BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1959
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 13, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
AB
1959 (Rodriguez) - As Introduced February 12, 2016
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Public Safety |Vote:|5 - 1 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill increases the felony state prison punishment for
assault on an emergency medical technician (EMT) as follows, for
the use of a:
1)deadly weapon (other than a fire arm), from two, three or four
years, to three, four or five years;
AB 1959
Page 2
2)firearm, from three, four, or five years to four, six, or
eight years;
3)semiautomatic firearm, from three, six, or nine years, to
five, seven, or nine years; and
4).50 caliber sniper rifle or machine gun, from four, eight, or
twelve years, to six, nine, or twelve years.
FISCAL EFFECT:
According to the California Department of Corrections (CDCR),
the contracted out-of-state bed rate is $29,000. CDCR
statistics show that in 2012-13, there were 41 commitments for
assault peace officer or firefighter with a firearm or a
semiautomatic firearm. If 20 percent of these incidents
include scenes where EMT are involved, the time served in state
prison will increase by at least a year for eight individuals;
GF costs to CDCR would be $232,000 every year; however, these
additional costs will not be realized for several years since
most of these commitments already include long terms and several
enhancements.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. Current law provides that any person who commits
an assault with a deadly weapon or instrument other than a
firearm, firearm, semiautomatic firearm, .50 caliber sniper
rifle, or machine gun is subject to various punishments, which
may include county jail and or a fine, or state prison and/or
a fine, based on the actual weapon used. The imprisonment is
AB 1959
Page 3
in state prison and the commitments are longer if the person
assaulted is a peace officer or a firefighter who is engaged
in the performance of his or her duties.
2)Purpose. According to the author, "Emergency medical
technicians (EMTs) are often the first responders to crime,
emergencies and disaster situations. And although EMTs work
alongside peace officers and firefighters in dangerous
environments, the penalties for assaulting an EMT are less
than those given for assault against a peace officer or
firefighter.
"In fact, EMTs are 14 times more likely to be violently
injured on the job than the firefighters they work alongside.
AB 1959 recognizes the importance of EMT workers, who often
believe that assault against them is part of their jobs. By
equalizing the penalties for assault against firefighters,
peace officers and EMTs, EMTs can be reassured that their
safety in the workplace is equal to that of their peace
officer and firefighter counterparts."
AB 172 (Rodriguez) of the current Legislative Session would
have increased the penalties for assault and battery committed
against a physician, nurse, or other health care worker
engaged in performing services within the emergency
department, and the person committing the offense knows or
reasonably should know that the victim is a physician, nurse,
or other health care worker engaged in performing services
within the emergency department. AB 172 was vetoed by the
Governor. In his veto message, the Governor, in part, stated:
"If there were evidence that an additional six months in county
jail (three months, once good-time credits are applied) would
enhance the safety of these workers or serve as a deterrent, I
AB 1959
Page 4
would sign this bill. I doubt that it will do either.
"We need to find more creative ways to protect the safety of
these critical workers. This bill isn't the answer."4
If the Governor wouldn't sign a bill that contained a modest
six month county jail increase to protect health care workers
in within the emergency department, it's unlikely he would
sign this bill
3)Prior Legislation:
a) SB 390 (La Malfa), Chapter 249, Statutes of 2011,
increased the penalties for assault and battery against a
search and rescue member engaged in the performance of his
or her duty.
b) SB 406 (Lieu), Chapter 250, Statutes of 2011, increased
the penalties for assault and battery against a security
officer or custodial assistant engaged in the performance
of his or her duty.
c) SB 409 (Lowenthal), Chapter 410, Statutes of 2009,
increased the penalties for assault and battery against a
highway worker engaged in the performance of his or her
duty.
d) SB 1686 (Leno), Chapter 243, Statutes of 2007, increased
the fine from $1,000 to $2,000 when an assault is committed
against a parking control officer in the performance of his
or her duty.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)
AB 1959
Page 5
319-2081