BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 756 Page 1 Date of Hearing: July 5, 2011 Counsel: Sandy Uribe ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Tom Ammiano, Chair SB 756 (Price) - As Amended: May 10, 2011 As Proposed to be Amended in Committee SUMMARY : Clarifies jurisdiction for prosecuting sex-offender registrants who fail to comply with registration requirements upon release from custody. Specifically, this bill : 1)Provides that if a person required to register as a sex offender fails to do so after release from incarceration, the prosecutor in the jurisdiction where the person was to be paroled or placed on probation may request an arrest warrant for the person, and is authorized to prosecute that person for failure to register. 2)Provides that if a person subject to registration is released from custody but not on parole or probation at the time of release, the district attorney in the following applicable jurisdiction shall have the authority to prosecute that person: a) If the person was previously registered, in the jurisdiction in which the person last registered. b) If there is no prior registration, but the person indicated on the Department of Justice notice of sex offender registration requirement form where he or she expected to reside, in the jurisdiction where he or she expected to reside. c) Alternatively, in the jurisdiction where the offense subjecting the person to registration was committed. EXISTING LAW : 1)Requires persons convicted of specified sex offenses to register for the rest of his or her life, with the appropriate law enforcement authorities where they reside. ĘPenal Code SB 756 Page 2 sections 290(b) and 290.012.] 2)Requires a sex offender registrant who has more than one residence at which he or she regularly resides to register in each jurisdiction where he or she regularly resides, and if multiple residences are in the same jurisdiction, the registrant is required to provide all of the addresses in the jurisdiction. (Penal Code Section 290.010.) 3)Requires sex offender registrants to annually update registration information, except transient sex offender registrants must update registration information no less than every 30 days after the initial registration. (Penal Code Sections 290.011 and 290.012.) 4)Requires a sex offender registrant who moves to inform the law enforcement agency where he or she last registered of the new address or location, in addition to notifying the local authorities in the new jurisdiction. (Penal Code Sections 290.013 and 290.) 5)Requires persons convicted of specified sex offenses to register, or re-register if the person has been previously registered, upon release from incarceration, placement, commitment, or release on probation. ĘPenal Code Section 290.015(a).] 6)Provides that willful violation of any part of the registration requirements constitutes a misdemeanor if the offense requiring registration was a misdemeanor, and constitutes a felony if the offense requiring registration was a felony or if the person has a prior conviction of failing to register. ĘPenal Code Section 290.018(a)(b).] FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown COMMENTS : 1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "SB 756 is a simple clarification of the jurisdiction authority of law enforcement agencies with respect to sex offenders who undermine registration requirements. "SB 756 would amend Penal Code section 290.015 to: SB 756 Page 3 a) "Provide that an offender who fails to register following release from custody can be prosecuted in any jurisdiction in which he or she is physically present when arrested. b) "Require sex offender registrants to provide proof of residence at compliance checks by local and state law enforcement only at a place of residence." 2)Venue Provisions : "Venue" refers to the territorial jurisdiction in which a case may be brought to trial. ĘSee Penal Code Sections 691(b) and 777.] Venue can be conferred by statute or by the consent of the parties. ĘCasey v. Superior Court (1989) 207 Cal.App.3d 837, 843.] Generally, venue lies in the superior court of the county in which the crime was committed, and a defendant may be tried there. But there are exceptions to this general rule. ĘPeople v. Posey (2004) 32 Cal.4th 193, 199.] For example, when part of a crime is committed in one jurisdictional territory and another part of the crime in another, or when the acts or effects of the offense or those requisite to its consummation occur in two or more jurisdictional territories, the crime may be tried in a competent court within either jurisdictional territory. (See Penal Code Section 781.) In People v. Britt (2004) 32 Cal.4th 944, the defendant required to register as a sex offender moved from Sacramento County to El Dorado County without notifying the authorities in either county of his move thereby violating two provisions of the Sex Offender Registration Act. (Id. at p. 949.) The defendant was first charged in Sacramento County, pleaded no contest to the charge, and was sentenced to probation with 180 days in county jail. (Ibid.) He was charged in El Dorado County while the charges were still pending in Sacramento County, and the El Dorado prosecutor agreed to wait until the Sacramento County was concluded. (Ibid.) At the conclusion of the Sacramento County case, El Dorado County proceeded with its prosecution which was affirmed on appeal. The Supreme Court reversed the judgment that resulted from the second prosecution, finding that it violated the multiple prosecution prohibition of Penal Code Section 654. (Id. at pp. 954-956.) However, in so doing, the court noted that "either county would be a proper venue in which to try both crimes." (People v. SB 756 Page 4 Britt, supra, 32 Cal.4th at p. 955.) "When a public offense is committed in part in one jurisdictional territory and in part in another, or the acts or effects thereof constituting or requisite to the consummation of the offense occur in two or more jurisdictional territories, the jurisdiction of such offense is in any competent court within either jurisdictional territory. Although this statute speaks in terms of jurisdiction, it is actually a venue statute. It must be given a liberal interpretation to permit trial in a county where only preparatory acts have occurred . . . . The notification requirements of both subdivisions (a) and (f) of section 290 were triggered by defendant's moving from Sacramento County to El Dorado County. This single move necessarily involved preparatory acts in both counties." (Id. at pp. 954-955, citations omitted.) Consistent with Britt, surpa, 32 Cal.4th 944 and with Penal Code Section 781, the venue provisions of this bill clarify that when a defendant fails to register as sex offender, venue is proper in multiple jurisdictions. 3)Argument in Support : According to the Department of Justice , the sponsor of this bill, "Currently, local jurisdictions have a difficult time prosecuting sex offenders who break the law by failing to register. It is often difficult, if not impossible, for prosecutors to prove a sex offender has been in their local jurisdiction for five days, even though the offender may have absconded immediately after release from prison and never registered while living in California for months or years. This legislation would make it clear that venue is proper wherever the absconding offender is found within the state. It would also require that the offender who leaves the state after release from incarceration, but prior to registration, must notify law enforcement. Under existing law, California law enforcement and the Department of Justice have no way to know when an offender who was notified of the duty to register prior to release from incarceration has left California. "Additionally, sex offenders are currently only required to show proof of residence upon release from custody, once a year, or whenever they move. Local law enforcement and state Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement (SAFE) teams often contact these offenders in order to determine whether they are actually residing where they claim. There is no requirement that these SB 756 Page 5 sex offenders show proof of residence when contacted by state or local law enforcement during these compliance checks. This legislation would make it clear that such proof of residence must be provided by these offenders." 4)Argument in Opposition : According to the California Coalition for Women Prisoners (CCWP), "CCWP opposes expansions to California's harsh sex offender laws because evidence strongly suggest that these laws have failed to fulfill their promise of providing safety and security to children and other potential victims of sexual violence. Despite a significant increase in various types of sex offense laws, which include registration requirements, community notification, and strict residency restrictions, there is little evidence to show that the policies have reduced incidents of sexual violence against children and adults. . . . "Reasons we oppose increasing the number of people who have to register for sex offenses include: "Contrary to the myth of the sexually violent pedophile roaming the streets in search of victims, over 90% of child sexual abuse happens from individuals known and often trusted by the victim. Sex offender laws offer little protection to children who are sexually abused by family members and other trusted adults. "The huge increase in the number of people required to register as sex offenders has led to a significant strain on law enforcement who are not able to adequately monitor those individuals with the greatest rights of committing new offenses. A misconception has grown that all people convicted of sex crimes are child rapists and murderers. In reality, the broad net of sex offender laws ensnares individual who actually pose no risk of committing such heinous crimes." REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION : Support Department of Justice (Sponsor) Long Beach City Attorney Peace Officers Research Association San Luis Obispo County District Attorney SB 756 Page 6 Opposition California Coalition for Women Prisoners Analysis Prepared by : Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744