BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 950| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 950 Author: Torres (D) Amended: 3/20/14 Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/1/14 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Knight, Liu, Mitchell, Steinberg NO VOTE RECORDED: De León SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/14 AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg SUBJECT : Bribery: statute of limitations: tolling SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill tolls, until the discovery of the offense, the statute of limitations for offering a bribe to a public official or for asking, receiving, or agreeing to receive a bribe by a public official. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1.Provides that every person who gives or offers any bribe to any executive officer in this state, with intent to influence him in respect to any act, decision, vote, opinion, or other proceeding as such officer, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three or four years, and is CONTINUED SB 950 Page 2 disqualified from holding any office in this state. 2.Provides that every person who gives or offers as a bribe to any ministerial officer, employee, or appointee of the State of California, county or city therein, or political subdivision thereof, any thing the theft of which would be petty theft is guilty of a misdemeanor. If the theft of the thing given or offered would be grand theft, the offense is a felony. 3.Provides that every person who gives or offers to give a bribe to any member of the Legislature, any member of the legislative body of a city, county, city and county, school district, or other special district, or to another person for the member or attempts by menace, deceit, suppression of truth, or any corrupt means, to influence a member in giving or withholding his/her vote, or in not attending the house or any committee of which he/she is a member is guilty of a felony. 4.Provides that every person who gives or offers to give a bribe to any judicial officer, juror, referee, arbitrator, or umpire, or to any person who may be authorized by law to hear or determine any question of controversy, with intent to influence his vote, opinion, or decision upon any matter or question which is or maybe brought before him for decision, is a felony. 5.Provides that prosecution for an offense punishable by death or life without the possibility of parole, or for embezzling public money, may be commenced at any time. 6.Provides that offering of any valuable thing to any member of the governing board of any school district, with the intent to influence his action in regard to the granting of any teacher's certificate, the appointment of any teacher, superintendent, or other officer or employee, the adoption of any textbook, or the making of any contract to which the board of which he is a member is a party, or the acceptance by any member of the governing board of any valuable thing, with corrupt intent, is a misdemeanor. 7.Provides that the offering of any valuable thing to any member of the governing board of any community college district, with CONTINUED SB 950 Page 3 the intent to influence his/her action in regard to the granting of any instructor's certificate, the appointment of any instructor, superintendent, or other officer or employee, the adoption of any textbook, or the making of any contract to which the board of which he/she is a member is a party, or the acceptance by any member of the governing board of any valuable thing, with corrupt intent, is a misdemeanor. Provides that for specified offenses the statute of limitations does not commence to run until the discovery of the offense. These offenses include: grand theft; forgery; perjury; filing false reports; money laundering; conflict of interest; fraud against an elder; insurance fraud; medical fraud; and acceptance of a bribe by a public official or a public employee. This bill: 1.Tolls the limitation until discovery of an action for a crime of asking, receiving, or agreeing to receive a bribe by a public official or a public employee. 2.Tolls the statute of limitations until the discovery of an offense of giving or offering a bribe to a public official or a public employee. Comments According to the author, "Senate Bill 950 tolls the statute of limitations for giving or offering a bribe to a public official or public employee. California's bribery laws are in need of updating. As local governments struggle to stay out of the red during challenging economic times and avoid bankruptcy, California residents are entitled to equip prosecutors with all necessary charging tools to prevent, pursue and prosecute the theft of public funds or bribery of public officials. Current law establishes statute of limitations for commencing criminal actions for certain crimes, including the acceptance of a bribe by a public official or public employee." Related Legislation SB 951 (Torres) provides that prosecution for conspiracy shall be commenced within the time required for the commencement of prosecution for the underlying crime. CONTINUED SB 950 Page 4 SB 952 (Torres) prohibits an individual from aiding or abetting a public officer or person in violating existing governmental conflict of interest codes and extends existing penalties to also apply to the individual who willfully aids or abets, as specified. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Future state costs potentially in excess of $150,000 (General Fund) for new commitments to state prison that otherwise would not have occurred in the absence of the tolling and extension of the statute of limitations for specified offenses. Potential increase in state court costs in excess of $100,000 (General Fund*) to the extent the tolling and extension of the statute of limitations for prosecution of specified offenses results in additional criminal actions. *Trial Court Trust Fund SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/14) California District Attorneys Association JG:nk 5/23/14 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED