BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 524|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 524
Author: Mullin (D), et al.
Amended: 5/24/13 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 6/25/13
AYES: Hancock, Block, De León, Liu, Steinberg
NOES: Anderson, Knight
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 8/30/13
AYES: De León, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 55-18, 5/29/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Immigrants: extortion
SOURCE : The California Labor Federation
DIGEST : This bill provides that a threat to report the
immigration status or suspected immigration status of an
individual or the individual's family may induce fear sufficient
to constitute extortion.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Defines "extortion" as the obtaining of property from another,
with his/her consent, or the obtaining of an official act of a
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public officer, induced by a wrongful use of force or fear, or
under color of official right.
2.States that every person who extorts any money or other
property from another, under circumstances not amounting to
robbery or carjacking, by means of force, or any threat, such
as is mentioned in existing provisions of law relating to
threats sufficient to constitute extortion, shall be punished
by imprisonment for two, three or four years.
3.Provides that every person who commits any extortion under
color of official right, in cases for which a different
punishment is not prescribed in the Penal Code, is guilty of a
misdemeanor.
4.States that every person who attempts, by means of any threat,
to extort money or other property from another is punishable
by imprisonment in the county jail not longer than one year or
in the state prison or by fine not exceeding $10,000 or by
both such fine and imprisonment.
5.Provides that fear, such as will constitute extortion, may be
induced by a threat, either:
A. To do an unlawful injury to the person or property of
the individual threatened or of a third person.
B. To accuse the individual threatened, or any relative of
his/her, or member of his/her family, of any crime.
C. To expose, or to impute to him/them any deformity,
disgrace or crime, or
D. To expose, any secret affecting him/them. (Penal Code
Sec. 519)
This bill:
A.Provides that fear such as will constitute extortion, also may
be induced by a threat to report his/her or their immigration
status or suspected immigration status.
B.States that it is the Legislature's intent to clarify existing
law.
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Background
Extortion is the obtaining of property from another, with
his/her consent, or the obtaining of an official act of a public
officer, induced by a wrongful use of force or fear. It is
punishable as a jail felony by two, three or four years. The
law also provides that fear, that will constitute extortion may
be induced by specified threats. This bill specifically
includes the threat to report an individual or his/her family's
immigration status or suspected immigration status as fear that
is sufficient to constitute extortion. Uncodified legislative
intent declares that this is intended to clarify existing law.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Unknown; potential increase in state prison commitments and
costs potentially in excess of $150,000 (General Fund). CDCR
data indicates an average of 50 new commitments to state
prison per year for extortion. A 5% to 10% increase in
convictions would result in annual state incarceration costs
of $180,000 to $300,000 (General Fund).
Potential moderate increase in state trial court workload to
the extent the provisions of this bill result in additional
prosecutions that otherwise would not have occurred under the
existing law. Three to five additional trials per year (based
on the 5% to 10% increase in convictions noted above), would
result in $60,000 to $100,000 (Trial Court Trust Fund ) in
additional court-related costs.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/30/13)
California Labor Federation (source)
Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach
California Board of the Amalgamated Transit Union
California Communities United Institute
California Conference of Machinists
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Nurses Association
California School Employees Association
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California State Council of Laborers
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking
Crime Victims Action Alliance
Engineers & Scientists of CA, IFPTE Local 20
International Longshore and Warehouse Union
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
National Council of Jewish Women-California
Professional & Technical Engineers, IFPTE Local 21
San Mateo County Central Labor Council
Service State Employees International Union
United Farm Workers
United Food & Commercial Workers Western States Council
UNITE-HERE, AFL-CIO
Utility Workers Union of America
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/30/13)
California District Attorneys Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California State Council of
Laborers states:
Research and individual experiences show that rampant labor
violations and widespread practices of retaliation have
become key features of the low-wage labor market in
California. In many of these occupations and industries
vulnerable immigrants cannot exercise their labor rights or
speak out against unfair or illegal working conditions
without the fear of retaliation. Bad jobs will not become
good jobs when a substantial portion of the workforce is
being threatened with immigration audits, Immigration &
Customs Enforcement raids and implementation of e-verify as
retaliation.
The Laborers have been on the forefront of helping expose
underground economy activities in California, and 'bring to
light' dishonest business practices that continue to leave
law-abiding employers at a competitive disadvantage. AB
524 helps level the playing field and prevents unscrupulous
employers from using immigration status as a means of
escaping responsibility for workplace abuses and wage theft
violations. AB 524 is a major step toward improving job
quality in the low-wage jobs that fuel our state's economy
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and to remove the ability of employers to use immigrant
status for retaliation or other unlawful purposes.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California District Attorneys
Association (CDAA) states:
We are concerned that the bill is unnecessary given the way
in which Penal Code Section 519 currently exists. It
appears that several of the existing criteria used to prove
that a threat constituting extortion already cover the
threat to report a person as being illegally present in
this country.
Perhaps more importantly, we fear that AB 524 will lead to
additional unnecessary expansion of Penal Code Section 519.
If this section is further amended to add more
circumstances that constitute extortion, defense counsel is
likely to argue that the lack of a specific reference to a
particular set of facts demonstrates the Legislature's
affirmative exclusion of threats that are likely already
covered today from the reach of Penal Code Section 519.
CDAA's concerns appear accurate. While clearly
well-intentioned, it is likely current law would cover the
fear/threat of reporting immigration status, and it is also
reasonable to suggest that increasing the specificity of
the definition may result in reducing the application of
the current general definition to other cases.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 55-18, 5/29/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Blumenfield,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly,
Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez,
Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Hall, Roger Hernández,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk,
Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NOES: Bigelow, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly, Beth Gaines, Grove,
Hagman, Harkey, Jones, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Melendez,
Nestande, Olsen, Patterson, Wagner, Waldron
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Fox, Holden, Linder, Morrell, Wilk,
Vacancy
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JG:ej 8/31/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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