BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2157
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 19, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2157 (Logue) - As Amended: April 6, 2010
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill allows probation officers authorized to carry guns, to
qualify with the gun at least every six months instead of every
three months.
FISCAL EFFECT
No state cost.
Potential minor local savings, likely in the tens of thousands
of dollars for small counties, to low hundreds of thousands of
dollars for large counties, to the extent a county probation
department chooses to use the biannual qualification option
created by this bill rather than quarterly qualification.
COMMENTS
1)Rational . The author and sponsor, Placer County, contend this
bill provides fiscal flexibility without jeopardizing public
safety. According to the author, "This optional program
provides flexibility to our probation officers without
sacrificing on their effectiveness. If adopted, these changes
would place probation officers on the same training level as
sheriff's deputies and police officers."
This bill does not change the firearm training required by
Penal Code Section 32 and the Commission on Peace Officers
Standards and Training.
AB 2157
Page 2
2)Current law specifies that state parole officers and county
probation officers are statewide peace officers who are
permitted to carry guns on duty if authorized to do so by
their employing agency. Current law requires these officers to
meet specified gun training requirements, including qualifying
quarterly with the weapon. State law is generally silent on
minimum firearm qualification standards except for parole and
probation officers and a few limited peace office categories,
such as investigators for Departments of Corporations and
Consumer Affairs, Medical and Dental Boards and the State Fire
Marshall.
3)Support . Though the California Probation Officers Association
has not adopted a position on this bill, and only Placer
County has officially registered support, the Placer County
Chief Probation Officer, at the request of committee staff,
has confirmed the unofficial support of 26 county probation
chiefs, including San Francisco, L.A., Orange, Riverside,
Fresno, San Bernardino, Sierra, Nevada, Imperial, Butte,
Trinity, Solano, San Bernardino, Amador, Calaveras, El Dorado,
Mendocino, Contra Costa, Kern, Marin, and Santa Cruz.
Sutter County unofficially opposes this proposal.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081