Bill Text: CA SB2 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Peace officers: certification: civil rights.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-09-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 409, Statutes of 2021. [SB2 Detail]
Download: California-2021-SB2-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Senate
March 11, 2021 |
Introduced by Senators Bradford and Atkins (Principal coauthor: Senator Wiener) (Principal coauthors: Assembly Members Cristina Garcia, McCarty, and Quirk) (Coauthor: Senator Durazo) (Coauthor: Assembly Member Holden) |
December 07, 2020 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
Existing law, the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act, authorizes a civil action to be brought against a person who, whether or not acting under color of law, interferes with the exercise of another’s constitutional and legal rights. Existing law establishes the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to set minimum standards for the recruitment and training of peace officers and to develop training courses and curriculum. Existing law authorizes the commission to establish a professional certificate program that awards certificates on the basis of a combination of training, education, experience, and other prerequisites, for the purpose of fostering the professionalization, education, and
experience necessary to adequately accomplish the general police service duties performed by peace officers. Existing law authorizes the commission to cancel a certificate that was awarded in error or obtained through misrepresentation or fraud, but otherwise prohibits the commission from canceling a certificate that has properly been issued.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation amending the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act and to provide a decertification process for peace officers.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation:Bill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
This act shall be known as the Kenneth Ross Jr. Police Decertification Act of 2021.SEC. 2.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:SEC. 3.
Section 52.1 of the Civil Code is amended to read:52.1.
(a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act.SEC. 4.
Section 1029 of the Government Code is amended to read:1029.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), (c), (d), or(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
SEC. 5.
Section 832.7 of the Penal Code is amended to read:832.7.
(a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), the personnel records of peace officers and custodial officers and records maintained by any state or local agency pursuant to Section 832.5, or information obtained from these records, are confidential and shall not be disclosed in any criminal or civil proceeding except by discovery pursuant to Sections 1043 and 1046 of the Evidence Code. This section shall not apply to investigations or proceedings concerning the conduct of peace officers or custodial officers, or an agency or department that employs those officers, conducted by a grand jury, a district attorney’s office,SEC. 6.
Section 13503 of the Penal Code is amended to read:13503.
In carrying out its duties and responsibilities, the commission shall have all of the following powers:(f)
(g)
(h)The commission shall not have the authority to adopt or carry out a regulation that authorizes the withdrawal or revocation of a certificate previously issued to a peace officer pursuant to this chapter.
(i)Except as specifically provided by law, the commission shall not have the authority to cancel a certificate previously issued to a peace officer pursuant to this chapter.
SEC. 7.
Section 13506 of the Penal Code is amended to read:13506.
The commission may adopt those regulations as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter.SEC. 8.
Section 13509.5 is added to the Penal Code, to read:13509.5.
(a) There is within the commission a Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division, hereafter referred to in this chapter as the division.SEC. 9.
Section 13509.6 is added to the Penal Code, to read:13509.6.
(a) No later than January 1, 2023, the Governor shall establish the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board, hereafter referred to in this chapter as the board.SEC. 10.
The heading of Article 2 (commencing with Section 13510) of Chapter 1 of Title 4 of Part 4 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
Article
2. Field Services and Standards for Recruitment and Training Services, Standards, and Certification
SEC. 11.
Section 13510 of the Penal Code is amended to read:13510.
(a) (1) For the purpose of raising the level of competence of local law enforcement officers, the commission shall adopt, and may from time to time amend, rules establishing and upholding minimum standards relating to physical, mental, and moral fitness that shall govern the recruitment of any city police officers, peace officer members of a county sheriff’s office, marshals or deputy marshals, peace officer members of a county coroner’s office notwithstanding Section 13526, reserve officers, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 830.6, police officers of a district authorized by statute to maintain a police department, peace officer members of a police department operated by a joint powers agency established by Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, regularly employed and paid inspectors and investigators of a district attorney’s office, as defined in Section 830.1, who conduct criminal investigations, peace officer members of a district, safety police officers and park rangers of the County of Los Angeles, as defined in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 830.31, or housing authority police departments.The
These
SEC. 12.
Section 13510.1 of the Penal Code is amended to read:13510.1.
(a) The commission shall establish a certification program for peace officers(e)
SEC. 13.
Section 13510.15 is added to the Penal Code, immediately following Section 13510.1, to read:13510.15.
(a) Every basic certificate issued before January 1, 2022, shall be deemed to expire on January 1, 2023. Every basic certificate or proof of eligibility issued on or after January 1, 2022, shall be valid for no more than two years, as determined by the commission.SEC. 14.
Section 13510.8 is added to the Penal Code, to read:13510.8.
(a) A certified peace officer shall have their certification revoked, and an applicant shall have their application for certification denied, upon a determination pursuant to subdivision (d) that the peace officer or applicant has done any of the following:SEC. 15.
Section 13510.85 is added to the Penal Code, immediately following Section 13510.8, to read:13510.85.
(a) (1) When, upon the completion of an investigation conducted pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 13510.8, the division finds reasonable grounds for revocation of a peace officer’s certification, it shall promptly notify the officer involved, in writing, of its determination and reasons therefore, and shall provide the officer with a detailed explanation of the decertification procedure and the officer’s rights to contest and appeal.SEC. 16.
Section 13510.9 is added to the Penal Code, to read:13510.9.
(a) Beginning January 1, 2023, any agency employing peace officers shall report to the commission within seven days, in a form specified by the commission, any of the following events:SEC. 17.
Section 13512 of the Penal Code is amended to read:13512.
(a) The commission shall make such inquiries as may be necessary to determine whether every city, county, city and county, and district receiving state aid pursuant to this chapter is adhering to the standards forSEC. 18.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)As the Legislature and courts of this state have repeatedly recognized, police officers, sheriffs’ deputies, and other peace officers hold extraordinary powers to detain, search, arrest, and use force, including deadly force. The state has a correspondingly strong interest in ensuring that peace officers do not abuse their authority, including by ensuring that individual peace officers who abuse their authority are held accountable.
(b)California is one of the last few states that does not have a process for revoking peace
officer certificates as a result of misconduct. Nationwide, 45 states have the authority to decertify peace officers. Five states do not have decertification authority: California, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
(c)From 2016 through 2019, police killed 621 Californians, and police departments in our state have some of the highest rates of killings in the nation. Of the unarmed people California police killed, three out of four were people of color. Black and Latino families and communities of color are disproportionately vulnerable to police violence, creating generations of individual and community trauma.
(d)More than 200 professions and trades, including doctors, lawyers, and contractors are licensed or certified by the State of California in order to
maintain professional standards and to protect the public. Law enforcement officers are entrusted with extraordinary powers, including the power to carry a firearm, stop and search, arrest, and use force. They must be held to the highest standards of accountability, and the state should ensure that officers who abuse their authority by committing serious or repeated misconduct, or otherwise demonstrate a lack of fitness to serve as peace officers, are removed from the streets.
(e)To ensure public trust that the system for decertification will hold peace officers accountable for misconduct and that California’s standards for law enforcement reflect community values, it is the intent of the Legislature that the entities charged with investigating and rendering decisions on decertification shall be under independent civilian control and
maintain independence from law enforcement.
(f)Civil courts provide a vital avenue for individuals harmed by violations of the law by peace officers to find redress and accountability. But the judicially created doctrine of qualified
immunity in federal courts, and broad interpretations of California law immunities and restrictive views on the cause of action under the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act, too often lead to officers escaping accountability in civil courts, even when they have broken the law or violated the rights of members of the public. The civil court process should ensure that peace officers are treated fairly, but that they can be held accountable for violations of the law that harm others, especially the use of excessive force.
It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation amending the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act and to provide a decertification process for peace officers.