SB 1088, as introduced, Nguyen. Wrongful concealment: accidental death.
Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a person who has knowledge of an accidental death to actively conceal or attempt to conceal that death. Existing law provides that the punishment for that offense is imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
This bill would make that offense a misdemeanor or a felony, and if a felony, punishable by imprisonment, as specified, or the fine described above, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
By creating a new felony, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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 152 of the Penal Code is amended to
2read:
(a) begin deleteEvery end deletebegin insert(1)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertA end insertperson who, having knowledge of an
4accidental death, actively conceals or attempts to conceal that
5death,begin delete shall beend deletebegin insert isend insert guilty of a misdemeanorbegin delete punishable by begin insert
or a felony punishable as follows:end insert
6imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a
7fine of not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than
8ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that fine and
9imprisonment.end delete
10(2) If a misdemeanor, by imprisonment in a county jail for not
11more than one year, or by a fine of not less than one thousand
12dollars ($1,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000),
13or by both that fine and imprisonment.
14(3) If a felony, by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of
15Section 1170, or by a fine of not less than one thousand dollars
16($1,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both
17that fine and imprisonment.
18(b) For purposes of this section, “to actively conceal an
19accidental death” means any of the following:
20(1) To perform an overt act that conceals the body or directly
21impedes the
ability of authorities or family members to discover
22the body.
23(2) To directly destroy or suppress evidence of the actual
24physical body of the deceased, including, but not limited to, bodily
25fluids or tissues.
26(3) To destroy or suppress the actual physical instrumentality
27of death.
No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
29Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
30the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
31district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
32infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
33for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
34the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
35the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
36Constitution.
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