BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 333 Page 1 Date of Hearing: July 3, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair SB 333 (Lieu) - As Amended: April 16, 2013 Policy Committee: Public Safety Vote: 7-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill makes a person convicted of filing a false emergency report liable for the costs of the emergency response. FISCAL EFFECT Negligible costs and/or savings. Current law already establishes financial liability. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . The author references the recent rash of false emergency 911 calls (swatting) targeting celebrities that require law enforcement response, and contends this bill will serve as a deterrent. 2)Current law includes several sections addressing prank emergency calls. PC Sec 653x makes 911 emergency calls intended to annoy or harass a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. It also establishes financial liability. PC Sec 148.3 makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000, to report a false emergency. If great bodily injury or death results, the offense is punishable by 16 months, two, or three years in county jail, and/or a fine of up to $10,000. 3)Proponents , primarily law enforcement, support any effort to recoup the expenses associated with swatting. 4)Opposition . The California Attorneys for Criminal Justice SB 333 Page 2 contend this bill is unnecessary, as existing law adequately addresses this type of behavior. "?Section 653x(c), which can also be charged alternatively in almost any case involving the false report of an emergency, currently provides for full restitution if there is an actual emergency response. Be that as it may, this type of restitution provision is totally unnecessary in any Penal Code section. Ample case law exists that states persons who commit crimes are financially liable for all of the reasonable and natural damages suffered by any victim as the result of that criminal conduct. Subsection (d) adds nothing to current law." 5)Related legislation , AB 47 (Gatto), pending in the Senate, increases penalties for swatting. Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081