Laying Down the Law
What can you do? Call your members of Congress at 1-888-723-5246 to urge them to co-sponsor or support these bills, as well as the inclusion of COs in the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights. |
AFSCME’s Legislation Department has been working on a number of legislative issues important to COs. Here are highlights from a few of those reports:
Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights Act
Law enforcement officers, including COs, should have the same legal protections in their jobs that all citizens have. Two bills pending in Congress, H.R. 350 and S. 348, would give officers basic due-process rights and other civil protections when they are subject to investigation for non-criminal disciplinary action.
H.R. 350 and S. 348 have been referred to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, but no hearings have been held on them at this time.
Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), one of the bill’s sponsors, is working to ensure that COs are specifically included in the legislation. This legislation is part of a larger attempt to build basic rights for COs in states that do not have collective bargaining.
Domestic Violence — Law Enforcement Officers
In 1996, Congress approved a law making it illegal for anyone who has ever been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence to possess a firearm or ammunition. H.R. 445 would exempt federal state and local law enforcement officers — including COs — from the law while performing their official duties. The law would apply to them at all other times. H.R. 26 and S. 262 would ensure that the firearms ban only applied to convictions that occurred after September 1996.
H.R. 445 and H.R. 26 have been referred to the House Judiciary Committee, and S. 262 to the Senate Judiciary Committee. A hearing was held on this issue by the House Subcommittee on Crime and the Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth and Families.
Community Protection Act
This legislation was introduced as part of an omnibus crime bill, S. 3, in the Senate. The House bill is H.R. 218. Both would exempt qualified current and former law enforcement officers, including COs, from state laws prohibiting the carrying of concealed handguns.
A hearing was held on H.R. 218 by the House Judiciary Committee. S. 3 is awaiting approval by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Collective Bargaining Rights for Public Safety Officers
Productive partnerships between labor and management benefit public safety agencies and the communities they serve. But these partnerships aren’t possible in states where public safety employees — including COs — don’t have the basic right to bargain with their employers. H.R. 1173 establishes minimum standards which state laws must meet — including the right of public safety officers to bargain over wages, hours and working conditions — and provides a mechanism for resolving impasses in states without such laws.
H.R. 1173 has bipartisan support in Congress with over 150 co-sponsors. It is now pending further consideration by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. Like the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights, this is part of a larger attempt to build basic rights for COs in states where public employees do not have collective bargaining.
