BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1466
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Date of Hearing: August 28, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
SB 1466 (De León) - As Amended: August 27, 2012
SENATE VOTE : Vote not relevant
SUBJECT : Peace officers: City of Los Angeles.
SUMMARY : Transfers control over the authorization of peace
officer status for officers employed by the Department of
General Services (GSD) of the City of Los Angeles from GSD to
the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). Specifically, this
bill :
1)Revises the authorization of peace officer status for
individuals employed by GSD to require transfer to LAPD and
designation by the Chief of Police of LAPD, or his or her
designee, instead of the general manager of GSD.
2)Specifies that GSD peace officers may be authorized to carry
firearms by LAPD, instead of GSD.
3)Defines "properties", as they relate to the City of Los
Angeles and the necessary duties of peace officers transferred
from GSD to LAPD, to mean "city offices, city buildings,
facilities, parks, yards, and warehouses."
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that an officer of GSD is a peace officer if he or
she is designated by the general manager of the department and
his or her primary duty is the enforcement of the law in or
about properties owned, operated, or administered by the
department or when performing necessary duties with respect to
patrons, employees, and properties of the department.
2)Requires, for a peace officer designated pursuant to existing
law and authorized to carry firearms by GSD, the completion of
an introductory course of firearm training and requalification
for the use of firearms every six months.
3)Prohibits authorization for a peace officer designated
pursuant to existing law and authorized to carry firearms by
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GSD to carry a firearm when he or she is not on duty.
4)Provides that the following persons are peace officers, who
may carry firearms only if authorized and under terms and
conditions specified by their employing agency, whose
authority extends to any place in California for the purpose
of performing their primary duty, or when making an arrest for
a public offense where there is immediate danger to a person
or property or to prevent the perpetrator's escape, as
specified, or during a state of emergency, as specified:
a) A police officer of the County of Los Angeles, if the
primary duty of the officer is the enforcement of the law
in or about properties owned, operated, or administered by
his or her employing agency or when performing necessary
duties with respect to patrons, employees, and properties
of his or her employing agency;
b) A person designated by a local agency as a park ranger
and regularly employed and paid in that capacity, if the
primary duty of the officer is the protection of park and
other property of the agency and the preservation of the
peace therein; and,
c) A housing authority patrol officer employed by the
housing authority of a city, district, county, or city and
county or employed by the police department of a city and
county, if the primary duty of the officer is the
enforcement of the law in or about properties owned,
operated, or administered by his or her employing agency or
when performing necessary duties with respect to patrons,
employees, and properties of his or her employing agency.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS :
1)This bill is intended to facilitate a cost-saving
reorganization of the City of Los Angeles' police force by
merging a separate unit of 97 peace officers under GSD
responsible for policing municipal property into LAPD, at a
savings of over $2 million per year. SB 1466 revises the
relevant Penal Code section to shift authority over the
officers from GSD to LAPD, thereby allowing the transferred
GSD officers to retain their peace officer status.
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The measure is sponsored by the City of Los Angeles.
2)In 1979, GSD established within it a Security Services
Division to provide security and basic law enforcement
services to City-owned and managed properties. In 1987, the
Los Angeles City Council authorized select security officers
to become unarmed peace officers with arrest powers to enforce
crimes that were occurring at the various City yards,
warehouses and facilities.
In 1998, the City Council approved the creation of a GSD
police force with fully trained, accredited and armed peace
officers. By 2005, the City Council had expanded the GSD
police role by combining several City security sections and
patrol operations in the newly-created Office of Public Safety
(OPS), under GSD. State statute specifies that the primary
duty of OPS peace officers is law enforcement in or about
property owned or operated by GSD, and places certain
restrictions on those officers' ability to carry firearms.
97 sworn and roughly 300 civilian OPS employees are
responsible for the safety and security of municipal
facilities including the Civic Center, the L.A. Zoo, the
Convention Center, Bureau of Sanitation plants, over 70
Libraries and 400 City Parks.
3)On May 21, 2012, the Los Angeles City Council formally adopted
a recommendation from the Office of the City Administrative
Officer (CAO) to consolidate OPS into LAPD to save money in
the City's 2012-13 budget, effective July 1, 2012. The CAO's
recommendation that the City Council approve the consolidation
plan was based on "the need to increase service levels through
operational efficiencies, enhance the professionalism and
accountability of security services, and provide General Fund
savings."
Concurrently, LAPD created the Security Services Division
(SECSD) within its own Office of Special Operations in
expectation of the transfer. All civilian employees of OPS
were transferred to SECSD on July 1, 2012. LAPD plans to
absorb the responsibilities of 37 GSD sworn officers currently
assigned to patrol duties into the existing patrol function of
LAPD. The remaining 60 sworn OPS personnel will remain on the
GSD payroll until their statutory authorization has been
amended to allow them to maintain their peace officer status
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while employed by LAPD, at which time they will also be
transferred to SECSD.
According to an August 20, 2012 memorandum from the CAO, all
OPS employees will retain their existing job classifications
and pension plans. The bill does not change the peace
officers' authority to carry firearms.
The August 2012 CAO memorandum also states that the
consolidation is expected to result in savings of $2.23
million to the City's General Fund in FY 2012-13 due to the
elimination of one police academy class of 40 officers. The
on-going General Fund savings are estimated to be at least $2
million per year thereafter. The City also expects to realize
additional equipment savings from the reduced GSD sworn
officer deployment level.
4)According to the author, "Ŭt]he consolidation of security
services will?standardize security officer policies,
procedures and training, while improving the quality of
security services at facilities owned and administered by the
City of Los Angeles. This will eliminate the duplication of
services by streamlining security operations. The plan would
generate $2.23 million in General Fund savings in the
2012-2013 Fiscal Year and approximately $30 million in savings
over the next 10 years.
There is a need for state legislation in order to implement
the OPS consolidation plan adopted by the City of Los Angeles.
Changes to the state Penal Code (PC) Section 830.31(c)(1) are
needed to reflect the consolidation changes in which OPS
limited peace officers previously employed by the City of Los
Angeles are now under the direction of LAPD."
5)The Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST)
was established by the Legislature in 1959 to set minimum
selection and training standards for California law
enforcement. POST also frequently conducts feasibility
studies when a change of peace officer designation is
requested. Penal Code Section 13540 requires that peace
officers desiring a change in peace officer designation or
status to request the Commission to undertake a study to
assess the need for a change in designation or status. The
Commission may charge any person, agency, or organization
requesting a study, a fee, not to exceed the actual cost of
SB 1466
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undertaking the study.
The City of Los Angeles has not requested a POST study in
relation to the proposed personnel transfer from GSD to LAPD.
6)AB 1763 (Davis, 2012) contains language similar in effect to
this bill. The bill is currently pending in the Senate Rules
Committee.
AB 2137 (Bradford, 2012) would have extended the authority of
Los Angeles World Airports peace officers to reach any place
within California without restrictions on their arrest powers
and authority to carry firearms. This measure was held under
submission in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
AB 1377 (Butler, 2011) was virtually identical to AB 2137, and
was held under submission in the Assembly Appropriations
Committee.
AB 1882 (Frommer, 2006) was virtually identical to AB 2137 and
was held in the Senate Public Safety Committee at the author's
request.
AB 1308 (Cardenas), Chapter 446, Statutes of 1997, authorized
the peace officers of GSD to carry firearms, as permitted by
GSD.
7)Support arguments : According to the sponsor, "Ŭt]his
consolidation will standardize and streamline security officer
policies, procedures and training, while improving the quality
of security services at facilities owned and administered by
the City of Los Angeles?This consolidation helps increase
public safety service levels through operational efficiencies,
enhancing the professionalism and accountability of security
services."
Opposition arguments : One might argue that the decision to move
ahead with the consolidation without first soliciting the
professional opinion of POST through a feasibility study goes
outside of the established process for changing peace officer
authorization.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
SB 1466
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Support
City of Los Angeles ŬSPONSOR]
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Hank Dempsey / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958