BILL NUMBER: SB 139	CHAPTERED  09/15/99

	CHAPTER   396
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 15, 1999
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 15, 1999
	PASSED THE SENATE   SEPTEMBER 2, 1999
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   SEPTEMBER 1, 1999
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 30, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   MAY 18, 1999
	AMENDED IN SENATE   APRIL 6, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Johnson
   (Coauthor:  Senator Morrow)

                        JANUARY 4, 1999

   An act to add Section 152 to the Penal Code, relating to wrongful
concealment.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 139, Johnson.  Accidental death:  concealment.
   (1) Under existing law, every person who, having knowledge of the
actual commission of a crime and under specified circumstances
compounds or conceals that crime, is guilty of a crime punishable as
follows:
   (a) By imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail not
exceeding one year, where the crime was punishable by death or
imprisonment in the state prison for life.
   (b) By imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail not
exceeding 6 months, where the crime was punishable by imprisonment in
the state prison for any other term than for life.
   (c) By imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding 6 months, or by
a fine not exceeding $1,000, where the crime was a misdemeanor.
   This bill would provide that every person who, having knowledge of
an accidental death, actively conceals or attempts to conceal that
death, shall be punished by 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.  Because this
bill would create a new crime, it would impose a state-mandated local
program.
   The bill also would define the phrase "to actively conceal an
accidental death."
  (2) 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.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 152 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
   152.  (a) Every person who, having knowledge of an accidental
death, actively conceals or attempts to conceal that death, shall be
guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail
for not more than one year, or by a fine of not less than one
thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars
($10,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
   (b) For purposes of this section, "to actively conceal an
accidental death" means any of the following:
   (1) To perform an overt act that conceals the body or directly
impedes the ability of authorities or family members to discover the
body.
   (2) To directly destroy or suppress evidence of the actual
physical body of the deceased, including, but not limited to, bodily
fluids or tissues.
   (3) To destroy or suppress the actual physical instrumentality of
death.
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.