BILL NUMBER: AB 919	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 30, 2007
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 10, 2007

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Houston

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2007

   An act to  amend Section 646.9 of   add
Section 653.2 to  the Penal Code, relating to crimes.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 919, as amended, Houston.  Stalking.  
Electronic communication devices: threats to safety. 
   Under existing law, any person who willfully, maliciously, and
repeatedly follows or harasses another person and makes a credible
threat, intended to place that person in fear for his or her safety
or the safety of his or her immediate family, is guilty of the crime
of stalking.
   This bill would  also  make a person who, with
the intent to place another person in reasonable fear for his or her
safety, or the safety of the other person's immediate family, by
means of an electronic communication device, and without consent of
the other person, and for the purpose of causing that other person
unwanted contact, injury, or harassment by a third party, distributes
specified identifying information, guilty of  the crime of
stalking   a misdemeanor  . By  expanding
the scope of a   creating a new  crime, the 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.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 653.2 is added to the 
 Penal Code   , to read:  
   653.2.  (a) Every person who, with intent to place another person
in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety of the other
person's immediate family, by means of an electronic communication
device, and without consent of the other person, and for the purpose
of causing that other person unwanted physical contact, injury, or
harassment, by a third party, electronically distributes, publishes,
e-mails, hyperlinks, or makes available for downloading, personal
identifying information, including, but not limited to, a digital
image of another person, or an electronic message of a harassing
nature about another person, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by
up to one year in the county jail, by a fine of not more than one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
   (b) For purposes of this section, the term "electronic
communication device" includes, but is not limited to, telephones,
cellular phones, computers, Internet Web pages or sites, Internet
phones, hybrid cellular/Internet/wireless devices, personal digital
assistants (PDA), video recorders, fax machines, or pagers.
"Electronic communication" has the same meaning as the term is
defined in Section 2510(12) of Title 18 of the United States Code.

   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.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 646.9 of the Penal Code is
amended to read:
   646.9.  (a) (1) Any person who willfully, maliciously, and
repeatedly follows or willfully and maliciously harasses another
person and who makes a credible threat with the intent to place that
person in reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety of his
or her immediate family is guilty of the crime of stalking,
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one
year, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or
by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state
prison.
   (2) Every person who, with intent to place another person in
reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety of the other
person's immediate family, by means of an electronic communication
device, and without consent of the other person, and for the purpose
of causing that other person unwanted physical contact, injury, or
harassment by a third party, electronically distributes, publishes,
e-mails, hyperlinks or makes available for downloading, personal
identifying information, including, but not limited to, a digital
image of another person, or an electronic message of a harassing
nature about another person, is guilty of the crime of stalking,
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one
year, or by a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or
by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state
prison.
   (b) Any person who violates subdivision (a) when there is a
temporary restraining order, injunction, or any other court order in
effect prohibiting the behavior described in subdivision (a) against
the same party, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison
for two, three, or four years.
   (c) (1) Every person who, after having been convicted of a felony
under Section 273.5, 273.6, or 422, commits a violation of
subdivision (a) shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail
for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, or
by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or five years.
   (2) Every person who, after having been convicted of a felony
under subdivision (a), commits a violation of this section shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or five
years.
   (d) In addition to the penalties provided in this section, the
sentencing court may order a person convicted of a felony under this
section to register as a sex offender pursuant to subparagraph (E) of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 290.
   (e) For the purposes of this section, "harasses" means engages in
a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person
that seriously alarms, annoys, torments, or terrorizes the person,
and that serves no legitimate purpose.
   (f) For the purposes of this section, "course of conduct" means
two or more acts occurring over a period of time, however short,
evidencing a continuity of purpose. Constitutionally protected
activity is not included within the meaning of "course of conduct."
   (g) For the purposes of this section, "credible threat" means a
verbal or written threat, including that performed through the use of
an electronic communication device, or a threat implied by a pattern
of conduct or a combination of verbal, written, or electronically
communicated statements and conduct, made with the intent to place
the person that is the target of the threat in reasonable fear for
his or her safety or the safety of his or her family, and made with
the apparent ability to carry out the threat so as to cause the
person who is the target of the threat to reasonably fear for his or
her safety or the safety of his or her family. It is not necessary to
prove that the defendant had the intent to actually carry out the
threat. The present incarceration of a person making the threat shall
not be a bar to prosecution under this section. Constitutionally
protected activity is not included within the meaning of "credible
threat."
   (h) For purposes of this section, the term "electronic
communication device" includes, but is not limited to, telephones,
cellular phones, computers, Internet Web pages or sites, Internet
phones, hybrid cellular/Internet/wireless devices, Personal Digital
Assistants (PDA) video recorders, fax machines, or pagers.
"Electronic communication" has the same meaning as the term defined
in Subsection 12 of Section 2510 of Title 18 of the United States
Code.
   (i) This section shall not apply to conduct that occurs during
labor picketing.
   (j) If probation is granted, or the execution or imposition of a
sentence is suspended, for any person convicted under this section,
it shall be a condition of probation that the person participate in
counseling, as designated by the court. However, the court, upon a
showing of good cause, may find that the counseling requirement shall
not be imposed.
   (k) The sentencing court also shall consider issuing an order
restraining the defendant from any contact with the victim, that may
be valid for up to 10 years, as determined by the court. It is the
intent of the Legislature that the length of any restraining order be
based upon the seriousness of the facts before the court, the
probability of future violations, and the safety of the victim and
his or her immediate family.
   () For purposes of this section, "immediate family" means any
spouse, parent, child, any person related by consanguinity or
affinity within the second degree, or any other person who regularly
resides in the household, or who, within the prior six months,
regularly resided in the household.
   (m) The court shall consider whether the defendant would benefit
from treatment pursuant to Section 2684. If treatment is determined
to be appropriate, the court shall recommend that the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation make a certification, as provided in
Section 2684. Upon the certification, the defendant shall be
evaluated and transferred to the appropriate hospital for treatment
pursuant to Section 2684.  
  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.