Listen up, Orange County. This isn’t a drill.
I’m Tony Alvarez, Lead Instructor at Mana Group Training Solutions, and for over two decades, I’ve been in the trenches. Private protection, tactical medicine, and firearms instruction. I know what it takes to protect people. And right now, the state of California has pulled the rug out from under every house of worship trying to do the right thing.
Effective January 1, 2025, California’s SB 1454 gutted the long-standing licensing exemption for charitable and philanthropic groups, the one your house of worship relied on. The government just kicked your security operation into a whole new, high-liability territory.
The Law is Vague. The Risk is Real.
The state won’t give a clear answer, so I will: If your church has a safety team that looks, acts, or is compensated like security, you are exposed to massive legal and financial risk.
Here’s the breakdown, plain and simple:
- The PPSO Trigger: The law focuses on the Proprietary Private Security Officer (PPSO) definition. If your team member is paid, wears a uniform (even a “Safety” polo), and interacts with the public, they are likely a PPSO.
- The New Mandate: If they’re a PPSO, they must be registered with the Bureau of Security and Investigative Services (BSIS) and complete all required training. No more hiding behind the “nonprofit” badge.
- The Volunteer Trap: Don’t think just because they’re a volunteer, you’re safe. If they look uniformed and are acting in a security role, the law is murky as hell, and the state’s silence on the matter is deafening. They’ll use that ambiguity to hit you after an incident.
- Armed Personnel: The Nuclear Option: If you have armed staff or volunteers, you are playing with fire. BSIS has indicated that armed personnel must be licensed through a Private Patrol Operator (PPO), hold a BSIS firearms permit, and have a CCW. Your CCW alone might not cover you when you’re acting in a professional/official capacity for the church.
The Hard Truth: Your Training is Now Your Shield.
You can try to dance around the law by going plain-clothes or rebranding your team, but that creates a tactical risk. In a real-time, chaotic emergency, uniforms and clear identification save lives. You can’t compromise safety just to dodge bad legislation.
Mana Group Training Solutions has been teaching professionals and civilians for decades. We deal in real-time application and legal compliance. You need to elevate your game, and you need to do it yesterday.
Your Compliance & Confidence Roadmap:
- Legal Triage: Get with an attorney who specializes in church liability and BSIS regulation. Review all job descriptions, volunteer agreements, and compensation practices NOW.
- Professional Licensing: If your team meets the PPSO definition, you must begin the process for BSIS registration and training immediately.
- Mandatory, Elevated Training: The state-mandated training is a minimum. It is not sufficient to protect your people. Mana Group offers specialized, BSIS-compliant courses that integrate:
- Proprietary Security Officer (PSO) Certification: Get your team properly registered and trained to meet the legal minimum and beyond.
- Advanced Use-of-Force & De-Escalation: Don’t let your team’s first training be during a lawsuit. We teach responsible, legally defensible, and effective engagement.
- Tactical Medical (TacMed) Training: Because an emergency doesn’t wait for the paramedics. Everyone needs to know how to save a life when seconds count.
The Bottom Line from Mana Group
California is counting on churches to be ignorant of the law or too slow to react. They wait until a tragedy happens, and then they bring the hammer down with criminal charges, civil suits, and insurance denials. This is a post-incident law.
Don’t wait to be the headline they use to justify their enforcement.
We are the experts in Orange County, CA, who understand both the tactical necessity of a trained team and the legal requirements of California. It’s time to stop crossing your fingers and start training your team to be a benefit, not a liability.
Is your church team compliant with the new law? Don’t guess.
Contact Mana Group Training Solutions today for a compliance consultation and to schedule your team’s professional, legally-defensible training.