(a) Nothing in any provision listed in Section 16580 prohibits any police officer, special police officer, peace officer, or law enforcement officer from carrying any wooden club or baton.

(b) Nothing in any provision listed in Section 16580 prohibits a uniformed security guard, regularly employed and compensated by a person engaged in any lawful business, while actually employed and engaged in protecting and preserving property or life within the scope of employment, from carrying any wooden club or baton if the uniformed security guard has satisfactorily completed a course of instruction certified by the Department of Consumer Affairs in the carrying and use of the club or baton. The training institution certified by the Department of Consumer Affairs to present this course, whether public or private, is authorized to charge a fee covering the cost of the training.

(c) The Department of Consumer Affairs, in cooperation with the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, shall develop standards for a course in the carrying and use of a club or baton.

(d) Any uniformed security guard who successfully completes a course of instruction under this section is entitled to receive a permit to carry and use a club or baton within the scope of employment, issued by the Department of Consumer Affairs. The department may authorize a certified training institution to issue permits to carry and use a club or baton. A fee in the amount provided by law shall be charged by the Department of Consumer Affairs to offset the costs incurred by the department in course certification, quality control activities associated with the course, and issuance of the permit.

(e) Any person who has received a permit or certificate that indicates satisfactory completion of a club or baton training course approved by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training prior to January 1, 1983, shall not be required to obtain a club or baton permit or complete a course certified by the Department of Consumer Affairs.

(f) Any person employed as a county sheriff’s or police security officer, as defined in Section 831.4, shall not be required to obtain a club or baton permit or to complete a course certified by the Department of Consumer Affairs in the carrying and use of a club or baton, provided that the person completes a course approved by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training in the carrying and use of the club or baton, within 90 days of employment.

(g) Nothing in any provision listed in Section 16580 prohibits an animal control officer, as described in Section 830.9, a humane officer, as described in paragraph (5) of subdivision (h) of Section 14502 of the Corporations Code, or an illegal dumping enforcement officer, as described in Section 830.7, from carrying any wooden club or baton if the animal control officer, humane officer, or illegal dumping enforcement officer has satisfactorily completed the course of instruction certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training in the carrying and use of the club or baton. The training institution certified by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training to present this course, whether public or private, is authorized to charge a fee covering the cost of the training.

(Amended by Stats. 2018, Ch. 20, Sec. 2. (AB 2349) Effective January 1, 2019.)