BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          813 (Leyva)


          As Amended  August 11, 2016


          Majority vote


          SENATE VOTE:  33-0


           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                   |Noes                 |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |----------------+-----+-----------------------+---------------------|
          |Public Safety   |6-0  |Jones-Sawyer,          |                     |
          |                |     |Melendez, Lackey,      |                     |
          |                |     |Lopez, Low, Santiago   |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
          |                |     |                       |                     |
           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 


          SUMMARY:  Eliminates any statute of limitation for specified sex  
          offenses.  Specifically, this bill:  


          1)Provides that prosecution for the following offenses may  
            commence at any time:


             a)   Rape, as specified;








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             b)   Spousal rape, as specified;


             c)   Rape in concert, as specified;


             d)   Sodomy, as specified;


             e)   Lewd acts upon a child involving "substantial sexual  
               conduct," as specified;


             f)   Continuous sexual abuse of a child; 


             g)   Oral copulation, as specified; and,


             h)   Sexual penetration, as specified.


          2)Specifies that the elimination of the statute of limitations  
            shall only apply to crimes that were committed on or after  
            January 1, 2017, or for which the statute of limitations that  
            was in effect before January 1, 2017, has not run as of that  
            date.
          3)Makes technical conforming changes to related statutes.


          4)Double joins this bill with SB 1088 (Nguyen) of the current  
            legislative session to avoid chaptering out issues.


          EXISTING LAW:  










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          1)Provides that there is no statute of limitations for crimes  
            punishable by death, or by imprisonment in the state prison  
            for life, or by life without the possibility of parole.  


          2)Provides that prosecution for crimes punishable by  
            imprisonment for eight years or more and not otherwise covered  
            must be commenced within six years after commission of the  
            offense.  


          3)Provides that prosecution for other felonies punishable by  
            less than eight years must be commenced within three years  
            after commission of the offense.  


          4)Provides that, notwithstanding any other time limitations, for  
            specified sex crimes that are alleged to have been committed  
            when the victim was under the age of 18, prosecution may be  
            commenced any time prior to the victim's 40th birthday.  


          5)Provides that prosecution for a felony offense requiring sex  
            offender registration shall be commenced within 10 years after  
            commission of the offense.  


          6)Provides that a criminal complaint may be filed within one  
            year after a report to a law enforcement agency that a person  
            was the victim of a sexual offense while under the age of 18  
            years.  To file such a complaint, the applicable limitation  
            period must have expired and the alleged crime must have  
            involved substantial sexual conduct corroborated by evidence,  
            as specified.  


          7)Provides that, notwithstanding any other limitation of time, a  
            criminal complaint may be filed within one year of the date on  
            which the identity of the suspect is conclusively established  








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            by deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing if specified conditions  
            are met.  


          8)Provides that if more than one time period described in the  
            statute of limitations scheme applies, the time for commencing  
            an action is governed by that period that expires the latest  
            in time.  


          FISCAL EFFECT:  None.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the  
          Legislative Counsel


          COMMENTS:  According to the author, "The purpose of the 'Justice  
          for Victims Act' is simple:  To prevent rapists and sexual  
          predators from evading legal consequences in California simply  
          because the statute of limitations has run its course.   
          Regardless of when a rape or sexual assault is discovered or  
          reported, survivors of sexual offenses must have an opportunity  
          to seek justice in a court of law.  SB 813 does not change the  
          burden of proof and victims will still have to prove their  
          allegations in court.  All this bill does is extend the  
          opportunity for victims to have their day in court since there  
          should never be an expiration date on justice."


          Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion  
                          of this bill.




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744  FN:  
          0003950











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