BILL NUMBER: AB 2104	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Smyth

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2008

   An act to add Section 311.12 to the Penal Code, relating to
crimes.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2104, as introduced, Smyth. Pornography: unauthorized
photographs of minors.
   Existing law makes it a crime to engage in specified acts
involving the sale, distribution, and publication of obscene matter
involving a person under the age of 18 years.
   This bill would prohibit a person from preparing, posting, or
publishing a photograph or image of a minor under 18 years of age,
without the minor's knowledge or consent, on an Internet Web site
containing obscene matter. The bill would make a violation of that
provision a crime, punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for
up to one year, or by a fine of no more than $5,000, or by both that
fine and imprisonment. By 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.  The Legislature finds and declares the following:
   (a) Images of local high school athletes, some as young as 14
years of age, are being posted on pornographic Internet Web sites.
   (b) On these Web sites, photographs of minors are juxtaposed with
photographs of nude or semi-nude young males and graphic content and
are the subject of lewd comments in Internet chat rooms.
   (c) The presence of these photographs has alarmed parents,
coaches, and school officials and has traumatized athletes who were
not aware they were being photographed while participating in school
athletic events.
   (d) It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to
protect minors from being traumatized and exploited through the
unauthorized use of their images on pornographic Internet Web sites.
  SEC. 2.  Section 311.12 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
   311.12.  (a) Any person who prepares, posts, or publishes a
photograph or image of a minor under 18 years of age, without the
knowledge or consent of the minor, on an Internet Web site containing
obscene matter, with knowledge that the Web site contains obscene
matter, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for up
to one year, or by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars
($5,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
   (b) Subdivision (a) shall apply even if the minor is fully clothed
in a photograph or image that is posted on a Web site containing
obscene matter.
  SEC. 3.  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.