This letter by Adam Probolsky -- pollster, strategist, blogger and ubiquitous quotemeister -- appear in this week's OC Business Journal:

Police Union Power

It’s that time of year again when the California Legislature rushes to pass bills we don’t need and that harm our state. The votes on the bills do, however, give us an indication of which legislators are on our side, and which aren’t.

On a crucial bill, one of those who isn’t on our side is State Sen. Tom Harman, R-Huntington Beach. He’s the only Orange County Republican to vote for SB 566, which passed the Senate in April and the Assembly in June. The bill would increase police union power at the expense of rank-and-file officers and the general public.

If amendments are added to the bill, it then would have to be voted on again in the Senate, giving Harman another chance to show his true colors.

SB 566 is by Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas, D-Los Angeles. It concerns the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, a part of the California Department of Justice, whose 14 members are appointed by the governor.

Under current law, four commission members must come from rank-and-file. The chosen officers, according to the law, “shall have demonstrated leadership in their local or state peace officer association or union.”

The key word here is “association,” which could mean a police group not involved in collective bargaining—that is, not a union. Currently, police who are not union members can serve on the commission.

The unions didn’t like that—so several of them pushed this bill. It’s co-sponsored by the Santa Ana Police Officers Association, the California Fraternal Order of Police and the Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association. (Despite their names, many police “associations” actually are unions with compulsory dues.)

The bill changes the wording so that the potential commission member must “have demonstrated leadership in the recognized employee organization having the right to represent the member”—that is, a union.

But government unions, which hardly existed 50 years ago, for years have grabbed far too much power, taken at the expense of the citizens who supposedly are “served” and the taxpayers who pay the bills. Whatever new policies could be adopted to address such situations, the peace officers’ unions should not have a mandated say. The unions’ interests, obviously, are for the unions, not for the citizens or even necessarily the officers represented.

The current law, which allows the rank-and-file members of the commission to qualify by belonging to associations other than labor unions, is more than adequate.

By contrast, the new law would preclude the involvement on the commission of a highly qualified and conscientious officer who is deeply involved in a professional association, but not a union.

Whose side is Tom Harman on: The people of California or the unaccountable unions?

At this point, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger needs to save the day and veto this harmful and possibly unconstitutional bill.

Adam D. Probolsky
Planning Commissioner
Irvine