BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 65|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 65
Author: Achadjian (R) and Lowenthal (D), et al.
Amended: 6/25/13 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/14/13
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Knight, Liu, Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 6-0, 7/1/13
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Padilla
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 4/18/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Crimes: sex crimes
SOURCE : California District Attorneys Association
Los Angeles County District Attorney
Santa Barbara District Attorney
DIGEST : This bill expands the definitions of rape and sodomy
committed by fraud that are restricted to the impersonation of a
spouse to include cases where the perpetrator induces the victim
to believe that he/she is someone known to the victim other than
the perpetrator.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
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1. Provides that rape is an act of sexual intercourse
accomplished with a person not the spouse of the perpetrator,
as specified.
2. Includes numerous felony sex crimes that are committed where
the perpetrator engaged in sodomy, or sexual penetration in a
prohibited manner. The statutes are largely equivalent to
the rape statute and involve the following conduct:
The perpetrator used force or compulsion.
The perpetrator engaged the act while the victim was
unconscious of the nature of the act, as specified.
The perpetrator fraudulently induced the victim to
believe that he/she was the spouse of the victim.
1. Provides that where sodomy or sexual penetration is
committed by force or compulsion, or where the victim is
unconscious of the nature of the act, the crime is punishable
by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight
years.
This bill:
1. Expands the definition of rape to include the circumstance
where sexual intercourse is accomplished with a person not
the spouse of the perpetrator, under the belief that the
person committing the act is someone known to the victim
other than the accused.
2. Expands the definition of sodomy to include the circumstance
where the victim submits under the belief that the person
committing the act is someone known to the victim other than
the accused.
3. Includes an urgency clause stating, "In order to protect the
public from the danger of rape and sodomy by those who
impersonate others, at the earliest possible time, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately."
Background
A recent attempt by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney
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to prosecute a rape case clearly demonstrates the deficiency in
existing law. The case involved a male suspect who entered a
residence during the night and had intercourse with the female
occupant. The victim believed that the suspect was her
boyfriend with whom she shared the residence. Although she was
awake during the encounter, the victim did not immediately
realize that the person with whom she was engaged in an act of
intercourse was not her boyfriend. When the victim realized
that the man was not her boyfriend, she resisted and the
perpetrator fled.
Although the perpetrator was arrested, the District Attorney
could not prosecute him for felony rape, due to the fact that
the victim and her boyfriend of 10 years lived together but were
not married. Had the couple been married, the crime could have
been prosecuted as a felony rape. The District Attorney's only
option was to prosecute the perpetrator for misdemeanor sexual
battery and trespass, and the case was settled when the
defendant pled guilty to the lesser charges.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Potential minor near-term increase in state incarceration
costs, likely less than $25,000 (General Fund) annually, for
increased state prison commitments to the extent expanding
the definition of specified crimes results in additional
felony convictions. Out-year costs could potentially be
greater due to the cumulative cost effect of overlapping base
sentence terms, parole, and/or sentence enhancements
applicable to the specified crimes.
Potential future cost pressure of $60,000 (General Fund) per
prison commitment per year to the extent the long-term impact
of pending legislation considered in aggregate affects the
state prison population to a degree that undermines the
state's ability to reduce or sustain prison overcrowding
below the federal court-imposed population limit.
Likely minor impact to state trial court workload incurred
by the Judicial Branch to the extent the provisions of this
bill result in additional felony court filings and related
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court time.
Minor, absorbable workload impact to the Department of
Justice associated with increased sex offender registration.
Minor non-reimbursable local law enforcement costs, offset
to a degree by minor fine revenue.
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/2/13)
California District Attorneys Association (co-source)
Los Angeles County District Attorney (co-source)
Santa Barbara District Attorney (co-source)
Attorney General Kamala Harris
AFSCME
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
Berkeley City Council
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
California Communities United Institute
California Crime Victims Assistance Association
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
California Police Chiefs Association
California Probation Officers
California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
City of West Hollywood
District Attorney of Yolo County
Japanese American Citizens League
North County Women's Shelter and Resource Center
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
San Bernardino County Sheriff
Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center
University of California, Santa Barbara
Watsonville-Santa Cruz Japanese American Citizens League
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, "Assembly Bill
65 would close an archaic loophole in current law that has
denied justice to victims simply because they were not married.
By removing the reference to spouse in the definition of rape,
the updated language will better reflect the modern society we
live in and protect all forms of relationship that exist, rather
than prescribing each classification of relationship. This new
definition will give district attorneys the tools they need to
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prosecute against all cases of rape."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 4/18/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Holden, Lowenthal, Mitchell, Vacancy
JG:k 7/2/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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