BILL NUMBER: AB 925 AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Low FEBRUARY 26, 2015 An act to amend Section 632.7 of the Penal Code, relating to crimes. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 925, as amended, Low.Interception and intentionalIntentional recording of telephonic communication. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,500, by imprisonment in county jail for not more than one year or in the state prison, or by both that fine andimprisonment to, without the consent of both parties,imprisonment, to intercept or receive and intentionally record, or assist in the interception or receipt and intentional recording of, a communication transmitted between 2 telephonic devices,including cordless telephones and cellular radio telephones.without the consent of all parties to the communication. Existing law exempts from these provisions a public communications utility when the acts are for the construction, maintenance, or operation of the services of the public utility or are pursuant to the tariffs of the public utility, and also exempts telephonic communication systems used exclusively within a correctional facility, as specified. This bill wouldincrease the fine for this crime to not more than $3,500.additionally exempt from that prohibition a nonconfidential communication between a person or business and a current or former customer, or a person reasonably believed to be a cur rent or former customer, regarding their business relationship, including communications regarding billing, provisioning, maintaining, or operating the product or service provided by the person or business. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 632.7 of the Penal Code is amended to read: 632.7. (a) Every person who, without the consent of all parties to a communication, intercepts or receives and intentionally records, or assists in the interception or reception and intentional recordation of, a communication transmitted between two cellular radio telephones, a cellular radio telephone and a landline telephone, two cordless telephones, a cordless telephone and a landline telephone, or a cordless telephone and a cellular radio telephone, shall be punished by a fine not exceedingthreetwo thousand five hundred dollars($3,500),($2,500) , or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If the person has been convicted previously of a violation of this section or of Section 631, 632, 632.5, 632.6, or 636, the person shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment. (b) This section shall not apply to any of the following: (1) A public utility engaged in the business of providing communications services and facilities, or to the officers, employees, or agents thereof,wherewhen the acts otherwise prohibited are for the purpose of construction, maintenance, conduct, or operation of the services and facilities of the public utility. (2) The use of any instrument, equipment, facility, or service furnished and used pursuant to the tariffs of the public utility. (3) A telephonic communication system used for communication exclusively within a state, county, city and county, or city correctional facility. (4) A nonconfidential communication between a person or business and a current or former customer of the person or business, or a person reasonably believed to be a current or former customer, regarding their business relationship, including, but not limited to, communications regarding billing, provisioning, maintaining, or operating the product or service provided by the person or business. (c) As used in this section, each of the following terms have the following meaning: (1) "Cellular radio telephone" means a wireless telephone authorized by the Federal Communications Commission to operate in the frequency bandwidth reserved for cellular radio telephones. (2) "Cordless telephone" means a two-way, low power communication system consisting of two parts, a "base" unit which connects to the public switched telephone network and a handset or "remote" unit, that are connected by a radio link and authorized by the Federal Communications Commission to operate in the frequency bandwidths reserved for cordless telephones. (3) "Communication" includes, but is not limited to, communications transmitted by voice, data, or image, including facsimile.