BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 390| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 390 Author: La Malfa (R) Amended: 5/24/11 Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 3/29/11 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Harman, Liu, Price, Steinberg NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8 SENATE FLOOR : 40-0, 5/9/11 (Consent) AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton, Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman, Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 7/14/11 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Crimes: assault and battery: search and rescue teams SOURCE : California State Sheriffs Association DIGEST : This bill includes search and rescue personnel in existing misdemeanor assault and battery crimes CONTINUED SB 390 Page 2 applicable where the victim is a firefighter, peace officer, emergency medical technician or other similarly-situated professional, as specified. Assembly Amendments add double-jointing language. ANALYSIS : Existing law establishes the crime of assault against specified public safety officers, such as peace officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians, among others, while engaged in the performance of their duties, as specified. The offense is punishable by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both the fine and imprisonment. This bill expands the scope of the offense to include search and rescue members, as defined, while engaged in the performance of their duties, as specified. Existing law establishes the crime of battery against specified public safety officers, such as peace officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians, among others, while engaged in the performance of their duties, as specified. The offense is punishable, except when the victim sustains an injury, by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both the fine and imprisonment, or if the victim sustains an injury, the offense is punishable by a fine of not more than $2,000, by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three years. This bill expands the scope of the battery offense and the battery offense where described above where the victim sustains does not sustain an injury, to include a search and rescue member, as defined, while engaged in the performance of his/her duty, as specified. This bill is double-jointed with AB 109 (Assembly Budget Committee), the Budget Bill dealing with criminal justice alignment and SB 406 (Liu). Background CONTINUED SB 390 Page 3 Example of Assault on a Search and Rescue Team Member . The author's office has provided the Senate Public Safety Committee with an example of a battery on a volunteer sergeant in a search and rescue team. On February 28, 2010, a team was searching for Chelsea King near a freeway in San Diego. A truck traveling on the freeway spun out of control and into a ditch. Joseph Charmasson, a volunteer search and rescue sergeant, ran to the truck to assist the occupants. Charmasson was wearing a search and rescue unit uniform. As Charmasson opened the door of the truck, the driver punched him in the face with a closed fist. After a brief struggle, Charmasson was able to seize the truck keys and detain the driver in the truck. Sheriff's deputies then arrived and arrested the driver. Charmasson did not need medical treatment. Prior Legislation SB 1509 (Lowenthal), Chapter. 410, Statutes of 2008 SB 1686 (Leno), Chapter 243, Statutes of 2007 SB 919 (Ortiz), Chapter 274, Statutes of 2003 FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes SUPPORT : (Verified 7/19/11) California State Sheriffs' Association (source) Alameda County Sheriff Amador County Sheriff Butte County Sheriff California Peace Officers Association California Police Chiefs Association Fresno County Sheriff Kern County Sheriff Kings County Sheriff Lassen County Sheriff Los Angeles County Sheriff Mono County Sheriff Orange County Sheriff Peace Officers Research Association of California CONTINUED SB 390 Page 4 Placer County Sheriff Sacramento County Sheriff San Bernardino County Sheriff Santa Cruz County Sheriff Shasta County Sheriff Siskiyou County Sheriff Stanislaus County Sheriff Tuolumne County Sheriff ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, search and rescue personnel are trained and organized by county sheriff's departments to participate in disaster response, evacuations and body recovery. In performing their duties, they are often put in harm's way, sacrificing their personal safety to provide public safety. This bill serves to recognize the critical support role that search and rescue personnel play in sheriffs' offices by increasing the maximum penalties for both assault and battery of search and rescue team members. If passed, the misdemeanor penalties would be equal to those applied to assault and battery of similar law enforcement and public safety personnel, including peace officers, firefighters and emergency medical technicians, among others. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 7/14/11 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall, Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Beth Gaines, Garrick, Gorell, Mitchell RJG:do 7/19/11 Senate Floor Analyses CONTINUED SB 390 Page 5 SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED