AB 47, as amended, Gatto. Emergency telephone system: abuse.
Under existing law, any person who knowingly allows the use of, or who uses, the 911 telephone system for any reason other than because of an emergency is guilty of an infraction. Any person who uses the 911 telephone system with the intent to annoy or harass another person is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than 6 months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
This bill would provide that any person who calls the 911 telephone system to dispatch a policebegin insert, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical serviceend insert response to a residence or place of business where there is no emergency, with the intent to annoy or harass another person, and policebegin insert, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical service personnelend insert are dispatched as a result of the call, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding $10,000, by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. Under the bill, the person responsible for that call is guilty of a felony punishable by a fine not exceeding $10,000, by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than 2 years, or by both that fine and imprisonment, if any person sustained bodily injury as a result of conduct arising out of and in the course of the policebegin insert, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical serviceend insert dispatch. Under the bill, the person responsible for that call is guilty of involuntary manslaughter, punishable as specified, if any person sustained death as a result of conduct arising out of and in the course of the policebegin insert, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical service personnelend insert dispatch. This bill would require, upon conviction, that the person shall also be liable for all reasonable costs incurred by any unnecessary emergency response. This bill would exempt from its provisions telephone calls made in good faith. By increasing the penalty for an existing crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 653.01 is added to the Penal Code, to
2read:
(a) Any person who calls the 911 telephone system
4to dispatch a policebegin insert, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical
5serviceend insert response to a residence or place of business where there
6is no emergency, with the intent to annoy or harass another person
7and if policebegin delete areend deletebegin insert, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical
8service personnelend insert dispatched as a result of the telephone call, is
9guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than ten
10thousand dollars ($10,000), by
imprisonment in a county jail for
11not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
12(b) Any person who calls the 911 telephone system to dispatch
13a policebegin insert, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical service
14personnelend insert response to a residence or place of business where there
15is no emergency, with the intent to annoy or harass another person
16and if policebegin insert, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical service
17personnelend insert are dispatched and any person sustains bodily injury as
18a result of conduct arising out of and in the course of the policebegin insert,
19sheriff, fire department, or emergency
medical service personnelend insert
20 being dispatched to the residence or place of business, is guilty of
P3 1a felony punishable by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars
2($10,000), by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than two
3years, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
4(c) Any person who calls the 911 telephone system to dispatch
5a policebegin insert, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical serviceend insert
6 response to a residence or place of business where there is no
7emergency, with the intent to annoy or harass another person and
8if policebegin insert, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical service
9personnelend insert are dispatched and any person sustained death
as a result
10of conduct arising out of and in the course of the policebegin insert, sheriff,
11fire department, or emergency medical serviceend insert being dispatched
12to the residence or place of business, is guilty of involuntary
13manslaughter punishable under subdivision (b) of Section 193.
14(d) For purposes of this section, “emergency” means any
15condition in which emergency services will result in the saving of
16a life, a reduction in the destruction of property, quicker
17apprehension of criminals, or assistance with potentially
18life-threatening medical problems, a fire, a need for rescue, an
19imminent potential crime, or a similar situation in which immediate
20assistance is required.
21(e) Upon conviction of
this section, a person shall also be liable
22for all reasonable costs, including property damage, incurred by
23an unnecessary policebegin insert, sheriff, fire department, or emergency
24medical serviceend insert response.
25(f) This section shall not apply to telephone calls made in good
26faith.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
28Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
29the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
30district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
31infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
32for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
33the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
34the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
35Constitution.
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