California Assembly Bill AB801 Amended / Bill

 BILL NUMBER: AB 801AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2012 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Swanson FEBRUARY 17, 2011 An act to  add Section 829.7 to   amend Sections 829.5 and 830.7 of  the Penal Code, relating to code enforcement officers. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 801, as amended, Swanson. Code enforcement  officers: training.   officers.   Existing law defines "code enforcement officer" to mean specified persons employed by any governmental subdivision, public or quasi-public corporation, public agency, public service corporation, any town, city, county, or municipal corporation, whether incorporated or chartered, who have enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare requirements, and whose duties include enforcement of any statute, rules, regulations, or standards, and who are authorized to issue citations, or file formal complaints. The term also refers to any person who is employed by the Department of Housing and Community Development who has enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare requirements relating to housing, as specified.   Existing law provides that "illegal dumping enforcement officers" are not peace officers but may exercise the powers of arrest of a peace officer, as specified, during the course and within the scope of their employment, if they successfully complete a specified course in the exercise of those powers.  This bill would delete references to "illegal dumping enforcement officers" and would instead authorize a code enforcement officer, as specified, to exercise the powers of arrest of a peace officer in the manner described above.   Existing law defines a code enforcement officer to include specified public employees whose duties include enforcement of any statute, rules, regulations, or standards, and who are authorized to issue citations or file formal complaints. That definition also includes specified public employees of the Department of Housing and Community Development who have enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare requirements imposed pursuant to specified provisions of state law relating to housing.   This bill would establish minimum training standards and a continuing education requirement for code enforcement officers. The bill would require each of these employees to complete a certified basic training program within one year of his or her initial appointment, and to complete intermediate and advanced levels of certified training, as specified. The bill would require public entities that employ a code enforcement officer to adopt requirements for, and require all code enforcement officers to wear, apparel or a uniform that allows members of the public to recognize the person wearing the apparel or uniform as a public officer.   By imposing new requirements on local employees and employers, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.  Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  yes   no  . State-mandated local program:  yes   no  . THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:  SECTION 1.   Section 829.5 of the   Penal Code   is amended to read:  829.5. (a) "Code enforcement officer" means any person  who is not described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) and  who is employed by any governmental subdivision, public or quasi-public corporation, public agency, public service corporation, any town, city, county, or municipal corporation, whether incorporated or chartered, who has enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare requirements, whose duties include enforcement of any statute, rule, regulation, or standard, and who is authorized to issue citations, or file formal complaints. (b) "Code enforcement officer" also includes any person who is employed by the Department of Housing and Community Development who has enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare requirements pursuant to the Employee Housing Act (Part 1 (commencing with Section 17000) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); the State Housing Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 17910) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); the Manufactured Housing Act of 1980 (Part 2 (commencing with Section 18000) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); the Mobilehome Parks Act (Part 2.1 (commencing with Section 18200) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); and the Special Occupancy Parks Act (Part 2.3 (commencing with Section 18860) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code).  SEC. 2.   Section 830.7 of the   Penal Code   is amended to read:  830.7. The following persons are not peace officers but may exercise the powers of arrest of a peace officer as specified in Section 836 during the course and within the scope of their employment, if they successfully complete a course in the exercise of those powers pursuant to Section 832: (a) Persons designated by a cemetery authority pursuant to Section 8325 of the Health and Safety Code. (b) Persons regularly employed as security officers for independent institutions of higher education, recognized under subdivision (b) of Section 66010 of the Education Code, if the institution has concluded a memorandum of understanding, permitting the exercise of that authority, with the sheriff or the chief of police within whose jurisdiction the institution lies. (c) Persons regularly employed as security officers for health facilities, as defined in Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, that are owned and operated by cities, counties, and cities and counties, if the facility has concluded a memorandum of understanding, permitting the exercise of that authority, with the sheriff or the chief of police within whose jurisdiction the facility lies. (d) Employees or classes of employees of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection designated by the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection, provided that the primary duty of the employee shall be the enforcement of the law as that duty is set forth in Section 4156 of the Public Resources Code. (e) Persons regularly employed as inspectors, supervisors, or security officers for transit districts, as defined in Section 99213 of the Public Utilities Code, if the district has concluded a memorandum of understanding permitting the exercise of that authority, with, as applicable, the sheriff, the chief of police, or the Department of the California Highway Patrol within whose jurisdiction the district lies. For the purposes of this subdivision, the exercise of peace officer authority may include the authority to remove a vehicle from a railroad right-of-way as set forth in Section 22656 of the Vehicle Code. (f) Nonpeace officers regularly employed as county parole officers pursuant to Section 3089. (g) Persons appointed by the Executive Director of the California Science Center pursuant to Section 4108 of the Food and Agricultural Code. (h) Persons regularly employed as investigators by the Department of Transportation for the City of Los Angeles and designated by local ordinance as public officers, to the extent necessary to enforce laws related to public transportation, and authorized by a memorandum of understanding with the chief of police, permitting the exercise of that authority. For the purposes of this subdivision, "investigator" means an employee defined in Section 53075.61 of the Government Code authorized by local ordinance to enforce laws related to public transportation. Transportation investigators authorized by this section shall not be deemed "peace officers" for purposes of Sections 241 and 243. (i) Persons regularly employed by any department of the City of Los Angeles who are designated as security officers and authorized by local ordinance to enforce laws related to the preservation of peace in or about the properties owned, controlled, operated, or administered by any department of the City of Los Angeles and authorized by a memorandum of understanding with the Chief of Police of the City of Los Angeles permitting the exercise of that authority. Security officers authorized pursuant to this subdivision shall not be deemed peace officers for purposes of Sections 241 and 243. (j)  Illegal dumping enforcement officers   Code enforcement officers  , to the extent  necessary to enforce laws related to illegal waste dumping, or littering, and  authorized by a memorandum of understanding with, as applicable, the sheriff or chief of police within whose jurisdiction the person is employed, permitting the exercise of that authority.  An "illegal dumping enforcement officer" is defined,   A "code enforcement officer" refers to,  for purposes of this section,  as  a person employed full-time, part-time, or as a volunteer after completing training prescribed by law, by a city, county, or city and county,  whose duties include illegal dumping enforcement and   who  is designated by local ordinance as a public officer  and who performs the duties described in Section 829.5  .  An illegal dumping control officer may also be a person   A code enforcement officer  who is not regularly employed by a city, county, or city and county, but who has met all training requirements and is directly supervised by a regularly employed  dumping control officer. This person   code enforcement officer shall not have the power of arrest or access to summary criminal history information  pursuant to this section  .  No person may be appointed as an illegal dumping enforcement officer if that person   A code enforcement officer who  is disqualified pursuant to the criteria set forth in Section 1029 of the Government Code  shall not have the power of arrest or access to summary criminal history information pursuant to this section  . Persons regularly employed by a city, county, or city and county designated pursuant to this subdivision may be furnished state summary criminal history information upon a showing of compelling need pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 11105.  SECTION 1.   Section 829.7 is added to the Penal Code, to read: 829.7. (a) The purpose of this section is to establish uniform minimum training standards designed to increase the level of competency and reliability of code enforcement officers, to improve and expand the professional training available to code enforcement officers, to encourage the active participation of local governments in the code enforcement training standards process, and to develop training criteria that will enhance each local government's ability to protect the lives and property of its citizens. (b) A public agency employing a code enforcement officer shall adopt requirements for, and require all code enforcement officers to wear, apparel or a uniform that allows members of the public to recognize the person wearing the apparel or uniform as a public officer. (c) A public agency employing a code enforcement officer shall adopt a set of standards and minimum education requirements that do all of the following: (1) Establish the number of hours of continuing education required for an employee to be certified as a code enforcement officer. (2) Establish an approved curriculum, which shall include material regarding changes in applicable law. (3) Require code enforcement officers to complete, and certify code enforcement officers as having successfully completed, the following training programs: (A) A code enforcement officer shall successfully complete a certified basic training program within 12 months of his or her initial appointment. Training may be suspended in the event of an interruption in employment, but each period of service as a code enforcement officer shall be counted toward the 12-month time period described in this subparagraph. The failure of a code enforcement officer to complete a certified basic training program within two years after his or her initial appointment shall result in the forfeiture of any accrued training credit. (B) A code enforcement officer shall successfully complete the intermediate level of certified training within 12 months from when he or she successfully completes the basic training program. (C) A code enforcement officer shall successfully complete the advanced level of certification within 24 months from when he or she successfully completes the intermediate training program. (D) Code enforcement officers shall successfully complete a minimum of 16 hours of in-service training each year to maintain a minimum level of proficiency and certification by California Association of Code Enforcement Officers or an institute of higher education. (d) The certified training program described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) shall be administered by any of the following: (1) An organization comprised of at least 750 code enforcement officers, which provides at least 20,000 hours of annual person-hours of training. (2) A career technical education program. (3) An institution of higher education.   SEC. 2.   If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.