Amended in Assembly March 24, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1100

Introduced by Assembly begin delete Member Bloom end delete begin insert Members Low and Bloom end insert

February 27, 2015

An act to amend Section begin delete 422 of the Penal Code, relating to criminal threats. end delete begin insert 9001 of the Elections Code, relating to ballot initiatives. end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1100, as amended, begin delete Bloom end delete   begin insert Low end insert . begin delete Crimes: criminal threats. end delete begin insert Ballot initiatives: filing fees. end insert

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Existing law requires a fee of $200 to be paid by the proponents when a proposed ballot initiative or referendum is submitted to the Attorney General for preparation of a circulating title and summary.

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This bill would increase the filing fee from $200 to $8,000. The bill would also make nonsubstantive changes to this provision.

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Existing law provides that a person is guilty of a crime if he or she willfully threatens to commit a crime that will result in death or great bodily injury to another person with the specific intent that the statement, made verbally, in writing, or by means of an electronic communication device, is to be taken as a threat, as specified.

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This bill would clarify that this provision also applies when the threatening statement is published on an Internet Web page.

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Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  begin delete no end delete begin insert yes end insert . State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insert SECTION 1. end insert   

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begin insert Section 9001 of the end insert begin insert Elections Code end insert begin insert is amended
to read: end insert

9001.  

(a)  begin delete Prior to end delete begin insert Before end insert the circulation of begin delete any end delete begin insert an end insert initiative
or referendum petition for signatures, the text of the proposed
measure shall be submitted to the Attorney General with a written
request that a circulating title and summary of the chief purpose
and points of the proposed measure be prepared. The electors
presenting the request shall be known as the “proponents.” The
Attorney General shall preserve the written request until after the
next general election.

(b) Each and every proponent of begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert proposed initiative
measure shall, at the time of submitting the text of the proposed
measure, provide both of the following:

(1) An original signed certification stating that “I, (insert name),
declare under penalty of perjury that I am a citizen of the United
States, 18 years of age or older, and a resident of (insert county),
California.”

(2) Public contact information.

(c) The proponents of begin delete any end delete begin insert an end insert initiative measure, at the time of
submitting the text of the proposed measure to the Attorney
General, shall pay a fee begin delete of two hundred dollars ($200), which end delete begin insert to
the Attorney General of eight thousand dollars ($8,000) that end insert shall
be placed in a trust fund in the office of the Treasurer and refunded
to the proponents if the measure qualifies for the ballot within two
years from the date the summary is furnished to the proponents.
If the measure does not qualify within that period, the fee shall be
immediately paid into the General Fund of the state.

(d) All referenda and proposed initiative measures must be
submitted to the Attorney General’s Initiative Coordinator located
in the Sacramento Attorney General’s Office via U.S. Postal
Service, alternative mail service, or personal delivery. Only printed
documents will be accepted, facsimile or e-mail delivery will not
be accepted.

(e) The Attorney General’s office shall not deem a request for
a circulating title and summary submitted until all of the
requirements of this section are met.

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SECTION 1.  

Section 422 of the Penal Code is amended to
read:

422.  

(a) Any person who willfully threatens to commit a crime
which will result in death or great bodily injury to another person,
with the specific intent that the statement, made verbally, in
writing, or by means of an electronic communication device,
including publication on an Internet Web page, is to be taken as a
threat, even if there is no intent of actually carrying it out, which,
on its face and under the circumstances in which it is made, is so
unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and specific as to convey
to the person threatened, a gravity of purpose and an immediate
prospect of execution of the threat, and thereby causes that person
reasonably to be in sustained fear for his or her own safety or for
his or her immediate family’s safety, shall be punished by
imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by
imprisonment in the state prison.

(b) For purposes of this section, “immediate family” means any
spouse, whether by marriage or not, parent, child, any person
related by consanguinity or affinity within the second degree, or
any other person who regularly resides in the household, or who,
within the prior six months, regularly resided in the household.

(c) “Electronic communication device” includes, but is not
limited to, telephones, cellular telephones, computers, video
recorders, fax machines, or pagers. “Electronic communication”
has the same meaning as the term defined in Subsection 12 of
Section 2510 of Title 18 of the United States Code.

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