BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair A
2011-2012 Regular Session B
8
0
1
AB 801 (Swanson)
As Amended January 11, 2012
Hearing date: June 26, 2012
Penal Code
SM:mc
CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS
HISTORY
Source: California Association of Code Enforcement Officers
Prior Legislation: AB 1688 (Niello) - Chapter 267, Statutes of
2006
Support: California Correctional Supervisors Association;
California Police Chiefs Association; Laborers' Locals
777 and 792
Opposition:None known
Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 67 - Noes 0
(NOTE: The author intends to offer amendments in Committee.
See Comment 2.)
KEY ISSUE
SHOULD THE CODE SECTION GRANTING LIMITED ARREST POWERS TO "ILLEGAL
DUMPING ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS" BE AMENDED TO REPLACE THAT TERM WITH
THE TERM "CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER?"
(More)
AB 801 (Swanson)
Page 2
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to amend the code section granting
limited arrest powers to illegal dumping enforcement officers
and replace that term with the term "code enforcement officer."
Current law provides that the following persons are not peace
officers, but may exercise the powers of arrest of a peace
officer as specified in Section 836 during the course and within
the scope of their employment, if they successfully complete a
course in the exercise of those powers pursuant to Section 832:
Persons designated by a cemetery authority pursuant to
Section 8325 of the Health and Safety Code.
Persons regularly employed as security officers for
independent institutions of higher education, recognized
under subdivision (b) of Section 66010 of the Education
Code, if the institution has concluded a memorandum of
understanding, permitting the exercise of that authority,
with the sheriff or the chief of police within whose
jurisdiction the institution lies.
Persons regularly employed as security officers for
health facilities, as defined in Section 1250 of the Health
and Safety Code, that are owned and operated by cities,
counties, and cities and counties, if the facility has
concluded a memorandum of understanding, permitting the
exercise of that authority, with the sheriff or the chief
of police within whose jurisdiction the facility lies.
Employees or classes of employees of the California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection designated by
the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection, provided that
the primary duty of the employee shall be the enforcement
of the law as that duty is set forth in Section 4156 of the
Public Resources Code.
Persons regularly employed as inspectors, supervisors,
or security officers for transit districts, as defined in
Section 99213 of the Public Utilities Code, if the district
(More)
AB 801 (Swanson)
Page 3
has concluded a memorandum of understanding permitting the
exercise of that authority, with, as applicable, the
sheriff, the chief of police, or the Department of the
California Highway Patrol within whose jurisdiction the
district lies. For the purposes of this subdivision, the
exercise of peace officer authority may include the
authority to remove a vehicle from a railroad right-of-way
as set forth in Section 22656 of the Vehicle Code.
Nonpeace officers regularly employed as county parole
officers pursuant to Section 3089.
Persons appointed by the Executive Director of the
California Science Center pursuant to Section 4108 of the
Food and Agricultural Code.
Persons regularly employed as investigators by the
Department of Transportation for the City of Los Angeles
and designated by local ordinance as public officers to the
extent necessary to enforce laws related to public
transportations and authorized by a memorandum of
understanding with the chief of police, permitting the
exercise of that authority. For the purposes of this
subdivision, "investigator" means an employee defined in
Section 53075.61 of the Government Code authorized by local
ordinance to enforce laws related to public transportation.
Transportation investigators authorized by this section
shall not be deemed "peace officers" for purposes of
Sections 241 and 243.
Persons regularly employed by any department of the City
of Los Angeles who are designated as security officers and
authorized by local ordinance to enforce laws related to
the preservation of peace in or about the properties owned,
controlled, operated, or administered by any department of
the City of Los Angeles and authorized by a memorandum of
understanding with the Chief of Police of the City of Los
Angeles permitting the exercise of that authority.
Security officers authorized pursuant to this subdivision
shall not be deemed peace officers for purposes of Sections
241 and 243.
Illegal dumping enforcement officers to the extent
necessary to enforce laws related to illegal waste dumping,
(More)
AB 801 (Swanson)
Page 4
or littering, and authorized by a memorandum of
understanding with, as applicable, the sheriff or chief of
police within whose jurisdiction the person is employed
permitting the exercise of that authority. An "illegal
dumping enforcement officer" is defined, for purposes of
this section, as a person employed full-time, part-time, or
as a volunteer after completing training prescribed by law,
by a city, county, or city and county, whose duties include
illegal dumping enforcement and is designated by local
ordinance as a public officer. An illegal dumping control
officer may also be a person who is not regularly employed
by a city, county, or city and county, but who has met all
training requirements and is directly supervised by a
regularly employed dumping control officer. This person
shall not have the power of arrest or access to summary
criminal history information. No person may be appointed
as an illegal dumping enforcement officer if that person is
disqualified pursuant to the criteria set forth in Section
1029 of the Government Code. Persons regularly employed by
a city, county, or city and county designated pursuant to
this subdivision may be furnished state summary criminal
history information upon a showing of compelling need
pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 11105. (Penal Code
� 830.7.)
This bill would amend the above language referencing illegal
dumping enforcement officer and replace that term with the term
"code enforcement officer."
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
("ROCA")
In response to the unresolved prison capacity crisis, since
early 2007 it has been the policy of the chair of the Senate
Committee on Public Safety and the Senate President pro Tem to
hold legislative proposals which could further aggravate prison
overcrowding through new or expanded felony prosecutions. Under
the resulting policy known as "ROCA" (which stands for
(More)
AB 801 (Swanson)
Page 5
"Receivership/Overcrowding Crisis Aggravation"), the Committee
has held measures which create a new felony, expand the scope or
penalty of an existing felony, or otherwise increase the
application of a felony in a manner which could exacerbate the
prison overcrowding crisis by expanding the availability or
length of prison terms (such as extending the statute of
limitations for felonies or constricting statutory parole
standards). In addition, proposed expansions to the
classification of felonies enacted last year by AB 109 (the 2011
Public Safety Realignment) which may be punishable in jail and
not prison (Penal Code section 1170(h)) would be subject to ROCA
because an offender's criminal record could make the offender
ineligible for jail and therefore subject to state prison.
Under these principles, ROCA has been applied as a
content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that
the Legislature does not erode progress towards reducing prison
overcrowding by passing legislation which could increase the
prison population. ROCA will continue until prison overcrowding
is resolved.
For the last several years, severe overcrowding in California's
prisons has been the focus of evolving and expensive litigation.
On June 30, 2005, in a class action lawsuit filed four years
earlier, the United States District Court for the Northern
District of California established a Receivership to take
control of the delivery of medical services to all California
state prisoners confined by the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation ("CDCR"). 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 January 12, 2010, a
three-judge federal panel issued an order requiring California
to reduce its inmate population to 137.5 percent of design
capacity -- a reduction at that time of roughly 40,000 inmates
-- within two years. The court stayed implementation of its
ruling pending the state's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
(More)
On May 23, 2011, the United States Supreme Court upheld the
decision of the three-judge panel in its entirety, giving
California two years from the date of its ruling to reduce its
prison population to 137.5 percent of design capacity, subject
to the right of the state to seek modifications in appropriate
circumstances. Design capacity is the number of inmates a
prison can house based on one inmate per cell, single-level
bunks in dormitories, and no beds in places not designed for
housing. Current design capacity in CDCR's 33 institutions is
79,650.
On January 6, 2012, CDCR announced that California had cut
prison overcrowding by more than 11,000 inmates over the last
six months, a reduction largely accomplished by the passage of
Assembly Bill 109. Under the prisoner-reduction order, the
inmate population in California's 33 prisons must be no more
than the following:
167 percent of design capacity by December 27, 2011
(133,016 inmates);
155 percent by June 27, 2012;
147 percent by December 27, 2012; and
137.5 percent by June 27, 2013.
This bill does not aggravate the prison overcrowding crisis
described above under ROCA.
COMMENTS
1. Need for This Bill
According to the author:
AB 801 updates the Penal Code by replacing the
outdated term, "illegal dumping officer," with the
more appropriate term, "code enforcement officer."
Local Governments and law enforcement do not use the
term, "illegal dumping officer" in their day-to-day
(More)
AB 801 (Swanson)
Page 7
operations - they use "code enforcement officers."
All Code Enforcement Officers engage in illegal
dumping enforcement, so it makes sense to amend
current law to reflect this reality and use the more
generic term.
2. Effect of the Bill and Proposed Author's Amendment
As the bill currently reads, the effect of this bill would be to
grant all code enforcement officers with the limited arrest
powers which current law grants only to code enforcement
officers engaged in enforcement of laws related to illegal waste
dumping and littering. Current law also requires that, before
these powers are granted, a memorandum of understanding must be
signed with the local sheriff or police chief and other
requirements apply. The author has indicated that he will
propose author's amendments in Committee to clarify that the
purpose of the bill is merely to replace the term "illegal
dumping enforcement officer" with "code enforcement officer"
while effecting no substantive change in the law. The
amendments will read as follows and will comprise the entirety
of the bill:
Amendment One:
Delete Section 1 of the bill.
Amendment Two:
Amend Subdivision (j) of Penal Code section 830.7 to read:
Code Enforcement Officers, to the extent necessary to
enforce laws related to illegal waste dumping, or
littering, and authorized by a memorandum of
understanding with, as applicable, the sheriff or
chief of police within whose jurisdiction the person
is employed, permitting the exercise of that
authority. A "Code Enforcement Officer" is defined,
for purposes of this section, as a person employed
AB 801 (Swanson)
Page 8
full-time, part-time, or as a volunteer after
completing training prescribed by law, by a city,
county, or city and county, whose duties include
illegal dumping enforcement and is designated by local
ordinance as a public officer. A Code Enforcement
Officer may also be a person who is not regularly
employed by a city, county, or city and county, but
who has met all training requirements and is directly
supervised by a regularly employed Code Enforcement
Officer conducting illegal dumping enforcement. This
person shall not have the power of arrest or access to
summary criminal history information. No person may
be appointed as a Code Enforcement Officer if that
person is disqualified pursuant to the criteria set
forth in Section 1029 of the Government Code. Persons
regularly employed by a city, county, or city and
county designated pursuant to this subdivision may be
furnished state summary criminal history information
upon a showing of compelling need pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 11105.
***************