BILL NUMBER: AB 1686 CHAPTERED 09/26/07 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.