BILL ANALYSIS �
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
|Hearing Date:June 16, 2014 |Bill No:AB |
| |2220 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS, PROFESSIONS
AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Senator Ted W. Lieu, Chair
Bill No: AB 2220Author:Daly
As Amended: June 5, 2014Fiscal: Yes
SUBJECT: Private security services: private patrol operators.
SUMMARY: Increases the amount of liability coverage that
private patrol operators (PPOs) must carry, requires PPOs to
have current Workers' Compensation coverage certificates,
exempts peace officers from additional firearms training when
renewing a firearms qualification card, and authorizes PPOs to
own firearms and issue them to their employees.
Existing law:
1)Licenses and regulates PPOs and their employees through the
Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS) within
the Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA). (Business and
Professions Code (BPC) �7580 et seq.)
2)Requires a PPO to carry a $500,000 insurance policy only if it
employs armed guards. (BPC �� 7853.39, 7583.40, 7583.41)
3)Exempts a peace officer, as defined in the Penal Code, which
has successfully completed a course of study in the use of
firearms, from the additional training required for licensees.
(BPC � 7583.22)
4)Requires a licensee to retake a firearms training course when
renewing a firearms qualification card. There is no exemption
for peace officers. (BPC � 7583.32)
Page 2
AB 2220
5)Regulates the ownership and transfer of firearms, but does not
authorize business entities to own or register firearms.
This bill:
1)Increases the amount of both general liability coverage and
additional liability coverage for damage to property damage
that a PPO must carry to $1,000,000, regardless of whether it
employs armed or unarmed guards.
2)Requires a PPO to have a current Workers' Compensation coverage
certificate on file as a condition of license issuance,
reinstatement, reactivation, renewal or continued maintenance.
3)Exempts a peace officer, as defined in the Penal Code, from the
additional training required for renewal of a firearms
qualification card.
4)Establishes procedures allowing PPOs to own firearms and to
assign those firearms to employees of the PPO who are licensed
security guards and provides that an assignment for these
purposes would not constitute a loan, sale, or transfer of a
firearm.
5)Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to modify and create
forms, and charge reasonable fees for the filing and
processing of those forms for these purposes and for
enforcement of these provisions, including to allow the PPO to
be listed as the purchaser and legal owner of a firearm, for a
security guard who is assigned that firearm to be listed as
the registered owner, as specified, and for a firearm
custodian to be designated by the PPO.
6)Requires the security guard receiving a firearm by assignment
from a PPO to undergo a background check and to possess a
handgun safety certificate, as specified.
7)Requires security guards, upon request by the PPO, for any
reason, or upon separation of employment or revocation of the
security guard's firearm qualification card, to immediately
return the firearm to the PPO.
Page 3
AB 2220
FISCAL EFFECT: This measure has been keyed "fiscal" by
Legislative Counsel. The May 14, Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis of the April 10, 2014 version of the bill
cites: 1) Ongoing costs to the BSIS in the range of $65,000 for
one position to review, verify, and monitor insurance policies
and workers' compensation coverage for PPOs, and 2) Minor and
absorbable costs to the BSIS associated with a potential
increase in enforcement workload for PPOs found to be uninsured
or without workers' comp. coverage.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose. This bill is sponsored by California Association of
Licensed Security Agencies, Guards & Associates . According to
the Author, one of the purposes of this bill is to protect
clients and the public by requiring an adequate amount of
insurance.
Further, the Author states that this bill will protect PPO
employees from companies by ensuring that the company holds
current Workers' Compensation coverage. According to the
Author, this bill will also eliminate a discrepancy between
the training requirements for peace officers during initial
applications and renewals.
Lastly, this bill will also allow PPOs to own and issue
firearms to their employees, eliminating the need for the use
of a loan loophole.
2.Background. According to the Author, California has made major
advances in professionalizing private security by mandating
DOJ and FBI background checks prior to security officers going
to work, dramatically increasing the training requirement for
these officers, and requiring private and proprietary security
employers to register with the state. Further, the Author
notes, as more clients require an armed presence at critical
infrastructure locations and other high security locations,
companies should have a minimum level of insurance to protect
the public and its clients.
Regarding the latest amendments to the bill, under current law,
Page 4
AB 2220
business entities are not allowed to own or register firearms;
only individuals are allowed to register a firearm through the
Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) system. This has been a problem
for security guard companies, or PPOs who require their
employees to possess a weapon to do their job.
Currently, security guard companies use Penal Code � 27880, which
allows infrequent loans between people who personally know
each other for no more than 30 days. In practice, a manager
or supervisor of the security company, will buy and register
the weapon to his or her name and then loan the weapon to a
security guard. Existing law limits the loan to 30 days or
less, so, in order to comply with the law, companies switch
guns every 30 days between their certified employees.
From an administrative and fiscal standpoint, this process can be
burdensome for the employer. From a public safety standpoint,
the current process requires the employee to become familiar
with a new handgun on a monthly basis, which can be perceived
as more dangerous than having an employee handle a single
firearm for the duration of their employment with a company.
According to the Author, the latest amendments to the bill would
authorize PPOs to be a legal owner of a firearm, ultimately
streamlining the methods in which law enforcement tracks
firearms used by security guards.
3.Prior Legislation. AB 2128 (Ted Gaines, 2010) required a
private patrol operator employing any security guard to
maintain an insurance policy with minimum limits of $1,000,000
for loss due to bodily injury and death, and $1,000,000 for
loss due to injury or destruction of property. This bill was
vetoed by the Governor, who stated in part: "There has been
no clear justification on why insurance coverage for operators
that use guards without firearms should be required to carry
the same coverage as operators that use armed guards."
( Status : AB 2128 was vetoed by the Governor.)
SB 385 (Block, 2013) Would have authorized a PPO to be the legal
owner of a firearm and established procedures for a PPO to
assign firearms it owns to its employees with increased
oversight from the DOJ. ( Status : AB 385 was held on the
Page 5
AB 2220
Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense File.)
4.Arguments in Support. In sponsoring the bill, CALSAGA writes,
"We believe these changes continue the outstanding and
nationally recognized security guard industry in California by
adding greater public and consumer protection and assist our
state regulatory agency, the Bureau of Security &
investigative Services, in their effort to curb unlicensed
activity."
CALSAGA notes that this bill will help PPOs and consumers in
several ways. First, regarding the insurance policy limit
requirement, "AB 2220 will increase that limit to $1,000,000
for all security guard companies; armed and non-armed. As
more clients require an armed presence at critical
infrastructure locations and other high security locations,
companies should have a minimum level of insurance to protect
the public and its clients."
Second, "the bill includes as a condition of issuance,
reinstatement, reactivation, renewal or continued maintenance
that the applicant or licensee has workers compensation
insurance and it is current. This provision seeks to protect
its employees from companies that may seek to not play by the
rules."
Third, "current law exempts peace officers from fire arm
training for the initial fire arm certificate needed to carry
a weapon as a security guard, but does not exempt them from
the training for renewal. This provision would clean-up that
omission and allow a peace officer to hold a fire arm
certificate as long as they remain duly appointed and current
as a peace officer."
In discussing the latest amendments, CALSAGA points out that
"AB 2220 will allow Private Patrol Operators to be the Legal
Owner of a firearm and assign that firearm to a qualified
employee. To be armed, the employee will also be required to
possess a valid Guard Card, a Firearm Qualification Card, and
a Handgun Safety Certificate prior to being issued a
Certificate of Assignment for the firearm. The employee will
then effectively be the weapon's Registered 'Assigned' Owner."
Page 6
AB 2220
"Under AB 2220, the assignment of a weapon from a registered
company to a designated employee would not constitute a loan,
sale or transfer of the weapon. Companies will be required to
fill out a Dealers' Record of Sale (DROS) for the purchase and
initial registration of the weapon and, with the required
Department of Justice's (DOJ) modifications to the DROS, will
also include the information for the assigned employee. These
changes to the DROS and additional processing on behalf of the
DOJ will be mitigated by imposing a reasonable fee for
enforcement. Private Patrol Operators will still be required
to have a firearms custodian.
"Under current law, having a company's weapon cache registered
to one designated weapon's custodian presents an array of
issues if and when that employee chooses to leave their
employment with the company. This bill will mitigate these
issues and allow for a company to consistently keep their
weapons cache registered under the company name, assigning the
firearm on a need-be basis to qualified employees. The use of
a Legal Owner and Registered Owner format will also simplify
identification of who possesses a firearm, thereby enhancing
public safety.
"We believe these changes continue the outstanding and
nationally recognized security guard industry in California by
adding greater public and consumer protection and assist our
state regulatory agency, the Bureau of Security &
investigative Services, in their effort to curb unlicensed
activity."
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support:
California Association of Licensed Security Agencies, Guards and
Associates (Sponsor)
Opposition:
None received as of June 11, 2014
Page 7
AB 2220
Consultant:Vince Chee