Opinion No. (2002)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General GREGORY L. GONOT Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE LOUIS B. GREEN, COUNTY COUNSEL, COUNTY OF EL DORADO, has requested an opinion on the following question: May a general law city enter into a contract with a private security company authorizing the company's employees to issue citations for Vehicle Code parking violations? CONCLUSION A general law city may not enter into a contract with a private security company authorizing the company's employees to issue citations for Vehicle Code parking violations. ANALYSIS A general law city is considering whether to contract with a private security company 1 to have the company's employees patrol the city's parking lots during the summer months. The contract would specify that the company's employees would use the ticket books of the city's police department to issue citations for Vehicle Code parking violations. The city's own employees have previously been issuing the citations, and it is hoped that contracting with the company will be less costly and allow better use of the city's resources. We conclude that the city may not contract with the security company for the performance of these particular…