BILL NUMBER: AB 1686 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 243
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 26, 2007
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 30, 2007
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 5, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 17, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Leno
FEBRUARY 23, 2007
An act to amend Section 241 of the Penal Code, relating to assault
and battery.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1686, Leno. Assault and battery: victims.
Under existing law, an assault committed against a person employed
in a specified position, including, peace officers, custodial
officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, lifeguards,
process servers, and traffic officers, when the person committing the
battery knew or should have known the victim was engaged in the
performance of his or her duties is a misdemeanor, punishable by
imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year.
This bill would define parking control officers as persons
employed by a city, county, or city and county to monitor and enforce
state laws and local ordinances relating to parking and would make
it a misdemeanor to assault a parking control officer engaged in the
performance of his or her duties if the person committing the assault
knew or should have known the victim was a parking control officer,
punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 6 months
or by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by both the fine and
imprisonment.
Because this bill would increase the duties of local prosecutors,
it 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 241 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
241. (a) An assault is punishable by a fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not
exceeding six months, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
(b) When an assault is committed against the person of a parking
control officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties, and
the person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know
that the victim is a parking control officer, the assault is
punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or
by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by
both the fine and imprisonment.
(c) When an assault is committed against the person of a peace
officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, mobile intensive
care paramedic, lifeguard, process server, traffic officer, code
enforcement officer, or animal control officer engaged in the
performance of his or her duties, or a physician or nurse engaged in
rendering emergency medical care outside a hospital, clinic, or other
health care facility, and the person committing the offense knows or
reasonably should know that the victim is a peace officer,
firefighter, emergency medical technician, mobile intensive care
paramedic, lifeguard, process server, traffic officer, code
enforcement officer, or animal control officer engaged in the
performance of his or her duties, or a physician or nurse engaged in
rendering emergency medical care, the assault is punishable by a fine
not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in
the county jail not exceeding one year, or by both the fine and
imprisonment.
(d) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) Peace officer means any person defined in Chapter 4.5
(commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2.
(2) "Emergency medical technician" means a person possessing a
valid course completion certificate from a program approved by the
State Department of Health Services for the medical training and
education of ambulance personnel, and who meets the standards of
Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety
Code.
(3) "Mobile intensive care paramedic" refers to those persons who
meet the standards set forth in Division 2.5 (commencing with Section
1797) of the Health and Safety Code.
(4) "Nurse" means a person who meets the standards of Division 2.5
(commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code.
(5) "Lifeguard" means a person who is:
(A) Employed as a lifeguard by the state, a county, or a city, and
is designated by local ordinance as a public officer who has a duty
and responsibility to enforce local ordinances and misdemeanors
through the issuance of citations.
(B) Wearing distinctive clothing which includes written
identification of the person's status as a lifeguard and which
clearly identifies the employing organization.
(6) "Process server" means any person who meets the standards or
is expressly exempt from the standards set forth in Section 22350 of
the Business and Professions Code.
(7) "Traffic officer" means any person employed by a county or
city to monitor and enforce state laws and local ordinances relating
to parking and the operation of vehicles.
(8) "Animal control officer" means any person employed by a county
or city for purposes of enforcing animal control laws or
regulations.
(9) (A) "Code enforcement officer" means any person who is not
described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of
Part 2 and who is employed by any governmental subdivision, public or
quasi-public corporation, public agency, public service corporation,
any town, city, county, or municipal corporation, whether
incorporated or chartered, that has enforcement authority for health,
safety, and welfare requirements, and whose duties include
enforcement of any statute, rules, regulations, or standards, and who
is authorized to issue citations, or file formal complaints.
(B) "Code enforcement officer" also includes any person who is
employed by the Department of Housing and Community Development who
has enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare
requirements pursuant to the Employee Housing Act (Part 1 (commencing
with Section 17000) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code);
the State Housing Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 17910) of
Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); the
Mobilehomes-Manufactured Housing Act (Part 2 (commencing with Section
18000) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); the Mobilehome
Parks Act (Part 2.1 (commencing with Section 18200) of Division 13
of the Health and Safety Code); and the Special Occupancy Parks Act
(Part 2.3 (commencing with Section 18860) of Division 13 of the
Health and Safety Code).
(10) "Parking control officer" means any person employed by a
city, county, or city and county, to monitor and enforce state laws
and local ordinances relating to parking.
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.