Penal Code section 13513, signed into law in 1968, states, “The Commission shall provide counseling services to police agencies when requested.”  Regulation 1016, approved by the Commission the same year, defined POST’s role by including, “POST shall not charge for studies conducted by POST staff.”

POST conducts a great number of studies annually for agencies.  The costs associated with studies varies greatly depending on type and depth.  For example, a Property and Evidence study may take a POST Law Enforcement Consultant (LEC) 120 hours of time to travel, research and draft a report.  In addition to the 120 hours for a Property and Evidence study, additional POST staff members are used to proof and approve the final the report.

In 1968, there were 332 agencies in the POST program, compared to 630 agencies as of 2018. While the number of agencies POST supports has continued to increase, POST's budget and staffing have been decreased, requiring a change to current practices in order to continue providing support to all agencies.

POST provides a variety of studies for participating agencies, and all studies are currently provided gratis.  Studies are agency-specific, and at times require an inordinate amount of staff time and travel. Private companies often charge high fees for similar services.  For example, Property and Evidence study fees charged by a private corporation can run between $10,000 - $25,000.  Other studies range between $45,000 - $200,000 depending upon the complexity of the study and the parameters set by the requesting agency.  Due to budgetary and personnel constraints, POST thus desires to recoup part of its administrative costs for conducting studies. 

POST proposes to receive reimbursement for actual time spent by the staff member on the project (straight hourly rate of pay for the staff member), plus an automatic 20% indirect fee to compensate for travel and administrative expenditures (POST will absorb travel and per diem costs incurred by staff).

Should the Commission approve these changes, staff will prepare the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) package and allow for public comment.  Should POST receive no public comments which require a change to the proposed language, the changes will be submitted to OAL for review without having to return to the next Commission meeting.  Should any changes be required as a result of the public comment period or feedback from OAL, staff will return with the modified language to the Commission meeting in February 2019 for approval.