Bills

SB 1088: Public employment: law enforcement labor relations.

Session Year: 2021-2022
House: Senate
Latest Version Date: 2022-03-16

Version:

Existing law, the Public Safety Officers Procedural Bill of Rights Act, grants a variety of employment rights and protections to public safety officers, as defined, including with respect to investigations, interrogations, and disciplinary procedures.

This bill would prohibit a procedural violation of the act deemed to be without substantive effect, as specified, from being the basis for reversing or modifying discipline of a public safety officer.

Existing law provides that an infraction is not punishable by imprisonment. Existing law also specifies that a person charged with an infraction is not entitled to a trial by jury and is generally not entitled to have a public defender or other counsel appointed at public expense to represent them.This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.

Version:

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1.Section 3309.6 is added to the Government Code, to read:3309.6.

(a)A procedural violation of this chapter that an administrative hearing officer, board, or arbitrator, acting pursuant to their appropriate authority, deems to be without a substantive effect shall not be the basis for reversing or modifying discipline of a public safety officer.

(b)For purposes of this section, without a substantive effect includes, but is not limited to, the following:

(1)Procedural errors, including the admission or exclusion of evidence, unless the error adversely affects the substantial rights of the public safety officer to an extent that constitutes fundamental unfairness.

(2)Harmless errors, including technical errors, that are not so damaging and prejudicial as to change the outcome of an investigation or a decision.

(3)With consideration of the totality of the dispute, evidence of misconduct is significant enough to outweigh a claim that an error was substantial enough to justify a change in discipline.

SECTION 1.Section 19.6 of the Penal Code is amended to read:19.6.An infraction is not punishable by imprisonment. A person charged with an infraction is not entitled to a trial by jury. A person charged with an infraction is not entitled to have the public defender or other counsel appointed at public expense to represent them unless they are arrested and not released on their written promise to appear, their own recognizance, or a deposit of bail.

Date	Status
May 27, 2022	Ordered to inactive file.
May 10, 2022	Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
May 9, 2022	From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.
Apr 29, 2022	Set for hearing May 9.
Apr 27, 2022	From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 4. Noes 0. Page 3519.) (April 26). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Mar 29, 2022	Set for hearing April 26.
Mar 23, 2022	Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Mar 16, 2022	From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
Feb 23, 2022	Referred to Com. on RLS.
Feb 16, 2022	From printer.
Feb 15, 2022	Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Authors shown for version:
Amended Senate (3/16/2022)