BILL NUMBER: AB 47	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 18, 2013
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 13, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Gatto

                        DECEMBER 19, 2012

   An act to add Section 653.01 to the Penal Code, relating to
crimes.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   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   make 
any person who calls the 911 telephone system to dispatch a police,
sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical service  personnel
 response to a residence or place of business where there is no
emergency, with the intent to annoy or harass another person, and
police, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical service
personnel are dispatched as a result of the call,  is
 guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding
 $10,000   $2,000  , 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   an offense 
punishable by a fine not exceeding $10,000, by imprisonment in a
county jail  for not more than 2 years   not
exce   eding one year, or for 16 months, or 2 or 3 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 police, sheriff, fire department, or emergency
medical service 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 police, sheriff,
fire department, or emergency medical service personnel 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 1.  Section 653.01 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
   653.01.  (a) Any person who calls the 911 telephone system to
dispatch a police, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical
service  personnel  response to a residence or place of
business where there is no emergency, with the intent to annoy or
harass another person and if police, sheriff, fire department, or
emergency medical service personnel  are  dispatched as a
result of the telephone call, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable
by a fine of not more than  ten   two 
thousand dollars  ($10,000)   ($2,000)  ,
by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by
both that fine and imprisonment.
   (b) Any person who calls the 911 telephone system to dispatch a
police, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical service
personnel response to a residence or place of business where there is
no emergency, with the intent to annoy or harass another person and
if police, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical service
personnel are dispatched and any person sustains bodily injury as a
result of conduct arising out of and in the course of the police,
sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical service personnel
being dispatched to the residence or place of business, is guilty of
 a felony   an offense  punishable by a
fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), by imprisonment
in a county jail  for not more than two years  
not exceeding one year, or, pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section
1170, for 16 months, or two or three years  , or by both that
fine and imprisonment. 
   (c) Any person who calls the 911 telephone system to dispatch a
police, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical service
response to a residence or place of business where there is no
emergency, with the intent to annoy or harass another person and if
police, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical service
personnel are dispatched and any person sustained death as a result
of conduct arising out of and in the course of the police, sheriff,
fire department, or emergency medical service being dispatched to the
residence or place of business, is guilty of involuntary
manslaughter punishable under subdivision (b) of Section 193.
 
   (c) This section does not preclude punishment under any other law
providing for greater punishment, including, but not limited to,
involuntary manslaughter as defined in subdivision (b) of Section
192. 
   (d) For purposes of this section, "emergency" means any condition
in which emergency services will result in the saving of a life, a
reduction in the destruction of property, quicker apprehension of
criminals, or assistance with potentially life-threatening medical
problems, a fire, a need for rescue, an imminent potential crime, or
a similar situation in which immediate assistance is required.
   (e) Upon conviction of this section, a person shall also be liable
for all reasonable costs, including property damage, incurred by an
unnecessary police, sheriff, fire department, or emergency medical
service  personnel  response.
   (f) This section shall not apply to telephone calls made in good
faith.
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.