BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 756|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 756
Author: Price (D)
Amended: 7/7/11
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 5/3/11
AYES: Hancock, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-0, 5/26/11
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Lieu, Pavley, Price,
Runner, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Emmerson
SENATE FLOOR : 39-0, 6/2/11 (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,
Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk,
Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 8/25/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Registered sex offenders
SOURCE : Office of the Attorney General
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DIGEST : This bill clarifies jurisdiction for prosecuting
a sex offender registrant for failing to register, as
specified, authorizes a district attorney in a jurisdiction
where a sex offender was supposed to register to issue an
arrest warrant, as specified.
Assembly Amendments delete provisions requiring a sex
offender present proof of residence when requested by a law
enforcement agency investigating compliance with the
registration statute.
ANALYSIS : Current law generally requires persons
convicted of enumerated sex offenses to register within
five working days of coming into a city or county, with
specified law enforcement officials in the city, county or
city and county where he/she is domiciled, as specified.
(Penal Code Section 290.) Registration generally must be
updated annually, within five working days of a
registrant's birthday. (Penal Code Section 290.012(a).)
In some instances, registration must be updated once every
30 or 90 days, as specified. (Penal Code Sections 290.011
and 290.012)
Current law requires persons required to register as sex
offenders to register, or reregister if the person has
previously registered, upon release from incarceration,
placement, commitment, or release on probation, as
specified. (Penal Code Section 290.015)
This bill provides that if a person fails to register in
accordance with this provision after release, the district
attorney in the jurisdiction where the person was to be
paroled or to be on probation may request that a warrant be
issued for the person's arrest and shall have the authority
to prosecute that person for a registration violation, as
specified.
This bill further provides that if a person required to
register as a sex offender is 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 for a registration violation:
If the person was previously registered, in the
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jurisdiction in which the person last registered.
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.
If neither of the above applies, in the jurisdiction
where the offense subjecting the person to registration
pursuant to this Act was committed.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13
2013-14 Fund
New prosecutions/ unknown; potentially
significant General/
incarcerations state/local incarceration costs in
the Local
hundreds of thousands of dollars
New misdemeanor unknown; non-reimbursable
local Local
costs for enforcement/incarceration
offset to a degree by fine revenue
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/25/11)
Office of the Attorney General (source)
City of Long Beach
Peace Officers Research Association of California
San Luis Obispo County District Attorney
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/25/11)
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states:
"Existing law provides that a transient sex offender can
be prosecuted in any jurisdiction in which he or she is
physically present for a failure to register within 30
days. (Pen. Code, § 290.011, subd. (a).) No such
provision exists for the initial failure to register upon
release from custody for either transient sex offenders
or sex offenders who move into a residence but never
register, or who absconds after initial registration.
Nor does existing law provide for the issuance of a
warrant in any particular jurisdiction when an offender
who has never registered in any California jurisdiction
absconds after release from custody. ?
"Further, existing law does not require sex offender
registrants to cooperate by providing proof of residence
during a check by law enforcement at their residence.
Although registrants must provide proof of residence to
the registering agency within 30 days of registering
(Pen. Code, § 290.015, subd. (a)(5).), the statute does
not state that they have to provide it again unless they
move. If officers arrive at the registered address
months or years after the initial registration and
attempt to verify that the offender still lives there,
the law does not require the registrant to provide any
proof he still resides at that address."
ARGUMENTS 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
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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."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 8/25/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley,
Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter,
Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández,
Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight,
Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza,
Miller, Mitchell, 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: Bonilla, Gorell, Hall
RJG:mw 8/26/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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