BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair


          AB 1713 (Campos) - Child abuse reporting: image processors.
          
          Amended: As Introduced          Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: Yes
          Hearing Date: August 16, 2012                          
          Consultant: Jolie Onodera       
          
          SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.


          Bill Summary: AB 1713 would expand the definition of commercial 
          film and photographic print processor to include "image" 
          processors for purposes of mandated child abuse and reporting 
          laws, as specified.

          Fiscal Impact: 
              Potential ongoing costs to the Department of Corrections 
              and Rehabilitation (CDCR), likely less than $150,000 
              (General Fund) for increased state prison commitments to the 
              extent increasing the number of mandated reporters results 
              in additional felony convictions.
              Potential ongoing costs (Local Revenue Fund 2011/General 
              Fund) to county child welfare services departments for 
              fielding and investigation of increased mandated reports. 
              Ongoing costs to the Judicial Branch, potentially in the 
              range of $25,000 to $50,000 (General Fund) for additional 
              misdemeanor and felony court filings.
              Minor, absorbable costs to the Department of Justice (DOJ) 
              to process additional CANRA reports.
              Non-reimbursable local law enforcement costs due to 
              additional reporting and investigation, as well as increased 
              enforcement for failure to report, offset to a degree by 
              fine revenue.


          Background: Existing law establishes the Child Abuse and Neglect 
          Reporting Act, which generally is intended to protect children 
          from abuse and neglect. Existing law enumerates 40 categories of 
          persons who are mandated child abuse and neglect reporters and 
          provides that, except as specified, "a mandated reporter shall 
          make a report?whenever the mandated reporter, in his or her 
          professional capacity or within the scope of his or her 








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          employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the 
          mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the 
          victim of child abuse or neglect." 

          Under existing law, a mandated reporter includes a commercial 
          film and photographic print processor, which is defined as "any 
          person who develops exposed photographic film into negatives, 
          slides, or prints, or who makes prints from negatives or slides, 
          for compensation. The term includes any employee of such a 
          person; it does not include a person who develops film or makes 
          prints for a public agency."  

          This bill proposes to revise and update existing law in light of 
          the widespread creation, duplication, and printing of digital 
          images via computers and other related image processes in use 
          today. 
          
          Proposed Law: This bill would expand the definition of 
          commercial film and photographic print processor to include 
          "image processor" as any person who prepares, publishes, 
          produces, develops, duplicates, or prints any representation of 
          information, data, or an image, including, but not limited to, 
          any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative, slide, photocopy, 
          videotape, video laser disk, computer hardware, computer 
          software, computer floppy disk, data storage medium, CD-ROM, 
          computer-generated equipment, or computer-generated image for 
          compensation.
           
          Related Legislation: AB 1434 (Feuer) 2012 makes an employee or 
          administrator of a public or private postsecondary institution, 
          whose duties bring the employee or administrator into contact 
          with children on a regular basis or who supervises those whose 
          duties bring the person into contact with children on a regular 
          basis, as to child abuse or neglect occurring on that 
          institution's premises or at an official activity of, or program 
          conducted by the institution, a mandated reporter. This bill is 
          scheduled to be heard in this Committee today.

          AB 1435 (Dickinson) 2012 makes an athletic coach, athletic 
          administrator, or athletic director employed by any public or 
          private school that provides kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 
          12, inclusive, a mandated reporter. This bill is scheduled to be 
          heard in this Committee today.









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          AB 1438 (Bradford) 2012 expands the existing crime for failing 
          to notify a peace officer of a specified violent crime against a 
          child under 14 to include non-forcible child molestation. This 
          bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Public Safety.

          AB 1564 (Lara) 2012 makes volunteers of public or private 
          organizations including nonprofit organizations, whose duties 
          require direct contact with and supervision of children, 
          mandated reporters. This bill was not heard in the Assembly 
          Committee on Public Safety.

          AB 1817 (Atkins) 2012 would make commercial computer 
          technicians, as specified, mandated reporters. This bill has 
          been referred to this Committee for analysis.
          
          SB 1264 (Vargas) 2012 would add to the existing list of mandated 
          reporters any athletic coach, including, but not limited to, an 
          assistant coach or a graduate assistant involved in coaching, at 
          public or private postsecondary institutions. This bill has been 
          referred to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.
          
          Staff Comments: To the extent this bill expands the number of 
          mandated reporters and/or the scope of reporting requirements 
          could result in an increased number of incidents reported and 
          prosecuted, resulting in increased state incarceration costs, 
          likely less than $150,000 General Fund per year.


          Additionally, this bill could result in increased county child 
          welfare agency workload to field and investigate additional 
          mandated reports. Fiscal responsibility for the Child Welfare 
          Services (CWS) program was realigned to the counties under 
          2011Public Safety Realignment. Staff notes that pursuant to the 
          recently enacted public safety realignment budget trailer bill, 
          SB 1020 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) Chapter 40/2012, 
          for any new program or higher level of service provided by a 
          local agency above the level for which funding has been provided 
          for public safety services including preventing child abuse, 
          neglect, or exploitation, the state could be required to provide 
          50 percent of the nonfederal share of any increased costs.

          The Judicial Council may incur increased misdemeanor filings 
          related to a mandated reporter's failure to report an incident 
          of child abuse or neglect, as well as increased felony filings 








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          for investigated reports of abuse that could lead to prosecution 
          and incarceration. The annual impact to the Judicial Branch 
          could range from approximately $25,000 to $50,000 for 50 
          misdemeanor or 25 felony filings per year.

          Local law enforcement will also incur non-reimbursable 
          enforcement costs due to increased reporting and investigations, 
          as well as enforcement costs associated with failure to report, 
          offset to a degree by fine revenue. 

          Recommended Amendments: Existing law does not include a person 
          who develops film or makes prints for a public agency as a 
          "commercial film and photographic print processor" for purposes 
          of mandated reporting. Given the expansion of the definition of 
          "commercial film and photographic print processor" to include 
          "image" processors, staff recommends an amendment to revise the 
          criteria relating to public agencies to reference "images" to 
          maintain the existing exemption afforded to public agencies, as 
          follows:

          "The term includes any employee of such a person; it does not 
          include a person who develops film or makes prints  or images  for 
          a public agency."

          Proposed Author Amendments: Accept the staff recommendation 
          noted above.