BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                            Senator Kevin de León, Chair


          SB 255 (Cannella) - Disorderly conduct: invasion of privacy.
           
          Amended: June 11, 2013          Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
          Urgency: Yes                    Mandate: Yes
          Hearing Date: July 1, 2013      Consultant: Jolie Onodera
          
          This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the  
          Suspense File.


          Bill Summary: SB 255, an urgency measure, would provide that any  
          person who photographs or records by any means the image of  
          another person without his or her consent who is in a state of  
          full or partial undress in an area in which the person has a  
          reasonable expectation of privacy, and subsequently distributes  
          the image taken which could cause a reasonable person to suffer  
          serious emotional distress, is guilty of disorderly conduct, a  
          misdemeanor. 

          Fiscal Impact: 
              Potential ongoing court-related costs for new misdemeanor  
              filings of $24,000 (General Fund*) for every 50 additional  
              filings per year.
              Non-reimbursable local costs for enforcement offset to a  
              degree by fine revenue.
              While the impact of this bill independently on local jails  
              is likely to be minor, the cumulative effect of new  
              misdemeanors could create General Fund cost pressure on  
              capital outlay, staffing, programming, the courts, and other  
              resources in the context of criminal justice realignment.
          *Trial Court Trust Fund

          Background: Existing law provides that any person who uses a  
          concealed camcorder, motion picture camera, or photographic  
          camera of any type, to secretly videotape, film, photograph, or  
          record by electronic means, another, identifiable person who may  
          be in a state of full or partial undress, without the consent or  
          knowledge of that other person, in the interior of any area in  
          which that person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, with  
          the intent to invade the privacy of that other person is guilty  
          of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.









          SB 255 (Cannella)
          Page 1


          Under existing law, a first violation of the offense of  
          disorderly conduct is punishable by imprisonment in the county  
          jail for up to six months, or by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or  
          by both the fine and imprisonment. A second or subsequent  
          violation of that offense, or any violation of that offense in  
          which the victim was a minor at the time of the offense, is  
          punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one  
          year, a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by both the fine and  
          imprisonment.

          This bill seeks to address the issue of cyber revenge or  
          humiliation involving the electronic distribution of nude or  
          sexually explicit images with the intent to humiliate or cause  
          emotional distress.

          Proposed Law: This bill would create a new misdemeanor defined  
          under the offense of disorderly conduct. Specifically, this  
          bill:
                 Provides that any person who photographs or records by  
               any means the image of another, identifiable person without  
               his or her consent who is in a state of full or partial  
               undress in any area in which the person being photographed  
               or recorded has a reasonable expectation of privacy, and  
               subsequently distributes the image taken, where the  
               distribution of the image would cause a reasonable person  
               to suffer serious emotional distress, is guilty of  
               disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.
                 A first violation is punishable by up to six months in  
               county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or by both the fine  
               and imprisonment.
                 A second or subsequent violation, or any violation if  
               the victim was a minor at the time of the offense, is  
               punishable by up to one year in county jail, a fine of up  
               to $2,000, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
                 Includes an urgency clause stating, "In order to protect  
               the privacy of the public and the safety of the public at  
               the earliest possible time, it is necessary for this act to  
               take effect immediately."

          Prior Legislation: AB 919 (Houston) Chapter 584/2008 provided  
          that every person who uses an electronic communications device  
          to harass another through the actions of a third party, as  
          specified, is guilty of a misdemeanor.









          SB 255 (Cannella)
          Page 2


          Staff Comments: The provisions of this bill could result in  
          increased court costs due to additional misdemeanor filings for  
          the offense of disorderly conduct as specified in this measure.  
          It is unknown how many new filings would result due to the  
          provisions of this bill, but the fiscal impact is estimated to  
          be minor. The courts may incur additional costs of approximately  
          $24,000 (General Fund) statewide for every 50 new misdemeanors  
          filed annually. 

          The creation of new misdemeanors has historically been analyzed  
          by this Committee to result in non-reimbursable state mandated  
          costs for local law enforcement and incarceration. Staff notes,  
          however, that the creation of new misdemeanors taken  
          cumulatively could increase the statewide adult jail population  
          to a degree that could potentially impact the flexibility of  
          counties to manage their jail populations recently exacerbated  
          under 2011 Public Safety Realignment. While the provisions of  
          this bill are likely to be minor, the cumulative effect of all  
          new misdemeanors could create unknown General Fund cost pressure  
          on capital outlay, staffing, programming, the courts, and other  
          resources.