Official Summary Text
AB 1627, as amended, Ávila Farías.
Public employment: disqualifications.
Existing law contains numerous provisions governing the qualifications, standards, and training of peace officers. Existing law specifies circumstances that disqualify a person from holding office or being employed as a peace officer, including, among other things,
having been convicted of a felony.
any person previously employed in law enforcement in any state or United States territory or by the federal government whose name is listed in any of specified indexes whose certification as a law enforcement officer in that jurisdiction was revoked for misconduct or who, while employed as a law enforcement officer, engaged in serious misconduct that would have resulted in their certification being revoked by the commission if
employed as a peace officer in this state.
This bill would disqualify a person from being a peace officer if they were employed by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement between September 1, 2025, and January 20, 2029. The bill would authorize a person
disqualified as a peace officer by these provisions to petition the State Personnel Board to restore their eligibility, and would require the board to make a determination of a petitioner’s rehabilitated moral character in deciding whether to restore the petitioner’s eligibility.
Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to complete a background investigation, using as guidelines the standards defined by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, of any applicant for employment as a peace officer before the applicant may be employed or begin training as a peace officer.
This bill would require the background investigation completed by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to also include an investigation of prior employment with United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
By prohibiting local governments from
employing persons as described above, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would specify that, for purposes of the disqualification circumstances described above, the terms “employed in law enforcement” and “law enforcement officer” include a law enforcement officer employed in any state or United States territory or by the federal government who engages in immigration enforcement, as provided.
The bill would make the provisions of the act severable.
The bill would include findings that changes proposed by this bill address a matter of statewide concern rather than a municipal affair and, therefore, apply to all cities, including charter cities.
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 the statutory provisions noted above.