BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1686|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1686
Author: Medina (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 5/13/14
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, De León, Liu, Mitchell, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Knight
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 4/1/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Trespass: requests for law enforcement assistance
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill provides that where the owner, owner's
agent or person in lawful possession of land or a structure that
is not open to the public, and posted as such, requests law
enforcement assistance in demanding that trespassers leave the
property, the request shall remain valid for one year.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Includes numerous provisions defining various forms of
trespass and trespass penalties. The crime definitions and
penalties typically turn on whether any damage has been done
to the property and whether the trespasser refuses a valid
request to leave the property.
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2.Provides that any person is guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable by a county jail term of up to six months, a fine
of up to $1,000, or both, who enters any other person's
cultivated or fenced land, or who enters uncultivated or
unenclosed lands where signs forbidding trespass are displayed
at intervals not less than three to the mile along exterior
boundaries and at all roads and trails entering the lands
without written permission, and does any of the following:
A. Refuses or fails to leave immediately upon being requested
to do so by the owner, owner's agent or by the person in
lawful possession.
B. Tears down, mutilates, or destroys any sign or notice
forbidding trespass or hunting.
C. Removes or tampers with any lock on any gate on or leading
into the lands.
D. Discharges a firearm.
3.Provides that a person commits one form of trespass to
cultivated, fenced or posted land, where he/she, without the
written permission of the landowner, the owner's agent or of
the person in lawful possession of the land:
A. Willfully enters any lands under cultivation or enclosed by
fence, belonging to, or occupied by another person; or
B. Willfully enters upon uncultivated or unenclosed lands
where signs forbidding trespass are displayed at intervals
not less than three to the mile along all exterior
boundaries and at all roads and trails entering the lands.
4.Provides that trespassing - in circumstances other than where
the person refuses a valid order to leave the premises,
destroys a no-trespassing or no-hunting sign, tampers with any
lock, or discharges a firearm - is an infraction or a
misdemeanor, as follows:
A. First offense is an infraction, punishable by a fine of
$75.
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B. Second offense on any contiguous land of the same owner is
an infraction, punishable by a fine of $250.
C. A third or subsequent offense on any contiguous land of the
same owner is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in
the county jail not exceeding six months; by fine not
exceed $1,000; or both.
5.Provides that any person who willfully enters and occupies
real property or structures of any kind without the consent of
the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in lawful
possession, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
6.Allows for prosecution against those who refuse or fail to
leave land, real property, or structures belonging to or
lawfully occupied by another and not open to the general
public, upon being requested to leave by a peace officer at
the request of the owner, the owner's agent, or the person in
lawful possession, and upon being informed by the peace
officer that he/she is acting with such authority.
This bill provides where the owner, owner's agent or person in
lawful possession of land or a structure seeks law enforcement
assistance in requesting that trespassers leave property that is
not open to the public and on which no-trespassing notice has
been posted, the request shall remain for one year.
Related legislation . SB 1295 (Block) indefinitely extends law
enforcement authority to eject trespassers from property posted
as closed to the public.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/13/14)
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Western Manufactured Housing Communities Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/13/14)
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : California State Sheriffs' Association
states, "Current law allows property owners to fill out a
Trespass Arrest Authorization form to keep on file with the
local police department, which is valid for six months. This
form gives officers the authority to enter the property and, if
trespassers are found, to contact the owner of record for
verification and make an arrest without the owner present. The
extension proposed in AB 1686 would strengthen the authorization
of the form and reduce administrative time spent on processing."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Taxpayers for Improving Public
Safety states, "Peace officers in the field do not have the
ability to determine if an individual who is purportedly
trespassing is in fact claiming ownership pursuant to adverse
possession. How can a peace officer determine if the purported
trespasser claims title by adverse possession has paid the
property taxes, has openly resided on the premises for seven
years, etc.? This legislation asks a peace officer to
adjudicate a property dispute in the field based upon
conflicting claims without the benefit of a trial in unlawful
detainer."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 4/1/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray,
Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonta, Gorell, Wagner
JG:k 5/14/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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