BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1432
Author: Mitchell (D)
Amended: 8/20/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 4-2, 6/12/12
AYES: Hancock, Liu, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Anderson, Harman
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/25/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 67-3, 1/26/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Crimes
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill makes it a misdemeanor for a parent or
guardian to fail to report the death or disappearance of a
child under the age of 14 under specified circumstances.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/20/12 remove the urgency
clause.
ANALYSIS : Existing law states that the desertion of a
child in any place with the intent to abandon the child is
prohibited and is punishable by imprisonment for up to one
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year, a fine of $1,000, or both fine and imprisonment.
(Penal Code Section 271)
Existing law states that any person who, under
circumstances or conditions likely to produce great bodily
harm or death, willfully causes the or permits any child to
suffer, or inflict thereupon unjustifiable physical pain or
mental suffering, or have the care or custody of any child,
willfully causes or permits the person or health of that
child to be injured, or willfully causes or permits that
child to be placed in a situation where his/her person or
health is endangered, shall be punished by imprisonment in
jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison for
two, four or six years. (Penal Code Section 273a(a))
Existing law states that any person who, under
circumstances or conditions other than those likely to
produce great bodily harm or death, willfully causes the
or permits any child to suffer, or inflict thereupon
unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or have
the care or custody of any child, willfully causes or
permits the person or health of that child to be injured,
or willfully causes or permits that child to be placed in a
situation where his/her person or health is endangered, is
guilty of a misdemeanor. (Penal Code Section 273a(b))
Existing law states that any person having the care or
custody of a child who is under eight years or age, who
assaults the child by means of force that a reasonable
person would be likely to produce great bodily injury,
resulting in the child's death, shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life.
(Penal Code Section 273ab(a))
Existing law states that every person who, having knowledge
of an accidental death actively conceals or attempts to
conceal that death, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one
year, a fine not less than $1,000 or more than $10,000, or
by both fine and imprisonment. "Actively conceal and
accidental death" includes:
Performing an overt act that conceals the body or
directly impeded the ability of authorities or family
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members to discover the body.
Directly destroying the suppressing evidence of the
actual physical body of the deceased, including but not
limited to, bodily fluids or tissues.
Destroying or suppressing the actual physical
instrumentality of death. (Penal Code Section 152)
Existing law generally requires any person who reasonably
believes that he/she has observed the commission of a
murder, rape or forcible molestation against a child under
the age of 14 years to notify a peace officer, as
specified. These provisions do not apply to a person who
is related to either the victim or the offender, including
a husband, wife, parent, child, brother, sister,
grandparent, grandchild, or other person related by
consanguinity or affinity; a person who fails to report
based on a reasonable mistake of fact; or a person who
fails to report based on a reasonable fear for his/her own
safety or for the safety of his/her family. Violation of
this provision is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not
more than $1,500, by imprisonment in jail for not more than
six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment. (Penal
Code Section152.3)
Existing law defines a "Public safety agency," as a
functional division of a public agency which provides
firefighting, police, medical, or other emergency services.
(Government Code Section 53102)
Existing law provides that "missing person" includes, but
is not limited to, a child who has been taken, detained,
concealed, enticed away, or retained by a parent in
violation of Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 277) of
Title 9 of Part 1. It also includes any child who is
missing voluntarily or involuntarily, or under
circumstances not conforming to his/her ordinary habits or
behavior and who may be in need of assistance. (Penal Code
Section 14213(a))
Existing law provides that "evidence that the person is at
risk" includes, but is not limited to, evidence or
indications of any of the following:
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The person missing is the victim of a crime or foul play.
The person missing is in need of medical attention.
The person missing has no pattern of running away or
disappearing.
The person missing may be the victim of parental
abduction.
The person missing is mentally impaired. (Penal Code
Section 14213 (b).)
This bill provides that any parent or guardian having the
care, custody or control of a child under 14 years of age
who knows or should have known that the child has died
shall notify a public agency, as defined in Government Code
Section 53102 within 24 hours of the time the parent or
guardian knew or should have known that the child has died.
However, this shall not apply when the child is otherwise
under the immediate care of a physician at the time of
death, or if a public agency, a coroner, or a medical
examiner is otherwise aware of the death.
This bill provides that any parent or guardian having the
care, custody or control of a child under 14 years of age
shall notify law enforcement within 24 hours of the time
that the parent or guardian knows or should have known that
the child is a missing person and there is evidence that
the child is a person at risk, as those terms are defined
in Penal Code Section 14213. However, this shall not apply
if law enforcement is otherwise aware of the missing
person.
This bill provides that a violation of either of the above
is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county
jail for not more than one year or by a fine not exceeding
$1,000 or by both that fine and imprisonment.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
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Ongoing minor court costs for new misdemeanor filings,
likely less than $12,000 (General Fund) for 25 additional
misdemeanor filings per year.
Potential non-reimbursable local enforcement and
incarceration costs, offset to a degree by fine revenue.
While the impact of this bill independently is likely to
be minor, the cumulative effect of all new misdemeanors
could create General Fund cost pressure on capital
outlay, staffing, programming, the courts, and other
resources in the context of recently enacted 2011 Public
Safety Realignment.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/21/12)
Crime Victims United of California
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
Peace Officers Research Association of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "Law
enforcement has known for years that the first 48 hours of
a person's disappearance are critical to the chances of
finding that child alive and successfully prosecuting any
related criminal behavior. Recent developments make it
clear that we don't have the luxury of leaving the
protection of children to others, or ignoring well-founded
suspicions."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 67-3, 1/26/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Cook, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng,
Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández,
Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Lara,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning,
Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
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John A. Pérez
NOES: Knight, Mansoor, Norby
NO VOTE RECORDED: Conway, Davis, Furutani, Gorell, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Harkey, Logue, Smyth
RJG:d 8/21/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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