BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 195
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 15, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
195 (Chau) - As Amended April 6, 2015
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|Policy |Public Safety |Vote:|6 - 0 |
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| | Privacy and Consumer | |10 - 0 |
| |Protection | | |
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill prohibits the solicitation of another person to commit
or assist in the commission of a variety of crimes related to
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the unauthorized access of computer systems. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Provides that every person who intentionally solicits another
to commit any of a number of specified computer crimes shall
be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not
to exceed six months, with every subsequent violation by that
same person being punished by imprisonment not to exceed one
year.
2)Provides that every person who intentionally offers to solicit
assistance for another to commit any of a number of specified
computer crimes, which includes persons operating websites
that offer to assist others in locating 'hacking services' (as
defined), shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail
for a period not to exceed six months, with every subsequent
violation by that same person being punished by imprisonment
not to exceed one year.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Moderate nonreimbursable local costs for incarceration, offset
to a degree by fee revenue as this type of crimes will probably
be added to another computer crime charge.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. Current law provides general punishments for
solicitation of another to commit various crimes, such as
murder, carjacking, robbery, burglary, theft, extortion,
forgery, kidnapping, arson, etc.
Current law provides punishments for various specific serious
computer-related crimes by a fine not exceeding $10,000, by a
AB 195
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sentenced felony jail term of 16 months, two years or three
years, or both; or as a misdemeanor by a fine not exceeding
$5,000, by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one
year, or both. Current law also provides general punishments
for lesser computer crimes.
2)Purpose. This bill is intended to explicitly prohibit the
solicitation of another to commit a variety of
computer-related crimes. The impetus for this measure stems
from the growth in 'hackers-for-hire' websites where
individuals can pay to have hackers gain unauthorized access
to computer systems.
3)Related Legislation. AB 32 (Waldron) adds an additional fine
not to exceed $10,000 for each digital image of a person's
body parts that were acquired as a result of an unauthorized
access to a computer system. This bill is currently pending
in the Assembly Public Safety Committee.
SB 30 (Gaines) prohibits the theft of a motor vehicle by
commandeering its operating system, with penalties ranging
from three years imprisonment to a $1000 fine and six months
imprisonment depending on whether or not the vehicle's value
exceeds $950. This bill is currently pending in the Senate
Public Safety Committee.
4)Prior Legislation. AB 1642 (Waldron), Chapter 379, Statutes
of 2014, specified the penalties for any person who disrupts
or causes the disruption of, adds, alters, damages, destroys,
provides or assists in providing a means of accessing, or
introduces any computer contaminant into a "government
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computer system" or a "public safety infrastructure computer
system," as specified, and changes and adds the definition of
specified terms.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081