Senate Bill No. 391

Introduced by Senator Huff

February 25, 2015

An act to amend Sections 241 and 243 of the Penal Code, relating to assault and battery.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 391, as introduced, Huff. Assault and battery: transit employees.

(1) Existing law defines an assault as an unlawful attempt, coupled with present ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another. Under existing law, an assault committed against specified individuals, such as a peace officer or a lifeguard, is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

This bill would also make an assault committed against a transit employee punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2) Existing law defines a battery as any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another. Under existing law a battery committed against specified individuals, such as a peace officer or a lifeguard, is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. Under existing law, if an injury is inflicted the battery is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine of $2,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years.

This bill would also make a battery committed against a transit employee punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. The bill would, if the battery results in an injury, make the battery punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine of $2,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

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

SECTION 1.  

Section 241 of the Penal Code is amended to
read:

241.  

(a) An assault is punishable by a fine not exceeding one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail
not exceeding six months, or by both the fine and imprisonment.

(b) When an assault is committed against the person of a parking
control officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties,
and the person committing the offense knows or reasonably should
know that the victim is a parking control officer, the assault is
punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000),
or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months,
or by both the fine and imprisonment.

(c) When an assault is committed against the person of a peace
officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, mobile intensive
care paramedic, lifeguard, process server, traffic officer, code
enforcement officer, animal control officer, or search and rescue
member engaged in the performance of his or her duties, or a
physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care
outside a hospital, clinic, or other health care facility, begin insert or a transit
employee, end insert and the person committing the offense knows or
reasonably should know that the victim is a peace officer,
firefighter, emergency medical technician, mobile intensive care
paramedic, lifeguard, process server, traffic officer, code
enforcement officer, animal control officer, or search and rescue
member engaged in the performance of his or her duties, or a
physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care,
begin insert or a transit employee, end insert the assault is punishable by a fine not
exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in
a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both the fine and
imprisonment.

(d) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) Peace officer means any person defined in Chapter 4.5
(commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2.

(2) “Emergency medical technician” means a person possessing
a valid course completion certificate from a program approved by
the State Department of Health Care Services for the medical
training and education of ambulance personnel, and who meets
the standards of Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of
the Health and Safety Code.

(3) “Mobile intensive care paramedic” refers to those persons
who meet the standards set forth in Division 2.5 (commencing
with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code.

(4) “Nurse” means a person who meets the standards of Division
2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety
Code.

(5) “Lifeguard” means a person who is:

(A) Employed as a lifeguard by the state, a county, or a city,
and is designated by local ordinance as a public officer who has a
duty and responsibility to enforce local ordinances and
misdemeanors through the issuance of citations.

(B) Wearing distinctive clothing which includes written
identification of the person’s status as a lifeguard and which clearly
identifies the employing organization.

(6) “Process server” means any person who meets the standards
or is expressly exempt from the standards set forth in Section 22350
of the Business and Professions Code.

(7) “Traffic officer” means any person employed by a county
or city to monitor and enforce state laws and local ordinances
relating to parking and the operation of vehicles.

(8) “Animal control officer” means any person employed by a
county or city for purposes of enforcing animal control laws or
regulations.

(9) (A) “Code enforcement officer” means any person who is
not described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of
Title 3 of Part 2 and who is employed by any governmental
subdivision, public or quasi-public corporation, public agency,
public service corporation, any town, city, county, or municipal
corporation, whether incorporated or chartered, that has
enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare requirements,
and whose duties include enforcement of any statute, rules,
regulations, or standards, and who is authorized to issue citations,
or file formal complaints.

(B) “Code enforcement officer” also includes any person who
is employed by the Department of Housing and Community
Development who has enforcement authority for health, safety,
and welfare requirements pursuant to the Employee Housing Act
(Part 1 (commencing with Section 17000) of Division 13 of the
Health and Safety Code); the State Housing Law (Part 1.5
(commencing with Section 17910) of Division 13 of the Health
and Safety Code); the Manufactured Housing Act of 1980 (Part 2
(commencing with Section 18000) of Division 13 of the Health
and Safety Code); the Mobilehome Parks Act (Part 2.1
(commencing with Section 18200) of Division 13 of the Health
and Safety Code); and the Special Occupancy Parks Act (Part 2.3
(commencing with Section 18860) of Division 13 of the Health
and Safety Code).

(10) “Parking control officer” means any person employed by
a city, county, or city and county, to monitor and enforce state
laws and local ordinances relating to parking.

(11) “Search and rescue member” means any person who is part
of an organized search and rescue team managed by a governmental
agency.

begin insert

(12) “Transit employee” means any employee of an operator
as defined in Section 99210 of the Public Utilities Code.

end insert

SEC. 2.  

Section 243 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

243.  

(a) A battery is punishable by a fine not exceeding two
thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(b) When a battery is committed against the person of a peace
officer, custodial officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician,
lifeguard, security officer, custody assistant, process server, traffic
officer, code enforcement officer, animal control officer, or search
and rescue member engaged in the performance of his or her duties,
whether on or off duty, including when the peace officer is in a
police uniform and is concurrently performing the duties required
of him or her as a peace officer while also employed in a private
capacity as a part-time or casual private security guard or
patrolman, or a nonsworn employee of a probation department
engaged in the performance of his or her duties, whether on or off
duty, or a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency
medical care outside a hospital, clinic, or other health care facility,
begin insert or a transit employee, end insert and the person committing the offense knows
or reasonably should know that the victim is a peace officer,
custodial officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician,
lifeguard, security officer, custody assistant, process server, traffic
officer, code enforcement officer, animal control officer, or search
and rescue member engaged in the performance of his or her duties,
nonsworn employee of a probation department, or a physician or
nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care, begin insert or a transit
employee, end insert the battery is punishable by a fine not exceeding two
thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(c) (1) When a battery is committed against a custodial officer,
firefighter, emergency medical technician, lifeguard, process server,
traffic officer, or animal control officer engaged in the performance
of his or her duties, whether on or off duty, or a nonsworn
employee of a probation department engaged in the performance
of his or her duties, whether on or off duty, or a physician or nurse
engaged in rendering emergency medical care outside a hospital,
clinic, or other health care facility, begin insert or a transit employee, end insert and the
person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know
that the victim is a nonsworn employee of a probation department,
custodial officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician,
lifeguard, process server, traffic officer, or animal control officer
engaged in the performance of his or her duties, or a physician or
nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care, begin insert or a transit
employee, end insert and an injury is inflicted on that victim, the battery is
punishable by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars
($2,000), by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment pursuant
to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for 16 months, or two or three
years.

(2) When the battery specified in paragraph (1) is committed
against a peace officer engaged in the performance of his or her
duties, whether on or off duty, including when the peace officer
is in a police uniform and is concurrently performing the duties
required of him or her as a peace officer while also employed in
a private capacity as a part-time or casual private security guard
or patrolman and the person committing the offense knows or
reasonably should know that the victim is a peace officer engaged
in the performance of his or her duties, the battery is punishable
by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or pursuant
to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for 16 months, or two or three
years, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(d) When a battery is committed against any person and serious
bodily injury is inflicted on the person, the battery is punishable
by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or
imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for two,
three, or four years.

(e) (1) When a battery is committed against a spouse, a person
with whom the defendant is cohabiting, a person who is the parent
of the defendant’s child, former spouse, fiancé, or fiancée, or a
person with whom the defendant currently has, or has previously
had, a dating or engagement relationship, the battery is punishable
by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by
imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than one
year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If probation is granted,
or the execution or imposition of the sentence is suspended, it shall
be a condition thereof that the defendant participate in, for no less
than one year, and successfully complete, a batterer’s treatment
program, as described in Section 1203.097, or if none is available,
another appropriate counseling program designated by the court.
However, this provision shall not be construed as requiring a city,
a county, or a city and county to provide a new program or higher
level of service as contemplated by Section 6 of Article XIII B of
the California Constitution.

(2) Upon conviction of a violation of this subdivision, if
probation is granted, the conditions of probation may include, in
lieu of a fine, one or both of the following requirements:

(A) That the defendant make payments to a battered women’s
shelter, up to a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000).

(B) That the defendant reimburse the victim for reasonable costs
of counseling and other reasonable expenses that the court finds
are the direct result of the defendant’s offense.

For any order to pay a fine, make payments to a battered
women’s shelter, or pay restitution as a condition of probation
under this subdivision, the court shall make a determination of the
defendant’s ability to pay. In no event shall any order to make
payments to a battered women’s shelter be made if it would impair
the ability of the defendant to pay direct restitution to the victim
or court-ordered child support. If the injury to a married person is
caused in whole or in part by the criminal acts of his or her spouse
in violation of this section, the community property shall not be
used to discharge the liability of the offending spouse for restitution
to the injured spouse, required by Section 1203.04, as operative
on or before August 2, 1995, or Section 1202.4, or to a shelter for
costs with regard to the injured spouse and dependents, required
by this section, until all separate property of the offending spouse
is exhausted.

(3) Upon conviction of a violation of this subdivision, if
probation is granted or the execution or imposition of the sentence
is suspended and the person has been previously convicted of a
violation of this subdivision and sentenced under paragraph (1),
the person shall be imprisoned for not less than 48 hours in addition
to the conditions in paragraph (1). However, the court, upon a
showing of good cause, may elect not to impose the mandatory
minimum imprisonment as required by this subdivision and may,
under these circumstances, grant probation or order the suspension
of the execution or imposition of the sentence.

(4) The Legislature finds and declares that these specified crimes
merit special consideration when imposing a sentence so as to
display society’s condemnation for these crimes of violence upon
victims with whom a close relationship has been formed.

(5) If a peace officer makes an arrest for a violation of paragraph
begin delete (1) of subdivision (e) of this section, end delete begin insert (1), end insert the peace officer is not
required to inform the victim of his or her right to make a citizen’s
arrest pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 836.

(f) As used in this section:

(1) “Peace officer” means any person defined in Chapter 4.5
(commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2.

(2) “Emergency medical technician” means a person who is
either an EMT-I, EMT-II, or EMT-P (paramedic), and possesses
a valid certificate or license in accordance with the standards of
Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and
Safety Code.

(3) “Nurse” means a person who meets the standards of Division
2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety
Code.

(4) “Serious bodily injury” means a serious impairment of
physical condition, including, but not limited to, the following:
loss of consciousness; concussion; bone fracture; protracted loss
or impairment of function of any bodily member or organ; a wound
requiring extensive suturing; and serious disfigurement.

(5) “Injury” means any physical injury which requires
professional medical treatment.

(6) “Custodial officer” means any person who has the
responsibilities and duties described in Section 831 and who is
employed by a law enforcement agency of any city or county or
who performs those duties as a volunteer.

(7) “Lifeguard” means a person defined in paragraph (5) of
subdivision (d) of Section 241.

(8) “Traffic officer” means any person employed by a city,
county, or city and county to monitor and enforce state laws and
local ordinances relating to parking and the operation of vehicles.

(9) “Animal control officer” means any person employed by a
city, county, or city and county for purposes of enforcing animal
control laws or regulations.

(10) “Dating relationship” means frequent, intimate associations
primarily characterized by the expectation of affectional or sexual
involvement independent of financial considerations.

(11) (A) “Code enforcement officer” means any person who
is not described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of
Title 3 of Part 2 and who is employed by any governmental
subdivision, public or quasi-public corporation, public agency,
public service corporation, any town, city, county, or municipal
corporation, whether incorporated or chartered, who has
enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare requirements,
and whose duties include enforcement of any statute, rules,
regulations, or standards, and who is authorized to issue citations,
or file formal complaints.

(B) “Code enforcement officer” also includes any person who
is employed by the Department of Housing and Community
Development who has enforcement authority for health, safety,
and welfare requirements pursuant to the Employee Housing Act
(Part 1 (commencing with Section 17000) of Division 13 of the
Health and Safety Code); the State Housing Law (Part 1.5
(commencing with Section 17910) of Division 13 of the Health
and Safety Code); the Manufactured Housing Act of 1980 (Part 2
(commencing with Section 18000) of Division 13 of the Health
and Safety Code); the Mobilehome Parks Act (Part 2.1
(commencing with Section 18200) of Division 13 of the Health
and Safety Code); and the Special Occupancy Parks Act (Part 2.3
(commencing with Section 18860) of Division 13 of the Health
and Safety Code).

(12) “Custody assistant” means any person who has the
responsibilities and duties described in Section 831.7 and who is
employed by a law enforcement agency of any city, county, or city
and county.

(13) “Search and rescue member” means any person who is part
of an organized search and rescue team managed by a government
agency.

(14) “Security officer” means any person who has the
responsibilities and duties described in Section 831.4 and who is
employed by a law enforcement agency of any city, county, or city
and county.

begin insert

(15) “Transit employee” means any employee of an operator
as defined in Section 99210 of the Public Utilities Code.

end insert

(g) It is the intent of the Legislature by amendments to this
section at the 1981-82 and 1983-84 Regular Sessions to abrogate
the holdings in cases such as People v. Corey, 21 begin delete Cal. 3d end delete begin insert Cal.3d end insert
738, and Cervantez v. J.C. Penney Co., 24 begin delete Cal. 3d end delete begin insert Cal.3d end insert 579, and
to reinstate prior judicial interpretations of this section as they
relate to criminal sanctions for battery on peace officers who are
employed, on a part-time or casual basis, while wearing a police
uniform as private security guards or patrolmen and to allow the
exercise of peace officer powers concurrently with that
employment.

SEC. 3.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.