COMMITTEE OF ORIGIN: Standing Committee on Judiciary
This bill allows the General Assembly, the House of Representatives, or the Senate to hire legislative security officers to ensure the security and the functioning of the General Assembly. The legislative security officers will be certified by the Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) Program and will have all the powers granted to law enforcement officers in this State.
Currently, the Attorney General is authorized to appoint investigators necessary to properly perform the duties of the office.
This bill specifies that these investigators may be commissioned and noncommissioned. Each commissioned investigator, upon appointment, must take an oath of office to support the Constitution and laws of the United States and this State and will receive a certificate of appointment. A copy of the certificate of appointment must be filed with the Secretary of State.
The certificate will be issued by the Attorney General, and it will grant the commissioned investigator the power to arrest individuals to maintain order and preserve the peace in any matter in which authority is granted to the Attorney General by law. Commissioned investigators may assist law enforcement agencies when requested. The certificate of appointment for an investigator can be withdrawn at any time by the Attorney General, and commissioned investigators must comply with the same peace officer standards as other law enforcement in the State.
This bill contains an emergency clause for the provision relating to legislative security officers.
Statutes affected: