BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2058
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Date of Hearing: May 10, 2006
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Judy Chu, Chair
AB 2058 (Cohn) - As Amended: March 21, 2006
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 5-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill creates an alternate felony/misdemeanor, punishable by
up to 1 year in county jail or by imprisonment in state prison
for 1, 2, or 3 years, for an employee or volunteer of a public
or private school to commit any lewd and lascivious act upon a
minor who is 14, 15, 16, or 17 years of age who attends the same
school at which the person is employed or volunteers.
FISCAL EFFECT
Significant annual GF costs, potentially in the range of
$200,000, for increased state prison commitments. In 2004-05, 86
persons were committed to state prison for committing a lewd or
lascivious act on a 14 or 15-year-old child when the offender
was more than 10 years older than the victim. If this bill, by
adding 16 and 17-year-olds to a similar offense, results in six
additional prison commitments, annual costs would exceed
$200,000.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . Current law provides that any person who commits a
lewd or lascivious act upon a child 14 or 15 years of age with
the intent to arouse the sexual passions of that person, and
where that person is at least 10 years older than the child,
is guilty of an alternate felony/misdemeanor, punishable by up
to 1 year in county jail, or 1, 2, or 3 three years in prison.
Current law does not address a situation in which the victim
is 16 or 17 years of age, nor does it specifically address the
job an offender holds.
AB 2058
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According to the author, "There is such a high degree of trust
placed in school employees and such a high degree of
opportunity for that trust to be violated, it is imperative
there be a statute that prohibits sexual contact of any kind
between school employees and students? This bill protects
minors age 14 to 17 by ensuring that those who commit lewd and
lascivious acts upon them are appropriately convicted as
felons."
2)Teachers and school volunteers are not the only persons in
positions of trust. It is not clear why teachers and school
volunteers are singled out.
3)Suggested Amendments . The bill should be amended to include an
age differential between victim and offender. (Subdivision (c)
of the section this bill would amend has a 10-year
differential.) The bill should also include language
clarifying that nothing in this measure precludes prosecution
and punishment under other related sections.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081