BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 2623 (Allen) - State hospitals: peace officers.
Amended: May 25, 2012 Policy Vote: Public Safety 5-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 16, 2012
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Bill Summary: AB 2623 would require the Department of Mental
Health (DMH) and the Department of Developmental Services (DDS),
by June 30, 2013, to develop a policy for arming state hospital
peace officers under their jurisdiction while those officers are
performing hospital security functions outside of the secure
area of the hospital. This bill would require each department to
implement its policy by January 1, 2014.
Fiscal Impact:
One-time costs of less than $15,000 (General Fund) for the
Department of State Hospitals (DSH) to develop a system-wide
policy for arming state hospital peace officers, as
specified.
Potentially minor to significant one-time and ongoing costs
for arming DSH police officers, depending on the extent of
the policy developed. Costs for arming, including firearms
storage and training, for 25 percent of the approximately
660 police officers of DSH are estimated at $350,000
one-time and $160,000 ongoing (General Fund).
Background: Existing law provides that a peace officer under the
jurisdiction of the DMH or the DDS has the authority to make
arrests of any person committing a public offense on hospital
grounds or any public offense that creates an immediate danger
to person or property or of the escape of a perpetrator.
Existing law provides that these specified hospital peace
officers may carry firearms only if authorized and under terms
and conditions specified by their employing agency.
The recently enacted Budget Act of 2012 eliminated the DMH and
created the new DSH to continue administration of the five state
hospitals and two psychiatric programs located within state
AB 2623 (Allen)
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prison facilities, with the operation of the remaining community
mental health programs being shifted to various departments.
Changes in policies and patient demographics over the past
decade have necessitated adjustments to staffing, the mental
health care delivery model, and other aspects of state hospital
operations. The forensic population now comprises approximately
92 percent of the DSH statewide hospital system caseload.
In July 2011, the California Statewide Law Enforcement
Association (CSLEA) and the DMH agreed to arbitrate a grievance
on behalf of the hospital police officers. The issue: Is the DMH
in violation of the Bargaining Unit 7 Memorandum of
Understanding when hospital police officers are assigned duties
off hospital grounds and not permitted to carry a firearm during
the assignment? The arbitrator ruled that hospital police
officers, though sworn law enforcement officers, are not general
jurisdiction peace officers. The arbitrator determined they are
employees of the DMH and are expected to act in accordance with
DMH policies and directives. Consequently, the grievance was
denied.
Proposed Law: This bill provides that DMH and DDS shall, by June
30, 2013, develop a policy for arming state hospital peace
officers while those officers are performing hospital security
functions outside the secure area of the hospital. This bill
requires each of the departments to implement its arming policy
by January 1, 2014.
Prior Legislation: AB 1289 (Horton) 2005 would have allowed
peace officers at state hospitals under the jurisdiction of DMH
and DDS to carry firearms without the authorization of the
employing agency. This bill was held on the Suspense File of the
Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 1567 (Correa) 2003 would have allowed "limited authority"
peace officers, including those employed by the DMH, to carry
firearms without authorization of their employing agency. This
bill was held on the Suspense File of this Committee.
AB 1987 (Harman) 2001 would have allowed officers employed by
various public agencies, including the DMH, to carry firearms
without the authorization of their employing agency. This bill
failed passage in the Assembly Committee on Public Safety.
AB 2623 (Allen)
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Staff Comments: Existing law permits peace officers under the
jurisdiction of the DMH and DDS to be armed only if so
authorized by their employing agency. Currently, the DMH, now
DSH, contracts with the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation for armed correctional officers to provide
perimeter security and transports at Patton and Coalinga State
Hospitals. The DDS does not arm its hospital police officers.
This bill mandates each department to develop a policy for
arming its state hospital peace officers no later than June 30,
2013. The additional staff time and workload necessary to
research and develop arming policies within the six-month time
period is estimated to result in increased costs of
approximately $30,000 (General Fund) based on past practices for
developing departmental security policies.
This bill additionally mandates the arming policies to be
implemented by January 1, 2014. Although the specific details of
the policies are left to the discretion of each department, the
bill requires implementation of the arming policy that has been
developed within six months, the associated costs of which are
unknown and would be dependent upon the extent of the arming
policy developed in each department. Given the presumptive
language contained in the bill stating that the departments
"shall each develop a policy for arming state hospital peace
officers?" and further mandating "Each department shall
implement its policy?", this bill creates the potential for
significant one-time and ongoing costs for arming officers while
performing hospital security functions outside the secure area
of the hospitals. The costs would vary by department, and could
range from tens of thousands of dollars to upwards of several
hundred thousand dollars statewide, based on costs for arming,
storage, and training for officers.
Costs to arm 25 percent of the 660 hospital police officers
employed by DSH and 150 hospital police officers employed by the
DDS is estimated at $430,000 (General Fund) for one-time costs
including firearms safety and training, firearms, safety
equipment, storage, and ammunition. Ongoing costs for quarterly
firearm re-qualification training is estimated at $250 per
officer, including costs associated with payroll and mileage to
training sites, for total costs of slightly more than $200,000
annually.
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To the extent the arming of DSH police officers results in the
discontinuance of the contract with CDCR for correctional
officers to provide perimeter security and transports could
offset in part the total costs for arming and training DSH
personnel.
Recommended Amendments: Under the recently enacted Budget Act of
2012, AB 1464, the DMH was eliminated and the DSH was created.
Staff recommends a technical amendment to change the reference
from DMH to DSH, as applicable, as well as a technical amendment
to fix the reference to DDS on page 3, line 20 of the bill to
read "the Department of Development al Services."
The committee amendments remove the DDS from the provisions of
the bill and make a technical change.