Peace Officers Bill Of Rights Not A Reimbursable State Mandate

In Department of Finance v. Commission on State Mandates (here), the Third District has held that the Peace Officers Bill of Rights does not impose a reimbursable state mandate on school districts that are not legally compelled to hire peace officers. The court stated: "[T]he districts in issue are authorized, but not required, to provide their own peace officers and do not have provision of police protection as an essential and basic function. It is not essential unless there is a showing that, as a practical matter, exercising the authority to hire peace officers is the only reasonable means to carry out their core mandatory functions. As there is no such showing in the record, the Commission erred in finding that POBRA constitutes a state-mandated program for school districts and the special districts identified in Government Code section 3301."