BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session SB 813 (Leyva) - Sex offenses: statute of limitations ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: March 31, 2016 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 5 - 0 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: No | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: April 25, 2016 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: SB 813 would eliminate any statute of limitations for specified felony sex offenses, as specified. Fiscal Impact: New prison commitments : Potentially significant increase in ongoing state costs (General Fund), cumulatively increasing in future years, for new commitments to state prison that otherwise would have been time-barred under the applicable statute of limitations. Data from CDCR indicates over 4,300 commitments to state prison in 2015 for the specified sex crimes as a principal or subordinate offense. To the extent prison commitments increase by even one-quarter of one percent (10 individuals) in any one year would increase costs by $300,000 for one year. Given the average length of stay in excess of 10 years for many of these offenses, the cumulative cost of 10 new commitments annually would be $13 million after SB 813 (Leyva) Page 1 of ? 10 years. Increase to parole and/or contracted bed space : Additionally, in order to maintain compliance with the federal court-ordered prison population cap, the CDCR could be required to release more inmates onto parole, resulting in increased costs for parole supervision (General Fund), or alternatively, contract for additional bed space with local or private entities. Courts : Potential near-term and ongoing increase in state court costs (General Fund*) for additional criminal actions initiated for cases that otherwise would have been disqualified under the existing applicable statute of limitations. A potential increase in the number of petitions filed for writ of habeas corpus could potentially result from new convictions for cases that otherwise would have been time-barred from prosecution. *Trial Court Trust Fund Background: Existing law provides for the following four statutory timeframes within which commencement of prosecution for felony sex offenses is authorized: 1) The general limitations period for prosecuting sex offenses subject to mandatory sex offender registration is within 10 years after commission of the offense. (Penal Code (PC) § 801.1(b).) 2) If the sex offense is alleged to have been committed against a person when that person was under the age of 18, prosecution may commence any time up to the victim's 40th birthday. (PC § 801.1(a).). 3) In circumstances when the 10-year limitations period has expired, a criminal complaint may be filed within one year of the date a person of any age reports to law enforcement that they were a victim of a child sex crime, if the offense involved "substantial sexual conduct", as specified, and there is independent evidence that corroborates the victim's allegation, which must be proved by clear and convincing evidence if the victim is 21 years of age or older at the time of the report. (PC § 803(f).) 4) Notwithstanding any other time limitation, a criminal complaint may be filed within one year of the date on which the identity of a suspect is conclusively established by DNA testing in sex offense cases if the DNA is analyzed in SB 813 (Leyva) Page 2 of ? a timely manner, as specified. (PC § 803(g).) Proposed Law: This bill would amend subdivision (b) of PC § 799 to provide that the prosecution for the following felony sex offenses may be commenced at any time: Rape: PC § 261 (a), paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), (6) or (7). Spousal rape: PC § 262 (a), paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), or (5). In concert rape, spousal rape or forcible sexual penetration: PC § 264.1. Forcible sodomy: PC § 286 (c), paragraph (2) or (3), or PC § 286 (d), (f), (g), (i), or (k). Molestation of a child under the age of 14 involving "substantial sexual conduct": PC § 288(a), as defined in PC § 1203.066(b). Molestation of a child under the age of 14 by use of force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury on the victim or another person: PC § 288(b). Continuous sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14: PC § 288.5. Forcible oral copulation: PC § 288a(c), paragraph (2) or (3), or PC § 288a (d), (f), (g), (i), or (k). Forcible sexual penetration: PC § 289, (a), (b), (d), (e), or (g). This bill provides that its provisions would apply to offenses that were committed on or after January 1, 2017, and to offenses for which the statute of limitations that was in effect prior to January 1, 2017, has not run as of January 1, 2017. This bill additionally makes technical conforming amendments to related statutes. Prior Legislation: SB 926 (Beall) Chapter 921/2014 extended the statute of limitations for the commencement of prosecution for specified felony sex offenses against a victim under the age of 18, from any time prior to the victim's 28th birthday to any time prior to the victim's 40th birthday. SB 46 (Alquist) 2009 would have eliminated the statute of SB 813 (Leyva) Page 3 of ? limitations for specified sex offenses committed against a victim who was under the age of 14 at the time of the offense. This bill failed passage in the Senate Committee on Public Safety. SB 256 (Alquist) 2008 would have eliminated the statute of limitations for sex offenses requiring registration as a sex offender, allowing prosecution for these offenses at any time. This bill failed passage in the Senate Committee on Public Safety. SB 1128 (Alquist) Chapter 337/2006 enacted the "Sex Offender Punishment, Control, and Containment Act of 2006," which, among its numerous provisions, increased the penalties for specified sex offenses. SB 111 (Alquist) Chapter 479/2005 extended the statute of limitations for commencing prosecution for a felony sex offense against a child under 18 to any time prior to the victim's 28th birthday, as specified. SB 261 (Speier) 2005 would have eliminated the statute of limitations for specified sex offenses. This bill was held on the Suspense File of this Committee. Staff Comments: By eliminating the statute of limitations for the prosecution of felony sex offenses, this bill could result in additional prosecutions that otherwise would not have occurred in the absence of this measure, subsequently resulting in new convictions and commitments to state prison. The fiscal impact of this bill cannot be known with certainty, as the actual impact will be dependent on numerous factors including but not limited to judicial and prosecutorial discretion and the factors unique to each case. Arrest data from the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicates over 12,600 arrests annually under the felony sex offenses specified, with about 4,550 annual arrests (36 percent) leading to SB 813 (Leyva) Page 4 of ? convictions. It is unknown what percentage of annual arrests may have been time-barred from prosecution under existing law or how many new arrests would occur due to the removal of the statute of limitations, but to the extent additional prosecutions could proceed, additional workload and costs would be imposed on the courts. The prison term triads for the specified sex offenses vary and include ranges such as 9, 11, or 13 years for any person who commits rape or sodomy upon a child under 14 years of age, to up to 16 years for continuous sexual abuse of a child under PC § 288.5. The magnitude of new costs for commitments to state prison would be dependent on the underlying offenses and the sentencing terms attached to those offenses. While costs in any one year may not be significant, the cumulative effect over time of overlapping sentences could be substantial. Commitment data from CDCR reflects over 4,300 commitments to state prison in 2015 under the offenses specified in this measure as the principal or subordinate offense. Additionally, data from CDCR indicates the average length of stay for commitments to prison under many of the specified Penal Code sections exceeds 10 years. The Three-Judge Court has ordered the State to reduce its prison population to 137.5 percent of the prison system's design capacity by February 28, 2016. Pursuant to its February 10, 2014 order, the Court has ordered the CDCR to implement several population reduction measures, prohibited an increase in the population of inmates housed in out-of-state facilities, and indicated the Court will maintain jurisdiction over the State for as long as necessary to ensure that the State's compliance with the 137.5 percent final benchmark is durable, and that such durability is firmly established. Any future increases to the State's prison population could challenge the ability of the State to reach and maintain such a "durable solution," and could require the State to pursue one of several options, including contracting-out for additional bed space or releasing current inmates early onto parole. -- END -- SB 813 (Leyva) Page 5 of ?