California Assembly Bill AB2285 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 2285AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 2, 2012 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 11, 2012 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Eng FEBRUARY 24, 2012 An act to add Section  13510.3   13510.4  to the Penal Code, relating to peace officer training. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 2285, as amended, Eng. Peace officer testing: cheating. Existing law requires the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to establish a certification program for peace officers and for the California Highway Patrol and to establish minimum standards relating to physical, mental, and moral fitness for peace officers, as specified. This bill would make a peace officer  recruit   trainee, as defined,  who knowingly cheats, assists in cheating, or aids, abets, or knowingly conceals efforts by others to cheat in any manner on a basic course examination mandated by the commission liable for a fine of not more than $5,000 per occurrence. Additionally, the bill would require the peace officer  recruit   trainee  to reimburse the commission for the cost of reconstructing and securing tests that have been compromised by the act of cheating, in an amount determined by the commission, but not to exceed $25,000. The bill would disqualify a peace officer  recruit   trainee  who is found liable for cheating from future eligibility as a peace officer and would require the commission to note that disqualification in the person's training record. This bill would express the Legislature's findings and declarations relating to the Peace Officer Standards and Training examination process. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares that the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) examination process must be secure and beyond reproach, and that the conduct of students, instructors, examiners, examinees, and staff before, during, or after POST examinations must be in conformance with the highest standards of conduct expected of a California peace officer. The Legislature therefore finds that a peace officer  recruit   trainee  should be liable for cheating before, during, or after any POST-mandated basic course examination. SEC. 2. Section  13510.3   13510.4  is added to the Penal Code, to read:  13510.3.   13510.4.  (a) A peace officer  recruit   trainee  who, based on the commission's investigative findings, knowingly cheats, assists in cheating, or aids, abets, or knowingly conceals efforts by others to cheat in any manner on a basic course examination mandated by the commission shall be liable for a civil fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) per occurrence. (b) In addition to the fine described in subdivision (a), a peace officer  recruit   trainee  shall reimburse the commission for the cost of reconstructing and securing tests that have been compromised by the act of cheating, as determined by the commission, but not to exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000). (c) A peace officer  recruit   trainee  who is found liable under subdivision (a) shall be disqualified from future eligibility as a peace officer in California. When a person is determined to be disqualified under this subdivision, the commission shall place the following in the commission's training record for that person: "THIS PERSON IS INELIGIBLE TO BE A PEACE OFFICER IN CALIFORNIA PURSUANT TO SECTION 13510.3 OF THE PENAL CODE." (d) For purposes of this section, "cheating" means any attempt or act by a peace officer  recruit   trainee  to gain an unfair advantage or give an unfair advantage to another peace officer  recruit   trainee  or group of  recruits   trainees  taking a POST-mandated basic course examination.  (e) For purposes of this section, "peace officer trainee" means an applicant for a basic course examination who has not been hired by a department or agency and who has not been sworn as a peace officer.