BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 1088 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 1088 (Nguyen and Bates) As Amended June 30, 2016 Majority vote SENATE VOTE: 37-0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Public Safety |6-0 |Jones-Sawyer, | | | | |Melendez, Lackey, | | | | |Lopez, Low, Santiago | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY: Extends the statute of limitations for the concealment of an accidental death to one year from the identification of the perpetrator. Specifically, this bill states that, notwithstanding any other statutes of limitations, if a person actively conceals or attempts to conceal an accidental death, a criminal complaint may be filed within one year after the person is initially identified by law enforcement as a suspect in the commission of that offense. SB 1088 Page 2 EXISTING LAW: 1)Makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by a jail term of up to one year, or a fine of between $1,000 and $10,000, or both, to actively conceal an accidental death, or attempt to do so. 2)States that to conceal an accidental death means to do one of the following: a) Perform an overt act that conceals the body or directly impedes the ability of authorities or family members to discover the body; b) Directly destroy or suppress evidence of the actual physical body of the deceased, including, but not limited to, bodily fluids or tissues; or, c) Destroy or suppress the actual physical instrumentality of death. 3)Provides that prosecution for felonies punishable for eight years or more and not otherwise covered must be commenced within six years after commission of the offense. 4)Provides that prosecution for felonies punishable by less than eight years must be commenced within three years after commission of the offense. 5)Provides that prosecution for misdemeanors shall be commenced within one year after commission of the offense. 6)Provides exceptions for the one-year statute of limitations for specified misdemeanors. FISCAL EFFECT: None. This bill has been keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. SB 1088 Page 3 COMMENTS: According to the author, "SB 1088 would extend the statute of limitations in cases of accidental body concealment to one year from the time a suspect is initially identified by law enforcement. This extension provides additional time for authorities to hold those responsible in accidental body concealment cases. Families of the victims of body dumping deserve to have closure in these rare cases." Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill. Analysis Prepared by: Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0003712