BILL ANALYSIS
SB 490
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 16, 2009
Counsel: Nicole J. Hanson
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Juan Arambula, Chair
SB 490 (Maldonado) - As Amended: June 4, 2009
SUMMARY : Adds Colusa and San Luis Obispo Counties to the
preexisting list of counties where deputy sheriffs assigned to
perform duties exclusively or initially relating to custodial
assignments may be defined as "peace officers whose authority
extends to any place in California while engaged in the
performance of his or her employment."
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that any deputy sheriff of the County of Los
Angeles, and any deputy sheriff of the Counties of Butte,
Calaveras, Glenn, Humboldt, Imperial, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Lake,
Lassen, Mariposa, Mendocino, Plumas, Riverside, San Benito,
San Diego, Santa Barbara, Shasta, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma,
Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, and Tuolumne who is
employed to perform duties exclusively or initially relating
to custodial assignments with responsibilities for maintaining
the operations of county custodial facilities, including the
custody, care, supervision, security, movement, and
transportation of inmates, is a peace officer whose authority
extends to any place in the state only while engaged in the
performance of the duties of his or her respective employment
and for the purpose of carrying out the primary function of
employment relating to his or her custodial assignments, or
when performing other law enforcement duties directed by his
or her employing agency during a local state of emergency.
[Penal Code Section 830.1(c).]
2)States that all cities and counties are authorized to employ
custodial officers who are public officers but not peace
officers for the purpose of maintaining order in local
detention facilities. Custodial officers under this section
do not have the right to carry or possess firearms in the
performance of his or her duties. However, custodial officers
may use reasonable force to establish and maintain custody and
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may make arrests for misdemeanors and felonies pursuant to a
warrant. (Penal Code Section 831.)
3)Mandates notwithstanding existing law, law enforcement
agencies in counties with a population of 425,000 or less and
the Counties of San Diego, Fresno, Kern, Riverside, Santa
Clara, and Stanislaus may employ custodial officers with
enhanced powers. The enhanced powers custodial officers are
empowered to serve warrants, writs, or subpoenas within the
custodial facility and, as with regular custodial officers,
use reasonable force to establish and maintain custody.
[Penal Code Section 831.5(a).]
4)Requires that prior to the exercise of peace officer powers,
every peace officer shall have satisfactorily completed the
Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training (CPOST)
course. [Penal Code Section 832(b).]
5)Provides that custodial officers may carry firearms under the
direction of the sheriff while fulfilling specified
job-related duties such as while assigned as a court bailiff,
transporting prisoners, guarding hospitalized prisoners, or
suppressing jail riots, escapes, or rescues. [Penal Code
Section 831.5(b).]
6)Allows custodial officers may also make warrantless arrests
within the facility. [Penal Code Section 831.5(f).]
7)Necessitates every peace officer to satisfactorily complete an
introductory course of training prescribed by CPOST and that,
after July 1, 1989, satisfactory completion of the course
shall be demonstrated by passage of an appropriate examination
developed or approved by CPOST. [Penal Code Section 832(a).]
8)States that prior to the exercise of peace officer powers,
every peace officer shall have satisfactorily completed the
CPOST course. [Penal Code Section 832(b).]
9)Prohibits persons from having the powers of a peace officer
until he or she has satisfactorily completed the CPOST course.
[Penal Code Section 832(c).]
10)Provides that any person completing the CPOST training who
does not become employed as a peace officer within three years
from the date of passing the examination, or who has a
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three-year or longer break in service as a peace officer,
shall pass the examination prior to the exercise of powers as
a peace officer. This requirement does not apply to any
person who meets any of the following requirements [Penal Code
Section 832(e)(1)]:
a) Is returning to a management position that is at the
second level of supervision or higher [Penal Code Section
832(e)(2)(A)];
b) Has successfully requalified for a basic course through
CPOST [Penal Code Section 832(e)(2)(B)];
c) Has maintained proficiency through teaching the CPOST
course [Penal Code Section 832(e)(2)(C)];
d) During the break in California service, was continuously
employed as a peace officer in another state or at the
federal level [Penal Code Section 832(e)(2)(D)]; and,
e) Has previously met the testing requirement, has been
appointed a peace officer under Penal Code Section
830.1(c), and has continuously been employed as a custodial
officer as defined in Penal Code Section 831 or 831.5 since
completing the CPOST course. [Penal Code Section
832(e)(2)(E).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "By moving the
County of San Luis Obispo into Penal Code Section 830.1(c), SB
490 is providing them with the flexibility they need to
protect the citizens of that county and to remain financially
viable, thereby protecting the jobs of peace officers in San
Luis Obispo County."
2)Background : According to information provided by the author,
"Currently, there are 27 counties in Penal Code Section
830.1(c), allowing them to create a new classification of
peace officer. This officer is essentially a hybrid between a
regular peace officer and a correctional officer. In the 27
counties listed in the code section, this new peace officer
classification gives the county the flexibility of using the
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correctional officer with peace officer powers without the
cost of having to use a fully trained deputy sheriff.
"Penal Code [Section] 830.1(c) allows a county to send an
officer to the limited STC [(Standards and Training for
Corrections)] training without having to pay to send that
officer to the full CPOST training academy, thereby saving the
county tens of thousands of dollars. Because of the limited
training of the Penal Code Section 830.1(c) peace officer,
that officer has peace officers powers while in the jails, but
does not have the training or authority to be a peace officer
out on the street. If that officer chooses to become a full
deputy sheriff, the county can then send the officer back to
the training academy for the remainder of the CPOST
certificate requirements and then send that officer out on to
the streets.
"Besides acting as a cost savings for counties who are
financially strapped, this new status of peace officer
protects a correctional officer through the peace officer
designation for a number of reasons. The most important
reason is that correctional officers throughout California are
experiencing an increase in assaults by prisoners. Since they
are not included in Penal Code Section 830.1 and therefore not
designated as peace officers, these officers are unable to
charge the assailant with a Penal Code Section 241.1, 243.1 or
245.3 violation.
"By moving the County of San Luis Obispo into Penal Code Section
830.1(c), SB 490 is providing them with the flexibility they
need to protect the citizens of that county and to remain
financially viable, thereby protecting the jobs of peace
officers in San Luis Obispo County."
3)Public Officers Versus Peace Officers : Under existing law,
all cities and counties are authorized to employ custodial
officers, who are essentially public officers, not peace
officers, for the purpose of maintaining order in local
detention facilities.
Notwithstanding Penal Code Section 831, in counties with a
population of 425,000 or less, and San Diego, Fresno, Kern,
Riverside, Santa Clara and Stanislaus Counties, "enhanced
powers" custodial officers may be employed.
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Those "enhanced powers" custodial officers may carry firearms,
under the direction of the sheriff, while fulfilling specified
job-related duties. They too are designated as "public
officers," not "peace officers" and are empowered to serve
warrants, writs, or subpoenas within the custodial facility,
and, as with regular custodial officers, they may use
reasonable force to establish and maintain custody, and may
release from custody misdemeanants on citation to appear or
individuals arrested for intoxication who are not subject to
further criminal proceedings. However, those "enhanced
powers" custodial officers may also make warrantless arrests
within the facility. Training standards are specified. A
peace officer is required to be present in a supervisory
capacity whenever 20 or more custodial officers are on duty.
4)Benefits Afforded to those Designated as Peace Officers under
Penal Code Section 830.1: Peace officers are granted
job-related rights and presumptions that come within the
purview of the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of
Rights Act (POBRA). (Government Code Section 3301.) A peace
officer is also afforded a workers' compensation presumption
of a work-related injury when heart trouble, pneumonia or
cancer develops and he or she shows that he or she was exposed
to a known carcinogen or biochemical. (Labor Code Sections
3212.1, 3212.5, and 3212.85.)
Peace officers are given a specific status under the Penal
Code. Falsely reporting a bomb or crime to a peace officer is
an alternate felony-misdemeanor. (Penal Code Section 148.1
and 148.5.) Existing law also makes it a misdemeanor to give
false identification to a peace officer. (Penal Code Section
148.9.) When summoned by any uniformed peace officer or by
specified officers not in uniform and who produces a badge to
join in the "posse comitatus or power of the county" to
apprehend a lawbreaker, a citizen over the age of 18 who
refuses may be guilty of an infraction. (Penal Code Section
150.) An honorably retired peace officer may carry a
concealed and/or a loaded weapon in a public place or vehicle
after retirement. (Penal Code Sections 12027 and 12031.)
5)Re-Examination Exemption : Pursuant to Penal Code Section 832,
CPOST is charged with prescribing basic training for peace
officers in California and peace officers are required to
complete specified courses offered by CPOST. Peace officers
classified pursuant to Penal Code Section 830.1 are required
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to complete certain CPOST training courses, but not the full
664-hour peace officer class. AB 1254 (La Malfa), Chapter 70,
Statutes of 2003, added an exemption to the requirement that a
person who completes the CPOST training but has not been
employed as a peace officer within three years or has taken a
three-year or longer break in service must pass a specified
examination. That person would be exempt if he or she had
previously satisfactorily completed the required training and
since that time had been continually employed as a custodial
officer by the agency appointing him or her as a peace officer
pursuant to Penal Code Section 830.1(c).
6)Argument in Support : According to the Peace Officers Research
Association of California (the sponsor of this bill), "By
amending Penal Code Section 830.1(c), the county is able to
send an officer to the limited STC training without having to
pay to send the officer to the full CPOST training academy,
thereby saving the county thousands of dollars. Because of
the limited training this peace officer receives, he or she
may only utilize his or her while in the jails; he or she does
not have the training or authority as an officer when he or
she is out on the street."
7)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 151 (Berryhill), Chapter 84, Statutes of 2008, added
Glenn, Lassen, and Stanislaus Counties to the list of
specified counties within which deputy sheriffs assigned to
perform duties exclusively or initially relating to
specified custodial assignments are defined as "peace
officers whose authority extends to any place in California
while engaged in the performance of his or her employment".
b) AB 574 (Villariagosa), Chapter 950, Statutes of 1996,
added Penal Code Section 830.1(c), which allowed the Los
Angeles County Sheriff to hire a "second tier" of sheriff's
deputies who "are employed to perform duties exclusively or
initially relating to custodial assignments with
responsibilities for maintaining the operations of county
custodial facilities, including the custody, care,
supervision, security, movement, and transportation of
inmates."
c) SB 1762 (Alpert), Chapter 61, Statutes of 2000, and SB
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926 (Battin), Chapter 68, Statutes of 2001, amended Penal
Code Section 830.1(c) to provide peace officer status while
on duty only to Riverside and San Diego County deputy
sheriffs employed to provide custodial care and supervision
of inmates in the county jail and related facilities.
d) AB 2346 (Dickerson), Chapter 185, Statutes of 2002,
extended the same provisions of SB 1762 to deputy sheriffs
in Kern, Humboldt, Imperial, Mendocino, Plumas, Santa
Barbara, Siskiyou, Sonoma, Sutter, and Tehama Counties.
e) AB 1254 (La Malfa), Chapter 70, Statutes of 2003, and SB
570 (Chesbro), Chapter 710, Statutes of 2003, extended the
same provisions of SB 1762 to deputy sheriffs in Shasta and
Solano Counties.
f) AB 1931 (La Malfa), Chapter 516, Statutes of 2004,
extended the same provisions of SB 1762 to deputy sheriffs
in Butte County.
g) AB 272 (Matthews), Chapter 127, Statutes of 2005,
extended the same provisions of SB 1762 to deputy sheriffs
in Inyo, Merced, San Joaquin, and Tulare Counties.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Peace Officers Research Association of California (Sponsor)
California State Sheriffs' Association
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Nicole J. Hanson / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744