BILL NUMBER: AB 1131 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 543
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 29, 2003
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 27, 2003
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 13, 2003
PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 9, 2003
AMENDED IN SENATE SEPTEMBER 4, 2003
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 14, 2003
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 29, 2003
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2003
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Jackson
FEBRUARY 21, 2003
An act to amend Section 368 of the Penal Code, relating to crime.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1131, Jackson. Crime.
Existing law provides that it is a crime, punishable, based upon
the value of the property taken, by imprisonment in a county jail, a
fine not exceeding $1,000, or both that imprisonment and fine, or by
imprisonment in a county jail for a period not exceeding one year or
imprisonment in the state prison for 2, 3, or 4 years, for a person
who is the caretaker of an elder or dependent adult or for a person
who is not a caretaker who knew or should have known that their
victim was an elder or dependent adult, to commit theft or
embezzlement with respect to the property of an elder or dependent
adult.
This bill would expand these provisions to include forgery, fraud,
or identity theft committed against an elder or dependent adult. By
revising the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a
state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 368 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
368. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that crimes against
elders and dependent adults are deserving of special consideration
and protection, not unlike the special protections provided for minor
children, because elders and dependent adults may be confused, on
various medications, mentally or physically impaired, or incompetent,
and therefore less able to protect themselves, to understand or
report criminal conduct, or to testify in court proceedings on their
own behalf.
(b) (1) Any person who, under circumstances or conditions likely
to produce great bodily harm or death, willfully causes or permits
any elder or dependent adult, with knowledge that he or she is an
elder or a dependent adult, to suffer, or inflicts thereon
unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or having the care
or custody of any elder or dependent adult, willfully causes or
permits the person or health of the elder or dependent adult to be
injured, or willfully causes or permits the elder or dependent adult
to be placed in a situation in which his or her person or health is
endangered, is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding one year, or by a fine not to exceed six thousand dollars
($6,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment
in the state prison for two, three, or four years.
(2) If in the commission of an offense described in paragraph (1),
the victim suffers great bodily injury, as defined in Section
12022.7, the defendant shall receive an additional term in the state
prison as follows:
(A) Three years if the victim is under 70 years of age.
(B) Five years if the victim is 70 years of age or older.
(3) If in the commission of an offense described in paragraph (1),
the defendant proximately causes the death of the victim, the
defendant shall receive an additional term in the state prison as
follows:
(A) Five years if the victim is under 70 years of age.
(B) Seven years if the victim is 70 years of age or older.
(c) Any person who, under circumstances or conditions other than
those likely to produce great bodily harm or death, willfully causes
or permits any elder or dependent adult, with knowledge that he or
she is an elder or a dependent adult, to suffer, or inflicts thereon
unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or having the care
or custody of any elder or dependent adult, willfully causes or
permits the person or health of the elder or dependent adult to be
injured or willfully causes or permits the elder or dependent adult
to be placed in a situation in which his or her person or health may
be endangered, is guilty of a misdemeanor. A second or subsequent
violation of this subdivision is punishable by a fine not to exceed
two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail
not to exceed one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(d) Any person who is not a caretaker who violates any provision
of law proscribing theft, embezzlement, forgery, or fraud, or who
violates Section 530.5 proscribing identity theft, with respect to
the property or personal identifying information of an elder or a
dependent adult, and who knows or reasonably should know that the
victim is an elder or a dependent adult, is punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state
prison for two, three, or four years, when the money, labor, goods,
services, or real or personal property taken or obtained is of a
value exceeding four hundred dollars ($400); and by a fine not
exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), by imprisonment in a county
jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment,
when the money, labor, goods, services, or real or personal property
taken or obtained is of a value not exceeding four hundred dollars
($400).
(e) Any caretaker of an elder or a dependent adult who violates
any provision of law proscribing theft, embezzlement, forgery, or
fraud, or who violates Section 530.5 proscribing identity theft, with
respect to the property or personal identifying information of that
elder or dependent adult, is punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison for two, three,
or four years when the money, labor, goods, services, or real or
personal property taken or obtained is of a value exceeding four
hundred dollars ($400), and by a fine not exceeding one thousand
dollars ($1,000), by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one
year, or by both that fine and imprisonment, when the money, labor,
goods, services, or real or personal property taken or obtained is of
a value not exceeding four hundred dollars ($400).
(f) Any person who commits the false imprisonment of an elder or a
dependent adult by the use of violence, menace, fraud, or deceit is
punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or
four years.
(g) As used in this section, "elder" means any person who is 65
years of age or older.
(h) As used in this section, "dependent adult" means any person
who is between the ages of 18 and 64, who has physical or mental
limitations which restrict his or her ability to carry out normal
activities or to protect his or her rights, including, but not
limited to, persons who have physical or developmental disabilities
or whose physical or mental abilities have diminished because of age.
"Dependent adult" includes any person between the ages of 18 and 64
who is admitted as an inpatient to a 24-hour health facility, as
defined in Sections 1250, 1250.2, and 1250.3 of the Health and Safety
Code.
(i) As used in this section, "caretaker" means any person who has
the care, custody, or control of, or who stands in a position of
trust with, an elder or a dependent adult.
(j) Nothing in this section shall preclude prosecution under both
this section and Section 187 or 12022.7 or any other provision of
law. However, a person shall not receive an additional term of
imprisonment under both paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (b) for
any single offense, nor shall a person receive an additional term of
imprisonment under both Section 12022.7 and paragraph (2) or (3) of
subdivision (b) for any single offense.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.