BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
S
2011-2012 Regular Session
B
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SB 1466 (De León)
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As Amended August 27, 2012
Hearing date: In accordance with SR 29.10(d)
Penal Code
SM:dl
PEACE OFFICERS
COMMENTS
Please see the attached Senate Floor analysis. This bill
is before the Committee pursuant to Senate Rule 29.10. The
Committee, by a majority vote of the membership, may:
1. hold the bill; or
2. return the bill to the Senate Floor for
consideration of the bill as amended in the Assembly.
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1466
Author: De León (D)
Amended: 8/27/12
Vote: 21
PRIOR VOTES NOT RELEVANT
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Peace officers: City of Los Angeles
SOURCE : City of Los Angeles
DIGEST : This bill 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).
Assembly Amendments delete the Senate version of the bill
relating to the Cal Grant Program, and instead add the
current language.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
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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 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/her employing agency or when
performing necessary duties with respect to patrons,
employees, and properties of his/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
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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/her employing agency or when performing necessary
duties with respect to patrons, employees, and
properties of his/her employing agency.
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/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."
Comments
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
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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.
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 while employed by LAPD, at which time they will also
be transferred to SECSD.
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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.
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
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.
Related and Prior Legislation
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. The bill 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.
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/12)
City of Los Angeles (source)
Los Angeles Police Protective League
JJA:m 8/30/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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