BILL NUMBER: AB 1949	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Jerome Horton

                        FEBRUARY 2, 2006

   An act to amend Section 11172 of the Penal Code, relating to child
abuse.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1949, as introduced, Jerome Horton  Child abuse: reporting.
   (1) Existing law identifies those persons who are mandated
reporters for purposes of reporting child abuse.  Existing law
requires the reports filed by mandated reporters concerning abuse and
neglect to include certain specified information about the victim
and the information that gave rise to the suspicion of abuse and its
source. Under existing law, a mandated reporter shall not be civilly
or criminally liable for a report authorized by these provisions.
   This bill would prohibit immunity from civil or criminal liability
for an official or employee of a government agency who is a mandated
reporter and, within the scope of his or her official duties, that
official or employee, intentionally or with a reckless disregard for
the truth, misrepresents child abuse or neglect, as specified.
   (2) This bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes
to these provisions.
   (2) This bill would make other technical, nonsubstantive changes
to these provisions.ect,


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


  SECTION 1.  Section 11172 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   11172.  (a) No mandated reporter shall be civilly or criminally
liable for  any   a  report required or
authorized by this article, and this immunity shall apply even if the
mandated reporter acquired the knowledge or reasonable suspicion of
child abuse or neglect outside of his or her professional capacity or
outside the scope of his or her employment.  Any other
  A  person reporting a known or suspected instance
of child abuse or neglect shall not incur civil or criminal
liability as a result of  any   a  report
authorized by this article unless it can be proven that a false
report was made and the person knew that the report was false or was
made with reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the report,
and  any   a  person who makes a report of
child abuse or neglect known to be false or with reckless disregard
of the truth or falsity of the report is liable for  any
 damages caused. No person required to make a report
pursuant to this article, nor  any   a 
person taking photographs at his or her direction, shall incur
 any  civil or criminal liability for taking
photographs of a suspected victim of child abuse or neglect, or
causing photographs to be taken of a suspected victim of child abuse
or neglect, without parental consent, or for disseminating the
photographs with the reports required by this article. However, this
section shall not be construed to grant immunity from this liability
with respect to  any  other  use 
 uses  of the photographs.
   (b)  Subdivision   (a) shall not apply to a mandated
reporter who is an official or employee of the state, a city, county,
city and county, district, or other political subdivision of the
state, if all of the following apply:   
   (1) That official or employee is required to report an incident or
reasonable suspicion of child abuse or neglect in his or her
professional capacity or in the scope of his or her employment. 

   (2) That official or employee intentionally or with reckless
disregard of the truth or falsity of a report misrepresents or
conceals an incident or reasonable suspicion of child abuse or
neglect.  
   (3) There is clear and convincing evidence that absent the conduct
described in paragraph (2) a different result or decision related to
that incident or reasonable suspicion of child abuse would have been
reached. 
    (c)     Any   A 
person, who, pursuant to a request from a government agency
investigating a report of suspected child abuse or neglect, provides
the requesting agency with access to the victim of a known or
suspected instance of child abuse or neglect shall not incur civil or
criminal liability as a result of providing that access.  
   (c) 
    (d)    The Legislature finds that even though
it has provided immunity from liability to persons required or
authorized to make reports pursuant to this article, that immunity
does not eliminate the possibility that actions may be brought
against those persons based upon required or authorized reports. In
order to further limit the financial hardship that those persons may
incur as a result of fulfilling their legal responsibilities, it is
necessary that they not be unfairly burdened by legal fees incurred
in defending those actions. Therefore, a mandated reporter may
present a claim to the State Board of Control for reasonable attorney'
s fees and costs incurred in  any   an 
action against that person on the basis of making a report required
or authorized by this article if the court has dismissed the action
upon a demurrer or motion for summary judgment made by that person,
or if he or she prevails in the action. The State Board of Control
shall allow that claim if the requirements of this subdivision are
met, and the claim shall be paid from an appropriation to be made for
that purpose. Attorney's fees awarded pursuant to this section shall
not exceed an hourly rate greater than the rate charged by the
Attorney General of the State of California at the time the award is
made and shall not exceed an aggregate amount of fifty thousand
dollars ($50,000).
    (e)     This subdivision  
Subdivision (d)  shall not apply if a public entity has
provided for the defense of the action pursuant to Section 995 of the
Government Code.  
   (d) 
    (f)    A court may award attorney's fees and
costs to a commercial film and photographic print processor 
when   if  a suit is brought against the processor
because of a disclosure mandated by this article and the court finds
this suit to be frivolous.