officers in the handling of
stress associated with their duties;
e) Confer, and may avail itself of the assistance and
recommendations of, with other state and local agencies,
boards, or commissions;
f) Authority to design, deliver and monitor compliance of
training programs, and conduct validation studies thereon;
g) Right to disapprove of any training courses created by
CDCR if CSA determines that the courses do not meet the
prescribed standards;
h) Annually submit an estimate of costs to conduct those
inquiries and audits as may be necessary to determine
whether CDCR and each of its institutions and parole
regions are adhering to the standards developed by the
authority; and,
AB 1828
Page 6
i) Establish and implement procedures for reviewing and
issuing decisions concerning complaints or recommendations
from interested parties. (Penal Code Section 13601.)
5)Demands each new correctional peace officer cadet who attends
an academy shall complete the course of training, pursuant to
standards approved by the CSA before he or she may be assigned
to a post or job as a peace officer. (Penal Code Section
13602.)
6)Allows the CSA to approve of proposed on-the-job training
requirements for correctional peace officer cadets. [Penal
Code Section 13603(b).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author of this bill,
"Since the functions of CPOST were moved to the CSA in 2005,
the quality of correctional officer training has suffered. In
fact, the Office of Inspector General's 2006 audit of the CSA
found that the CSA had almost entirely failed to conduct
oversight of officer training to the point of the program
being out of compliance with state and federal apprenticeship
standards, leaving it at serious risk of being decertified.
"CSA is a large board with extremely broad responsibilities
relating to the state and local correctional system. During
the ten years of its existence, CPOST made measurable
improvements in the quality of correctional peace officer
training. AB 1828 will re-establish the correct authority to
follow through on the mandate for training standards."
2)Background : According to information provided by the author,
"AB 1828 reinstates the CPOST, which will be responsible for
developing, approving, and monitoring standards for selection
and training of state Correctional Peace Officers, subject to
the approval of the State Personnel Board, thereby removing
these functions from the CSA.
"CPOST was created by legislation signed into law by the
AB 1828
Page 7
Governor in 1994. It consisted of three representatives each
from management and rank-and-file employees within CDCR.
CPOST was abolished during the 2005 reorganization of the
former Youth and Adult Correctional agency into the CDCR and
was assigned to the CSA. CSA is a nineteen-member board,
which consists of the Secretary of CDCR, four subordinate
officers, and fourteen persons appointed by the Governor. The
CSA has extremely broad responsibilities relating to the state
and local correctional system. Oversight of the correctional
peace officer training programs is only one of the Authority's
responsibilities. According to the Inspector General, which
released an audit in 2006, 'the Corrections Standards
Authority [failed] to address numerous shortcomings in the
development of correctional peace officer selection and
training standards . . . . '
"The bill also corrects a structural deficiency that existed in
the original iteration of CPOST - which, at times, resulted in
management-labor deadlocks - by adding a seventh member who
must have at least five years experience in a higher education
environment providing instruction in either corrections or
employee training. This correction will improve the function
of CPOST by establishing a fair process for breaking
stalemates between management and rank-and-file members of the
commission.
"This bill is needed to reestablish a responsible and responsive
authority to follow through on the mandate for training
standards in CDCR. During the ten years of its existence,
CPOST made measurable improvements in the quality of
correctional peace officer training. Today, the single
largest group of peace officers in the State of California
(approx. 30,000) has the least amount of training available to
them, compared to other peace officers such as California
Highway Patrol or certain members of the Department of
Justice.
"Training is the key to safety for staff and inmates in the
correctional setting. The best method to develop and
implement a valid training program is to insure adequate input
from both management and the rank-and-file officers who work
in the correctional setting. The CPOST model accomplishes
this by having a structure that includes an equitable balance
of management and rank-and-file members."
AB 1828
Page 8
3)The Inception and Termination of CPOST : CPOST was created in
1994. [AB 1902 (Peace), Chapter 826, Statutes of 1994,
Section 1.] CPOST was comprised of an executive board and a
small commission staff headed by an executive director. The
executive board was made up of six commissioners, each of whom
was appointed for four year terms. California Penal Code
Section 13600 required that three commissioners represented
management and three represented labor. Two of the three
management commissioners were appointed by and represented the
Department of Corrections and one was appointed by and
represented the Department of the Youth Authority. The three
labor commissioners were appointed by the governor upon
CCPOA's recommendation. Two of the labor commissioners were
required to be rank-and-file employees and one was required to
be a supervisory employee. An alternate member was appointed
for each commissioner to vote in place of the commissioner
whenever the commissioner was not present.
In 2004, the Corrections Independent Review Panel (IRP) under
the direction of former Governor George Deukmejian,
recommended that CPOST be eliminated and its function and
funding be consolidated within the CSA. CPOST was thereafter
abolished in 2005 when training responsibility was transferred
to the CSA, which itself was restructured from the former
Board of Corrections in the 2005 reorganization of the
departments under the former Youth and Adult Correctional
Agency. CSA is now a 19-member board with a $351 million
budget and broad responsibilities over state and local
corrections. These responsibilities include developing and
monitoring standards for local youth and adult correctional
facilities, reviewing architectural plans for local detention
facilities, establishing recruitment and training standards
for local corrections personnel, administering funds for the
construction or renovation of local detention facilities, and
administering state-funded local corrections programs.
4)The Office of the Inspector General's (OIG) Critical Findings
of CPOST and CSA : In 2005 OIG stated that, since its
inception, CPOST made only minimal progress in developing
correctional peace officer training standards. [See generally,
OIG, Follow-Up Review of Recommendations Pertaining to the
Former CPOST (Oct. 2006)
AB 1828
Page 9
(as of Mar.10, 2010).] The review found that the commission
developed training standards for only seven of the 27
correctional peace officer classifications for which it is
responsible and that the commission had yet to approve any of
the standards that have been developed. (Ibid.) The review
also found that the apprenticeship program lacks key
components essential to such a program and is threatened with
decertification for non-compliance with state and federal
standards. (Ibid.) The OIG also found that CPOST's board had
not met for nearly one year and had inadequately monitored
compliance with the few general curriculum standards that
already existed. (Ibid.)
The OIG also stated that CPOST's independence "had been
undermined by the influence of both the Youth and Adult
Correctional Agency and the CCPOA, and that the commission's
membership structure was causing institutional paralysis
because of consistent voting deadlocks between management and
rank-and-file, caused obviously by the even split between
management and rank-and-file representatives." (Ibid.)
In a 2006 follow-up report, the OIG criticized CSA's response to
deficiencies identified by the OIG in 2005: "Most of the
recommendations from a 2005 special review of the former CPOST
have not been implemented. The CSA has made limited progress
toward developing selection and training standards for
correctional peace officers, and (CDCR's) Office of Training
and Professional Development has not yet implemented
recommendations pertaining to the correctional peace officer
apprenticeship program." (Id. at 1.)
The OIG did note that the configuration of CSA's 19-member board
"appears to have resolved the structural problems that invited
voting deadlocks" with CPOST. (Id. at 8.)
5)Arguments in Support : According to the California
Correctional Peace Officers Association (CCPOA) , "Prior to the
current Governor's reorganization of the correctional
bureaucracy, CCPOA and the state had a successful ten year
partnership through the legislatively mandated CPOST. This
commission ensured the quality of training for correctional
officers and was engaged in a long-term effort to improve the
curriculum.
"The bill also corrects a structural deficiency which existed in
AB 1828
Page 10
CPOST that at times resulted in management/labor deadlocks.
The correction will improve the function of CPOST by
establishing a fair process for breaking stalemates between
management and rank-and-file members of the commission.
"Since abolishing the commission in 2005, we believe that the
overall quality of correctional training has suffered. In
fact, the OIG 2006 audit of the CSA, concluded that CSA had
almost entirely failed to conduct oversight of officer
training. The OIG reported that CSA's failure was so serious
that the program was at risk for being out of compliance with
federal and state apprenticeship standards leaving the program
at serious risk of being decertified.
"CSA is a bureaucratic, nineteen member board which has
extremely broad responsibilities relating to the state and
local correctional system. Oversight of the correctional
peace officer training programs is only one of their
responsibilities.
"AB 1828 will re-establish a responsible and responsive
authority to follow through on the mandate for training
standards in CDCR. During the ten years of its existence,
CPOST made measurable improvements in the quality of
correctional peace officer training.
"Training is the key to safety for staff and inmates in the
correctional setting. The best way to develop and implement a
valid training program is to insure there is adequate input
from both management and the rank-and-file officers that work
in the correctional setting. The CPOST model accomplishes
that by having a structure that includes a balance of
management and rank-and-file members."
6)Arguments in Opposition : According to the California
Correctional Supervisors Organization (CCSO) , "The CSA was
created and installed by the Legislature for developing,
approving, and monitoring standards for the selection and
training of state correctional peace officers and apprentices.
The CSA replaced CPOST. The reason for CSA creation was to
replace CPOST, which had failed to produce. The main reason
sited in CPOST's failure is the involvement of the Unit 6
union, the CCPOA. The involvement of CCPOA in the developing,
approving, and monitoring standards for the selection and
training of state correctional peace officers and apprentices
AB 1828
Page 11
hampered CPOST to such a degree that it failed to produce
anything meaningful.
"There are some aspects of this bill that are a violation of
state law. In section (B) which states: Three members from,
appointed by, and representing the membership of, the CCPOA.
Two members shall be rank and file persons from State
Bargaining Unit 6 and one member shall be supervisory. The
CCSO represents a majority of the Correctional Supervisors in
the state. To give the supervisory position on the CPOST
board to CCPOA would be unfair to labor practice and violates
several state laws. Before CPOST was decommissioned, CCSO had
filed a lawsuit for that very reason. If this bill is passed,
CCSO will file a lawsuit against the state for violating these
laws.
"It would be na?ve for anyone not to see the following
circumstances that this bill will create.
a) "The seventh person will hold a position on the board,
outlined in section (C), one member with at least five
years experience in a higher education environment
providing instruction in either corrections or employee
training. This person could become an agent for CCPOA.
This would give CCPOA a majority on the board and could
completely cut out managements concerns. Not only would
CCPOA have a labor monopoly, they could have a majority of
voting positions on CPOST.
b) "With control of CPOST in the hands of a union, CCPOA,
they could gain much more power over the managers of CDCR
then they already have. It is very transparent that this
is CCPOA's intent.
"This bill, AB 1828, is a step backward and would resurrect a
failed program. We need to let CSA have a chance to make a
difference."
7)Related Legislation : SB 441 (Ducheny), establishes the Board
of Community Corrections to replace the Board of Corrections
and CSA. SB 441 is currently pending hearing by the Assembly
Committee on Appropriations.
8)Prior Legislation :
AB 1828
Page 12
a) AB 890 (Aghazarian), of the 2007-08 Legislative Session,
was substantially similar to this bill, except for the fact
that AB 890 provided that the executive board of CPOST was
to be composed six voting members. AB 890 was held on the
Senate Appropriations Committee's Suspense file.
b) SB 737 (Romero), Chapter 10, Statutes of 2005, amended
the Governor's Reorganization Plan 1 to respond to concerns
regarding, among others, juvenile justice, warden
appointment and agency management.
c) SB 1902 (Peace), Chapter 826, Statutes of 1994,
reconstituted the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee
as CPOST.
d) SB 1566 (Hill), of the 1991-92 Legislative Session,
reconstituted the Joint Apprenticeship Committee as a
seven-member commission that was not appointed by the
governor and required correctional peace officers to meet
psychological screening requirements as outlined by the
SPB. Additionally, SB 1566 proposed to use a portion of
the monies received from telephone providers of pay
telephone services used by inmates and youth authority
wards for a CPOST training fund. While the Governor
indicated in his veto message that he strongly supported
better training for correctional peace officers, he stated:
"To fund the additional training and services at the
correctional facilities, this bill would divert revenue
away from the General Fund derived from inmate and ward use
of telephones . . . .
"The creation of this special fund through legislative fiat
circumvents the normal budget process. This would hamper
the Administration's ability to allocate money flexibly to
meet the state's needs. Given the state's current austere
fiscal condition, I cannot support a new program that would
unduly restrict the use of General Fund revenues."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Correctional Peace Officers Association
AB 1828
Page 13
Opposition
California Correctional Supervisors Organization
Analysis Prepared by : Nicole J. Hanson / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744