BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 911
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 3, 2011
Counsel: Gabriel Caswell
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 911 (Ma) - As Amended: April 14, 2011
SUMMARY : Grants police protection districts (PPD) additional
powers, including the ability to adopt ordinances and
resolutions. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that a violation of any rule, regulation, or
ordinance adopted by a district board is a misdemeanor
punishable pursuant to Penal Code Section 19.
2)States that any citation issued by a district employee for
violation of a rule, regulation, or ordinance adopted by a
district board may be processed as an infraction.
3)Specifies that ordinances and resolutions adopted by the
district shall be limited to those authorized under this
division or related to the following:
a) The setting of all fees and charges for services
provided by the district;
b) Regulation of tow trucks and towing firms operating in
the district;
c) Regulation and administrative oversight of vehicles for
hire, including taxicabs, except where preempted by state
or federal law; and,
d) The establishment and collection of emergency response
cost recovery fees.
4)Allows the district to adopt ordinances, as specified.
5)Allows the district to adopt a seal and alter it.
6)Allows the district to provide insurance, as specified.
AB 911
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7)Allows the district to regulate vehicles for hire, except
vehicles for hire0 licensed or permitted by, and under the
jurisdiction of, the Public Utilities Commission.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides any unincorporated town may, pursuant to this
article, be formed into a PPD to protect and safeguard life
and property and may equip and maintain a police department,
including purchasing and maintaining ambulances, and otherwise
securing police protection. {Health and Safety Code (HSC)
Section 20025.]
2)Provides a PPD shall be governed by a PPD board of three
commissioners, each of whom shall be a resident of the PPD.
(HSC Section 20060.) The members of the county board of
supervisors are ex officio directors of the PPD. (HSC Section
20330.)
3)Provides the PPD board shall determine the number of
employees, if any, necessary for the proper care and
protection of the life and property of residents in the PPD.
The PPD shall appoint all PPD employees and prescribe their
duties and compensation. All such employees shall hold their
positions at the pleasure of the PPD board. (HSC Section
20071.)
4)Provides that the PPD board shall make an annual estimate of
the amount of money required during the ensuing fiscal year
for the maintenance of any police department established in
the PPD, as well as other specified costs, and shall submit it
to the board not later than the first day of July of each
year. (HSC Section 20108.)
5)Provides that at the time of levying the county taxes, the
county board of supervisors shall levy a tax upon all the
taxable property in the PPD sufficient to raise any amount
reported to it by the PPD board, as specified. (HSC Section
20109.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "AB 911 will
AB 911
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clarify existing law to provide police protection districts
the ability to exercise all the rights and powers, expressed
and implied by the law, and to carry out the purposes and the
intent of its division. AB 911 would further the ability of
the district to address issues of public safety by allowing
them to adopt and enforce necessary rules and regulations,
similar to Community Service Districts, including taxi cabs,
tow trucks, other vehicular issues. AB 911 would also clarify
that the District is able to set administrative fees including
fingerprinting, citation corrections, and impoundment vehicle
release, and set recovery fees including DUI recovery costs,
and booking fees."
2)Broadmoor Village : Broadmoor Village is an unincorporated
area of San Mateo County with a population of just over 4,000
people. In 1948, before the freeway system was fully built,
Broadmoor resident waited nearly 40 minutes to receive county
sheriff services. Growingly frustrated, Broadmoor Village
petitioned the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors to
establish their own police protection district, the Broadmoor
PPD, governed by an elected police commission.
As towns became annexed by their respective counties and cities
formed their own police departments, PPDs disassociated. In
1959, California stopped the formation of PPDs, but allowed
existing PPDs in unincorporated towns to continue to provide
important public safety services to their citizens.
The Broadmoor PPD continues to be the only remaining operational
PPD in California, and uniquely serves a population of more
than 4,000 people.
In 2007, the Legislature, SB 230 (Yee), Chapter 169, Statutes of
2007, provided the Broadmoor PPD with the same legal
recognition and status of a city or municipal police
department.
While this extended the PPD's ability to effectively respond to
concerns of public safety without the need for the San Mateo
County Sheriff Department, it did not grant full power to the
PPD to adopt and regulate its own ordinances and to help serve
other needs of the district.
This bill authorizes the PDD to adopt ordinances to regulate
taxi cabs and tow trucks and authorizes the PPD to establish
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emergency response fees by ordinance. Additionally, this bill
will clarify existing law to provide PPDs with the ability to
take various actions similar to other types of special
districts.
3)Prior Legislation :
a) SB 230 (Yee), Statutes of 2007, Chapter 169, provided
that a PPD shall have all the rights, duties, privileges,
immunities, obligations, and powers of a municipal police
department, and authorizes a district board to delegate to
the chief of police the authority to appoint and dismiss
district employees.
b) SB 139 (Kopp), Chapter 260, Statutes of 1998, states
that a PPD's police department, chief of police, and
employees shall have the rights, duties, privileges,
immunities, obligations, and powers of a municipal police
department if the PPD maintains and operates its own police
department. SB 139 was later amended and removed
provisions related to public safety prior to hearing in
Senate Local Government Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744