BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE GOVERNANCE & FINANCE COMMITTEE
Senator Lois Wolk, Chair
BILL NO: AB 911 HEARING: 6/22/11
AUTHOR: Ma FISCAL: No
VERSION: 6/14/11 TAX LEVY: No
CONSULTANT: Detwiler
POLICE PROTECTION DISTRICTS' POWERS
Expands police protection districts' powers.
Background and Existing Law
Only three police protection districts exist under the 1927
statute that allows independent special districts to
provide police services. In 1959, the Legislature banned
the formation of new police protection districts (AB 1090,
Bradley, 1959). A police protection district can either
operate its own police department or contract with another
police agency for services. The police department, police
chief, and employees of a police protection district have
all of the rights, duties, privileges, immunities,
obligations, and powers of a municipal improvement district
(SB 230, Yee, 2007).
The Fig Garden Police Protection District and the Orange
Cove Police Protection District pay the Fresno County
Sheriff to provide extra services. Formed in 1948, the
Broadmoor Policy Protection District has its own police
department which serves just over 4,000 residents in an
unincorporated corner of San Mateo County. Broadmoor's
police chief says that the County's ordinances regulating
taxicabs, tow trucks, and parking violations aren't strict
enough. The District wants to adopt stronger standards so
that his officers can respond to residents' complaints.
Proposed Law
I. Regulatory ordinances . Police protection districts can
adopt rules and regulations for their own administration
and operations. Assembly Bill 911 allows police protection
districts to adopt ordinances if they follow the same
procedures that county boards of supervisors use to adopt
AB 911 -- 6/14/11 -- Page 2
county ordinances. AB 911 specifically allows police
protection districts to adopt ordinances that:
Set fees.
Regulate tow trucks and towing firms.
Regulate vehicles for hire, including taxicabs.
Regulate taxicab policies, taxicab rates, and taxi
drivers' drug and alcohol tests, except for vehicles
under the Public Utilities Commissions' control.
Regulate vehicle traffic and parking on
district-controlled property,
II. Enforcement . Many special districts' principal acts
spell out the consequences of violating their ordinances.
For example, violating a rule, regulation, or ordinance of
a community services district (CSD) can be either a
misdemeanor or an infraction. Uniformed CSD employees can
cite violators under the Penal Code (SB 135, Kehoe, 2005).
Assembly Bill 911 allows police protection districts to
treat violations of rules, regulations, or ordinances as
either misdemeanors or infractions. Their uniformed
employees can issue citations under specified provisions of
the Penal Code and the Vehicle Code.
III. Fees . Proposition 13 (1978) and Proposition 218
(1996) amended the California Constitution to require voter
approval of new and increased local taxes. Proposition 26
(2010) amended the California Constitution to define nearly
all local charges as "taxes," with seven specific
exceptions. Among those exceptions are service charges,
charges for regulatory licenses, and charges for using
public facilities. Many special districts' principal acts
allow them to charge fees. For example, community services
districts (CSDs) can charge service fees, provided that
they don't exceed the reasonable costs of providing the
services. CSDs may charge lower fees to their residents or
taxpayers. CSDs' employees can waive the fees when
authorized by formal policies and procedures (SB 135,
Kehoe, 2005).
Assembly Bill 911 allows police protection districts to
charge fees to cover the cost of services or enforcing
regulations, but the fees cannot exceed a district's
reasonable cost of providing the service or enforcing the
AB 911 -- 6/14/11 -- Page 3
regulation. AB 911 allows the districts to charge lower
fees to their residents or taxpayers. The bill allows the
districts' employees to waive these fees when authorized by
formal policies and procedures.
IV. Other powers . Special districts' principal acts
control their internal operations as well as spelling out
their powers. Assembly Bill 911 allows police protection
districts to provide insurance coverage, using a statute
that applies to most public agencies. AB 911 also allows
the districts to adopt and alter seals.
State Revenue Impact
No estimate.
Comments
1. Purpose of the bill . What's so special about special
districts? It's their ability to deliver focused services
to the residents and property owners who are willing to pay
for more services or higher levels of services than the
underlying counties or cities can provide. Three police
protection districts deliver higher levels of law
enforcement services to their communities. Because
Broadmoor's residents complain about inadequate regulation
of taxicabs, tow trucks, and parking, the police protection
district wants the statutory authority to set higher
standards for its community. AB 911 lists five discrete
topics for local regulation, making sure that the districts
follow accepted procedures for adopting local ordinances.
2. Seeing double . The key policy question that AB 911
poses for legislators is whether two different sets of
local elected officials should adopt separate ordinances
that govern the same topics in the same territory.
Broadmoor officials want to regulate taxicabs, tow trucks,
and parking in an unincorporated pocket of San Mateo
County. They say that the County's standards may be
appropriate to the County's rural communities, but not to
the urbanized area near Daly City and a BART station. If
Broadmoor adopts its own regulations, what controls local
behavior: the County's standards, the District's standards,
or both? The Com-mittee may wish to consider whether AB
AB 911 -- 6/14/11 -- Page 4
911 invites confusion, competition, and conflict among law
enforcement. To avoid these problems, the Committee may
wish to consider an amendment that allows a police
protection district to adopt regulations only if the county
board of supervisors approves or, at least, doesn't object.
3. Statutory precision . Police protection districts fell
out of legislative favor as long ago as 1959. Broadmoor is
the last example of a police protection district with its
own police department. To preclude fuzziness, AB 911 is
very specific about which powers it explicitly grants.
Statutory precision avoids using terms that might lead to
ambiguity or even direct conflict.
4. Double-referred . The Senate Rules Committee ordered
the double-referral of AB 911; first to the Senate
Governance & Finance Committee, and then to the Senate
Public Safety Committee.
Assembly Actions
Assembly Local Government Committee: 7-1
Assembly Public Safety Committee: 5-0
Assembly Floor: 75-0
Support and Opposition (6/16/11)
Support : Broadmoor Police Protection District; California
Special Districts Association.
Opposition : Unknown.