SB 449: Peace officers: Peace Officer Standards Accountability Advisory Board.

Existing law defines certification as a valid and unexpired basic certificate or proof of eligibility to serve as a peace officer issued by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

The bill would redefine certification to mean any and all valid and unexpired certificates issued by the commission, as specified.

Existing law allows the commission to consider a peace officers prior conduct and service record in determining whether revocation is appropriate for serious misconduct.

The bill would allow the commission to also consider suspension as punishment for serious misconduct.

Existing law requires hearings of the board, the review by the commission, administrative adjudications, as specified, and any records introduced during those proceedings to be public.

The bill would authorize the Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division to redact these public records, as specified.

Existing law requires an agency employing peace officers to report to the commission the employment, appointment, or separation from employment of a peace officer, any complaint, charge, allegation, or investigation into the conduct of a peace officer that could render the officer subject to suspension or revocation, findings by civil oversight entities, and civil judgments that could affect the officers certification. Existing law requires the commission to maintain the information reported by an agency in a manner that may be accessed by the subject peace officer, among other entities.

The bill would authorize the commission to withhold this information from the subject peace officer if disclosure could jeopardize an ongoing investigation, create a risk of any form of harm or injury to a victim or witness, or otherwise create a risk of any form of harm or injury that outweighs the interest in disclosure until the risk of harm or injury is ended or mitigated so that the interest in disclosure is no longer outweighed by the interest in nondisclosure. The bill would also require this information that has been withheld from the subject officer and released by the commission to an agency, as specified, to be kept confidential by the receiving agency. This bill would make other conforming changes.

Existing law authorizes the commission to suspend, revoke, or cancel any certification, as specified.

This bill would clarify that this authority extends to any certificate or proof of eligibility that is expired, inactive, expired, or canceled. The bill would also allow the commission to cancel any certificate or proof of eligibility that was fraudulently obtained, as specified.

Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.

The bill would make legislative findings to that effect.