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May 24, 2004 :: SB 1352 - OPPOSE/UNLESS AMENDEDThe Honorable Gloria Romero State Capitol, Room 5051 Sacramento, CA 95814 Re: SB 1352 - OPPOSE/UNLESS AMENDED Dear Senator Romero: On behalf of the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, I am writing to indicate our opposition to SB 1352 (Romero and Speier), unless amended as discussed below. As introduced and amended, SB 1352 targets one segment of peace officers that are employed by an entity listed under Penal Code § 6126, and eliminates certain basic rights that are granted to all peace officers under the Public Safety Officers' Procedural Bill of Rights Government Code § 3300 et seq. (POBOR) and Penal Code § 832.7. This bill gives the Inspector General (IG) carte blanc access to records that are protected by law or an agreement reached between the employer and employee. Access should be identical to the employer's rights for each specific classification of employee. In addition, this bill limits a peace officer's rights to those of Government Code § 3300 and eliminates the rest of POBOR. For this reason, this bill should be amended to state expressly that the Office of Inspector General must follow the Public Safety Officers Procedural of Bill of Rights (Government Code § 3300 et seq.) and the Memorandum of Understanding negotiated between the state employer and employee organizations. To do otherwise, is blatantly unfair to the correctional peace officer and will lead to great confusion and inconsistency in the process. CCPOA is fully supportive of the goal of the Office of Inspector General to ensure efficiency and eliminate improper governmental conduct. Our members, however, deserve due process. We are concerned about deficient discovery rights for employees. If an employee is referred for discipline and/or receives discipline as a result of the IG's investigation, they should be entitled to all documents that an investigation was based upon. The test should not be determined subjectively by the Inspector General alone (the "IG determines to be relevant"). Rather, an objective standard (i.e., reasonably relevant or relied on by the employer in taking disciplinary action) is necessary to ensure mandatory due process rights for an employee. Such due process rights include notice and an opportunity to respond to all materials used by the Office of Inspector General and/or employer to reach a decision. With the Inspector General taking on "employer type functions", whether directly or indirectly, it is important that employee due process and representational rights be maintained. For these reasons, we recommend an amendment to your bill to provide for the full protections afford by Government Code § 3300 et seq., P.C. § 832.7 and all other laws regarding confidentiality. We appreciate the author's interest in investigation and disciplining acts of misconduct. With inclusion of our suggested amendments, we would be pleased to support this measure. Thank you for considering our views. Sincerely, Debra Heusel, Chair CCPOA Legislative Committee |
