Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training.

Assemblywoman Michelle Rodriguez's legislation expands background check requirements and information access authority for the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST), establishing new protocols for investigating officer misconduct and managing sensitive criminal justice data.

The bill requires POST employees, contractors, and others whose duties involve accessing criminal records or law enforcement telecommunications data to undergo fingerprint-based state and national background checks. It authorizes POST and cleared personnel to inspect and duplicate information from the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System when necessary for official duties.

For misconduct investigations, the legislation grants POST and its Peace Officer Standards Accountability Division authority to review agency files and criminal justice records, including confidential or privileged information. Law enforcement agencies must report officer misconduct allegations, civilian oversight findings, and employment separations to POST within 10 days. Agencies must also maintain investigation records for two years and execute detailed separation affidavits describing the circumstances when officers leave their positions.

The measure takes effect immediately upon passage as an urgency statute, with POST required to implement the background check procedures and reporting protocols promptly. While the bill creates new administrative requirements for law enforcement agencies, it specifies that no state reimbursement is required since the changes relate to crime definition modifications under California's constitution.