BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1873
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1873 (Torrico)
As Amended May 26, 2006
Majority vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 4-1 HUMAN SERVICES 6-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Leno, Cohn, Goldberg, |Ayes:|Evans, Berg, Bass, Coto, |
| |Spitzer | |Nation, Nakanishi |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|La Suer | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
APPROPRIATIONS
(vote not available)
SUMMARY : Extends, from 72 hours or younger to up to thirty days
old, the age at which a parent or other person with lawful
custody of a child may surrender that child at a "safe-surrender
site," and expands the definition of a "safe surrender site" to
include a local fire agency. Specifically, this bill :
1)Expands the Safe-Surrender Law to allow a parent or individual
who has lawful custody of a child up to thirty days old to be
voluntarily surrender custody of the child to a safe-surrender
site.
2)Expands the definition of "safe-surrender site" to include a
local fire agency upon the approval of the appropriate
governing body.
3)Provides that before designating a location as a safe
surrender site, the designatory entity shall consult with the
governing body of the city, if the site is located in a city,
and with representatives of any fire department and any child
welfare agency that may provide services to a child who is
surrendered at the site if that location is selected.
4)Defines "parent" to mean a birth parent of a minor child who
is thirty days old or younger.
AB 1873
Page 2
5)Clarifies that a safe-surrender site, or the personnel of a
safe-surrender site, shall not have liability of any kind for
a surrendered child prior to taking actual physical custody of
the child.
6)Provides that no parent or other individual having lawful
custody of a child thirty days or younger may be prosecuted
for abandoning a child or failing to provide a child with
necessary food, clothing, shelter, medical assistance or other
remedial care if he or she voluntarily surrenders physical
custody of the child at a safe-surrender site.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Makes it a crime for a parent of, or other person entrusted
with, a child younger than 14 years of age to abandon the
child and to fail to provide for the child or to present the
child to an orphanage or similar institution as an orphan.
2)Makes it a crime for a parent willfully to fail, without
lawful excuse, to provide a child with necessary food,
clothing, shelter, medical assistance or other remedial care.
3)Describes the procedure for the surrender of a child 72 hours
or younger to a safe-surrender site without incurring any
criminal liability under the state's child abandonment laws.
4)Defines a "safe-surrender site" as either:
a) A location designated by the board of supervisors of a
county to be responsible accepting physical custody of
minor who is 72 hours old or younger; or,
b) A location within a public or private hospital
designated by the hospital as responsible for accepting a
minor child who is 72 hours old or younger.
5)Defines a "parent" as a birth parent of a minor child who is
72 hours old or younger.
6)Protects from prosecution under the State's child abandonment
laws a parent or other person having lawful custody of a child
72 hours old or younger who voluntarily surrenders physical
AB 1873
Page 3
custody of the child to personnel on duty at a safe-surrender
site.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee:
1)Potentially minor state-reimbursable costs for local entities
and governments to consult regarding the designation of
safe-surrender sites.
2)Potential minor state and non-reimbursable local costs for
increased social services.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "According to a Department
of Social Services (DSS) 2003 report, the first year that the
California Safely Surrender Baby (SSB) Law took effect (2001),
11 were abandoned of which 55% were of Latino descent. The 2005
DSS report noted that from the period of October 21, 2002
through September 30, 2004, out of 105 abandoned babies, there
was only one incident where the parent attempted to reclaim the
child. To date, there have been a total of 122 safely
surrendered babies, 130 abandoned alive babies and 24 abandoned
dead babies. This bill would help increase the number of safely
surrendered babies.
"A lifeless baby was found in my district in January 2006. The
baby was between 7 and 14 days old. The baby was found less
than one block away from a fire station, a designated
safe-surrender site. There is a lack of public awareness of the
SSB Law. The current California law has saved over 100 babies
since 2001. There are currently 15 other states that have
72-hour provisions, 12 states have 30-day provisions, and two
states have one-year provisions. Extending the date from the
current 72-hour provision may save the lives of more babies in
California."
Please see the policy committee analysis for full discussion of
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
AB 1873
Page 4
FN: 0014935