Jake Johnson, president of the California Association of Highway Patrolmen and an active sworn California Highway Patrol officer, told a California State Senate budget subcommittee the CHP is taking on expanded duties while losing experienced officers to retirement and attrition.

“I was elected by be the president of the California Association Highway Patrolmen, which represents 6,900 active frontline men and women,” Johnson told the panel. He said the CHP has hired roughly 1,000 new officers between February 2022 and February 2025 but that roughly the same number left the force in that period, “mostly to retirement.” Johnson said about 1,000 sworn personnel are eligible to retire now and an additional 1,000 will become eligible over the next three years.

Johnson told the committee the CHP has become “California’s police department” because the agency is repeatedly deployed for statewide needs, and he warned large upcoming events will require significant CHP deployments: “The CHP will play a vital role in upcoming Super Bowl, World Cup, and the Olympics.” He said those assignments increase overtime and reduce staffing available for routine local duties.

Senator Anthony Sciardo and Chair Senator Richardson asked about recruitment, supervision and operational safety. Johnson said recruitment has been strong—“hiring a thousand people within that time frame is something to be proud of”—but added that hiring has not kept pace with attrition and that inexperienced supervisors and fatigue from excess overtime are growing concerns. “The simple answer is, yes. The supervision is less experienced,” he said. On fatigue he added: “Once it got too much, and you’re working 20, 25 days out of the month of 24 hour shifts, you become less effective.”

Johnson also raised equipment and safety issues for officers conducting traffic stops on freeways, saying lighting on patrol cars could be improved and describing efforts some officers take to move stops off the highway. “I would love to work with the legislature or even further with my employer to try to implement some better policies or even laws” to reduce roadside risk, he said.

To stabilize staffing and retain experience, Johnson urged lawmakers to consider a Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) for sworn officers and firefighters. He described DROP as a program that lets eligible employees extend their careers for a predetermined period while preserving retirement benefits and said similar programs operate in several California cities and other states. “Our communities would benefit from these highly qualified employees staying in their critical posts,” he said. Johnson said the association pulled an earlier bill in the Assembly to refine fiscal language and will continue to work with legislators, CalPERS and the administration to pursue a cost-neutral DROP design.

The subcommittee did not take formal action during the informational hearing. Senators and Johnson discussed next steps, and Richardson encouraged further collaboration on DROP and on safety improvements ahead of major sporting events.