BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                     SB 448  


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          Date of Hearing:   August 10, 2016


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                               Lorena Gonzalez, Chair


          SB 448  
          (Hueso) - As Amended August 1, 2016


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  YesReimbursable:   
          No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill requires a person convicted of a felony, on or after  
          January 1, 2017, for which the person is required to register as  
          a sex offender, to register his or her Internet identifiers, as  
          defined, to law enforcement.  Also, persons subject to the  
          bill's provisions are required to send written notice to the law  
          enforcement agency or agencies with which he or she is currently  
          registered when he or she establishes or changes an Internet  
          identifier within 30 working days of the addition or change, as  
          specified, and requires the law enforcement agency to make this  
          information available to the Department of Justice (DOJ).









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          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Additional cost (General Fund) to DOJ of $850,000 in 2016-17,  
          $750,000 in 2017-18, and $430,000 annually thereafter.   
          Additional staff will be required to update program procedures,  
          provide training and outreach to the field on procedures for  
          submission of required information to the DOJ, process/complete  
          updates to sex registration, pre-registration or pending  
          registration cycle additions and deletions, update and correct  
          disposition information from court information obtained by the  
          Violent Crime Information Center (VCIC), as well as create new  
          records for sex registrants where no record exists and automate  
          criminal history folders requested by the VCIC.  In addition,  
          staff will be required to implement a new case management system  
          to track and manage when Internet identifier information is  
          released and to modify the existing California Sex and Arson  
          Registry system. 


          COMMENTS:


          1)Background and Purpose.  According to the author, "In November  
            of 2012 California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition  
            35, also known as the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation  
            Act (CASE Act). The act is the most popular initiative in  
            California's history, and was approved with 81% of the vote  
            and is the first initiative to receive over 10 million votes.   
            California voters wanted to insure that sex offenders provide  
            their online identities to law enforcement. Unfortunately, the  
            9th Circuit Court of Appeals has rendered that portion of the  
            proposition unconstitutional. This bill addresses those  
            constitutional concerns. 

            "The internet, with all of its benefits, has become a place  
            for sexual predators to thrive. In June of this year the  
            federal government in Operation Broken Heart arrested 1,140  








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            child predators in 41 states that were using the internet to  
            distribute child pornography, entice children for sexual  
            purposes, sell children into prostitution, and engage in  
            sexual tourism. This bill would ensure that sex offenders who  
            have already used the internet in the commission of their  
            crime provide their online identifiers to law enforcement.  
            This vital tool will assist law enforcement if they ever have  
            to investigate these individuals again for future violations."


            The provisions in the CASE Act that this bill seeks to replace  
            have been found to violate the First Amendment.  (Doe v.  
            Harris (9th Cir. 2014) 772 F.3d 563.).  The Court concluded  
            that the statute violated the First Amendment by unnecessarily  
            chilling speech in at least three ways: (1) the Act does not  
            make clear what sex offenders are required to report, (2)  
            there are insufficient safeguards preventing the public  
            release of the information sex offenders do report, and (3)  
            the 24-hour reporting requirement is onerous and overbroad.  
            (Ibid.)  This bill narrows the applicability of its  
            requirements and places safeguards on when this information  
            should be disclosed in order to address these specific  
            concerns. 


          2)Support:  According to Safer California Foundation, a  
            co-sponsor of this bill, "In the age of the internet, human  
            trafficking has become increasingly easier for traffickers to  
            find and abuse their victims.  According to a 2012 report by  
            the Attorney General, 'The business of sex trafficking, in  
            particular, has moved online.  Traffickers use the Internet to  
            increase their reach, both in recruiting victims through  
            social media and finding clients via advertisement posted on  
            classified advertising websites."

          3)Opposition:  According to California Reform Sex Offender Laws,  
            "If SB 448 becomes law, the anonymity of registered citizens,  
            who are unpopular individuals in today's intolerant society,  
            would be suppressed.  That is, they will be unable to express  








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            their opinions on topics such as SB 448 due to fear of  
            retaliation."

          4)Prior Legislation:

             a)   AB 653 and AB 755  (Galgiani), of the 2011-12  
               Legislation Session, among their many provisions, would  
               have required every registered sex offender to inform the  
               law enforcement agency with which he or she last registered  
               of all Internet identifiers or service providers.  AB 653  
               was not set for a hearing in Assembly Public Safety and AB  
               755 failed passage in that Committee. 

             b)   AB 1850 (Galgiani), of the 2009-10 Legislative Session,  
               held in this Committee's Suspense file, provided that any  
               person sentenced to probation or released on parole for an  
               offense that requires him or she to register as a sex  
               offender, as specified, from using the Internet under  
               certain circumstances.  

             c)   SB 1204 (Runner), of the 2009-10 Legislative Session,  
               held in this Committee's Suspense file, required every  
               registered sex offender to inform the law enforcement  
               agency with which he or she last registered of all of his  
               or her online addresses, e-mail addresses, and IM user  
               names by December 31, 2011 and thereafter at the time of  
               original registration and within 30 days of establishing a  
               new online account.  This information, may, upon request,  
               be shared with the DOJ or other law enforcement agencies.  


          Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081














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