BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 5
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 1, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                   SB 5 (Maldonado) - As Amended:  April 28, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              Public  
          SafetyVote:  7-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Commission on Peace Officers Standards  
          and Training (POST), if requested, to conduct a feasibility  
          study regarding designating as peace officers members of a fire  
          department bomb squad unit certified by the FBI as bomb  
          technicians.  
           
           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Negligible state costs. Any costs incurred by POST would be  
          reimbursed by the agency requesting the feasibility study. The  
          cost of such a feasibility study would be in the $50,000 range. 

           COMMENTS  

           Rationale  . The author seeks to provide peace officer status to  
          California fire department-based bomb technicians. The author  
          states that unlike many states and law enforcement counterparts,  
          California fire department-based bomb techs are not classified  
          as peace officers. "As a result, these technicians are often  
          placed at a critical disadvantage when they are required to  
          testify in court regarding an emergency incident they may have  
          diffused and their credentials are questioned simply because of  
          a lack of peace officer classification. 

          "Also, unlike their law enforcement counterparts and fire  
          department-based technicians in other states, California's fire  
          department-based bomb squad technicians do not carry firearms  
          because of the aforementioned classification oversight. This can  
          pose a significant safety threat to squad members when they are  
          called on to respond to a high-risk incident that may involve  








                                                                  SB 5
                                                                  Page  2

          individual perpetrators who specifically are looking to do these  
          public safety personnel harm."


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081