BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1128|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1128
Author: Alquist (D)
Amended: 5/30/06
Vote: 27 Urgency
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 3/15/06
AYES: Migden, Poochigian, Cedillo, Margett, Perata, Romero
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/25/06
AYES: Murray, Alarcon, Alquist, Escutia, Florez, Romero,
Torlakson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Aanestad, Ashburn, Battin, Dutton,
Ortiz, Poochigian
SUBJECT : Sex Offenders
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill enacts the Sex Offender Punishment,
Control, and Containment Act of 2006 and makes specified
legislative findings and declarations concerning sex
offenders. Among its provisions, the bill:
1. Creates new "child luring" crimes.
2. Creates a new crime for sex offenses against very
young children with a punishment of 25 years to life.
3. Creates a new loitering statute to prevent sex
offenders from loitering around school grounds and
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other places where vulnerable persons congregate.
4. Increases penalties and statutes of limitations for
child pornography, and extends parole periods for all
violent sex offenses.
5. Requires the Department of Justice (DOJ) to update
the Megan's Law database and provide enhanced
information on the Megan's Law website and makes
changes to sex offender registration practices.
6. Requires specified recidivism risk assessments
(STATIC-99) for all adult male registered sex
offenders.
7. Enhances parole and probation provisions for sex
offenders, including requiring those whose STATIC-99
assessment indicates a high risk of re-offense to be
on reduced caseloads.
8. Requires all sex offenders on probation or parole who
are assessed at a high risk of recidivism to be placed
on reduced probation or parole caseloads.
9. Imposes indeterminate terms for sexually violent
predators.
10. Creates a $6 million competitive grant program to
fund county SAFE teams.
11. Requires all state and local agencies that maintain
records containing information on registered sex
offenders to maintain those records for 75 years.
12. Requires probation departments to compile Facts of
Offense Sheets for every adult male convicted of an
offense requiring him to register as a sex offender.
13. Requires the Facts of Offense Sheet to contain
specified information.
14. Requires probation departments and CDCR to send Facts
of Offense Sheets to DOJ to be made part of the sex
offenders' files maintained in the Sex Offender
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Tracking Program and to law enforcement in the
jurisdiction where the sex offender will be on
probation or parole, and appropriates $495,000 to the
Office of Emergency Services (OES) to fund a child
safety program.
15. Clarifies child pornography, obscenity and harmful
matter provisions.
16. Implements the State Authorized Risk Assessment Tool
for Sex Offenders (SARATSO) which will be used to
assess the risk level of all sex offenders; state
STATIC-99 will be the instrument for adult male
offenders as of Jan. 1, 2007; review STATIC-99 as the
assessment tool for adult males (by Jan. 1, 2008);
select an assessment tool for females and juveniles
(by Jan. 1, 2007); unanimous recommendations of the
committee will be posted on the CDCR website.
17. Sets a risk assessment training schedule for CDCR,
DMH and probation.
18. Requires probation reports to include SARATSO to be
considered by the court and sent to CDCR.
19. Requires CDCR to establish a plan to assess those
included above (adult males tested by Jan. 1, 2012;
females and juveniles by Jan. 1, 2013).
20. Provides that SARATSO administrators have access to
records and records of sex offenders are retained for
75 years.
21. Requires the Department of Probation prepares Facts
of Offense Sheet (June 1, 2010).
22. High risk parolees per SARATSO will be intensive
supervision; CDCR has discretion to require intensive
supervision for other offenders.
23. High risk inmates per SARATSO will participate in sex
offender programming CDCR has discretion to require
intensive supervision for other offenders.
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Senate Floor Amendments of 5/30/06 delete language which
would make its provisions inoperative if the initiative
measure commonly known as "Jessica's Law" is enacted by the
voters at the November 7, 2006 General Election.
ANALYSIS : Existing law sets forth timelines for the
retention of court records, depending upon the subject
matter or criminal offense.
This bill requires courts to keep all records relating to
felony or misdemeanor actions resulting in a requirement
that the defendant register as a sex offender for 75 years.
The bill also requires every district attorney's office,
parole office, and the Department of Justice to retain
records relating to a registered sex offender for 75 years
after disposition of the case.
Under existing law, the punishment for kidnapping with the
intent to commit any of several specified sexual acts is
imprisonment in the state prison for life with the
possibility of parole.
This bill adds rape committed in concert and committing
lewd and lascivious acts to the above specified sexual
acts.
Under existing law, the punishment for assault with intent
to commit any of several specified sexual acts is
imprisonment in the state prison for 2, 4, or 6 years.
This bill provides that the punishment for assaulting
another person with the intent to commit any of several
specified sexual acts while in the commission of a first
degree burglary is imprisonment in the state prison for
life with the possibility of parole.
Under existing law, a person who commits any of several
sexual acts upon a child who is under 14 years of age and
10 or more years younger than the person, is guilty of
aggravated sexual assault of a child.
This bill changes the age elements of the crime to 14 years
of age and 7 or more years younger than the perpetrator,
and would expand the types of sex offenses to which it
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would apply. The bill would require the court to impose a
consecutive sentence for each offense that results in a
conviction under this provision.
This bill creates new offenses for persons who arrange a
meeting with a minor or person he or she believes to be a
minor for the purpose of exposing his or her genitals or
pubic or rectal area, having the child expose any of these
areas, or engaging in lewd or lascivious behavior; and for
persons who actually go to that arranged meeting.
Under existing law, continuous sexual abuse of a child is a
felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for
6, 12, or 16 years. Existing law prohibits any other
felony sex offense involving the same victim from being
charged in the same proceeding, except as specified.
This bill changes that provision to prohibit any other act
of substantial sexual conduct with a child under 14 years
of age, or lewd and lascivious acts, involving the same
victim, from being charged in the same proceeding, except
as specified.
Under existing law, the punishment for annoying or
molesting a child is a maximum fine of $1,000 and
imprisonment in the county jail.
This bill increases the maximum fine to $5,000 and would
create a new crime for persons who, motivated by an
unnatural or abnormal sexual interest in children, engages
in conduct with an adult whom he or she believes to be a
child, which conduct, if directed toward a child, would be
a violation of the above provision.
Under existing law, lewd or lascivious conduct with a minor
is a felony. Under existing law, any person who engages in
unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than 3
years younger than the perpetrator is guilty of either a
misdemeanor or felony, and may also be liable for civil
penalties.
The bill provides that any adult who engages in sexual
intercourse or sodomy with a child who is 10 years of age
or younger is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by
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imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life.
Existing law requires a person convicted of any specified
sex offense to register as a sex offender.
This bill adds the above new crimes to the list of crimes
that require a person to register as a sex offender.
This bill makes findings and declarations regarding the
need for a comprehensive system of risk assessment,
supervision, monitoring, and containment for registered sex
offenders. The bill requires every person required to
register as a sex offender to be subject to assessment
using the State-Authorized Risk Assessment Tool for Sex
Offenders (SARATSO). The bill establishes the SARATSO
Review Committee, the purpose of which is to ensure that
the SARATSO reflects the most reliable, objective, and
well-established protocols for predicting sex offender risk
of recidivism. Commencing January 1, 2007, the SARATSO for
adult males would be the STATIC-99 risk assessment scale.
The committee would be required to research risk assessment
tools for female and juvenile offenders, and to advise the
Legislature and Governor of their recommendation. The
committee would also periodically evaluate the SARATSO for
each population and make any recommendations for changes,
and develop and administer a training program for officers
who would administer the SARATSO. Persons who administer
the SARATSO would be required to be trained at least every
2 years.
The bill requires the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to assess every eligible person who is
incarcerated or on parole, using the SARATSO. The bill
requires each probation department to assess every eligible
person who is under their supervision.
Under existing law, the court is required to impose a fine
of $200 for the first conviction of a person who is
convicted of a sex offense for which registration as a sex
offender is required, and $300 for a subsequent conviction.
This bill increases those fines to $300 and $500,
respectively, and would allocate $100 from each fine to the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to fund SAFE
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teams.
Existing law requires the Department of Justice to make
available to the public information regarding registered
sex offenders via an Internet Web site.
This bill modifies the information to be made available to
the public, and requires the Attorney General to develop
strategies to assist members of the public in understanding
how to use the information on the Web site to further
public safety. This bill requires the Department of
Justice to renovate the Violent Crime Information Network,
as specified.
Under existing law, possession of pornographic material
that depicts a minor engaging in sexual conduct or sexual
exploitation of a child is a misdemeanor, and enticing a
minor to perform in matter that depicts sexual conduct by a
minor for commercial purposes, or distributing matter that
contains a minor engaged in sexual conduct, is a felony.
This bill changes the punishment for importing, producing,
publishing, possessing, duplicating, distributing,
exhibiting, or exchanging matter that depicts minors
engaging in sexual conduct or explicit sexual conduct,
depending on the age of the minor and whether or not the
person is required to register as a sex offender. The bill
revises and recasts provisions related to child
pornography, obscenity, and harmful matter.
The bill authorizes any monetary assets gained from the
production, publication, sale, distribution, exchange, or
control of pornographic material that depicts a minor to be
subject to forfeiture.
Under existing law, it is a misdemeanor for any person
without any lawful business thereon, including any
specified sex offender, to remain on school grounds, or to
reenter school grounds, or any public way adjacent thereto,
after being asked to leave, as specified.
This bill instead makes it a misdemeanor for any person who
is required to register as a sex offender to come into any
school building or upon any school ground without lawful
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business thereon or written permission from the chief
administrative official of that school, or who loiters
about any street, sidewalk, or public way adjacent to any
school building, school grounds, public playground, or
other youth recreational facility where minors are present,
without lawful business thereon.
This bill also makes it a misdemeanor for a person who is
required to register as a sex offender where the victim was
an elderly or dependent person to come onto any property
where elderly or dependent persons reside or regularly are
present, without lawful business thereon or written
permission from the director of the facility.
Existing law, added by initiative acts that require
amendments to its provisions to be approved by 2/3 of the
membership of both houses of the Legislature, defines
"violent felony" for purposes of various provisions of the
Penal Code.
This bill includes in that definition various sex offenses
committed against a child who is under 14 years of age and
more than 10 years younger than the perpetrator, or
committed in concert.
Existing law provides for an enhanced prison term of 5
years for a person convicted of committing any of several
specified sex offenses who had a prior conviction for any
of several other specified sex offenses. The enhanced term
for a person with 2 or more previous convictions of any of
those sex offenses is 10 years. The enhanced term does not
apply if that person has not been in custody for, or
committed a felony during, at least 10 years between the
instant and prior offense. Existing law requires the
person to receive credits for time served or for work, to
reduce his or her sentence.
This bill expands the types of sex crimes to which these
provisions apply, delete the 10-year exception, and would
eliminate the possibility of the person receiving credit to
reduce his or her sentence.
Under existing law, persons who are convicted of committing
certain sex offenses who have previously been convicted of
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other sex offenses, including habitual sexual offenders, as
defined, or who are convicted of certain sex offenses
during the commission of another offense, are eligible for
credit to reduce the minimum term imposed.
This bill eliminates that eligibility for those persons.
Under existing law, the punishment for a conviction of
certain sex offenses is 25 years to life if the offense was
committed in the course of a kidnapping or burglary, the
victim was tortured, or the defendant had previously been
convicted of one of these sex crimes.
This bill adds continuous sexual abuse of a child to those
sex offenses.
Under existing law, a court is prohibited from granting
probation to, or suspending the execution or imposition of
sentence for, any person who, with the intent to inflict
the injury, personally inflicts great bodily injury on
another person during the commission of any of several
crimes.
This bill eliminates the intent requirement of that
provision.
Under existing law, prosecution for an offense punishable
by imprisonment in the state prison for 8 years or more is
required to be commenced within 6 years after the
commission of the offense.
This bill extends the statute of limitations for
prosecuting possession of child pornography for commercial
purposes to 10 years from the date of production.
Existing law, added by an initiative statute which provides
for amendment of its provision by 2/3 vote of the
Legislature, prohibits plea bargaining in certain felony
cases, except as specified.
This bill states the intent of the Legislature that
district attorneys prosecute violent sex crimes under
statutes that provide sentencing under "one strike," "3
strikes" or habitual sexual offender laws instead of
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engaging in plea bargaining, and would require a district
attorney to state on the record why a sentence should not
be prosecuted under those provisions, if he or she engages
in plea bargaining despite the stated intent.
Existing law establishes a county probation system.
This bill requires probation officers trained in the use of
the SARATSO to perform a presentencing risk assessment of
every person convicted of an offense that requires him or
her to register as a sex offender. The bill would require
each probation department to compile a Facts of Offense
Sheet for those offenders, as specified. The bill requires
each county to designate certain probation officers to be
trained to administer the SARATSO and to monitor registered
sex offenders. The bill requires those probationers who
are deemed to be a high risk to the public, as determined
by the SARATSO, to be placed on an intensive and
specialized probation supervision caseload.
Existing law requires a probation officer to prepare a
report for the court for each person convicted of a felony.
This bill requires a probation officer to also use SARATSO
on each person convicted of a felony that requires him or
her to register as a sex offender, in order to determine
the persons' risk of reoffending, and to include that
assessment in the presentencing report. The bill would
require the results of that assessment to be considered by
the court in determining suitability for probation.
Existing law provides for a 3-year maximum period of parole
for persons who are convicted of a felony, except that the
maximum period of parole for persons who are convicted of
certain violent felonies is 5 years.
This bill sets the maximum period of parole for persons who
are convicted of certain sex offenses at 10 years.
Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to ensure that all parolees under active
supervision and deemed to pose a high risk to the public of
committing a violent sex crime are placed on an intensive
and specialized parole supervision caseload.
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This bill instead requires those parolees who are deemed to
pose a high risk to the public of committing any sex crime,
as determined by the SARATSO, to be placed on such a
caseload, and to be required to report frequently to
designated parole officers. This bill authorizes the
department of place any other parolee on an intensive and
specialized caseload, as specified.
Existing law provides for an enhanced penalty of 3 years
for any person who administers a controlled substance to
another person against his or her will, for the purpose of
committing a felony.
This bill creates an additional enhancement of 5 years if
that felony is any of several specified sex offenses.
Existing law authorizes counties to establish sexual
assault felony enforcement (SAFE) teams to reduce violent
sexual assaults through proactive surveillance of habitual
sexual offenders.
This bill requires the Corrections Standards Authority to
establish standards by which grants are awarded on a
competitive basis to counties for SAFE teams. The bill
would appropriate $6,000,000 from the General Fund for that
purpose.
This bill appropriates $495,000 from the General Fund to
the Office of Emergency Services, Division of Criminal
Justice Programs for child abuse and abduction programs
that provide prevention education to children in schools.
Existing law defines "sexually violent offense" for
purposes of the sexually violent predator law.
This bill includes prior convictions for certain offenses
convicted as a juvenile or that resulted in an
indeterminate sentence in that definition, and would
otherwise expand that definition to include additional
crimes.
Under existing law, any finding made that a person is a
sexually violent predator, as specified, shall not toll,
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discharge, or otherwise affect that person's period of
parole, as specified.
This bill instead provides that such a finding shall toll
his or her period of parole.
Under existing law, if a person is determined to be a
sexually violent predator, he or she is committed to the
State Department of Mental Health for 2 years for
appropriate treatment and confinement. Confinement may not
be extended except by court order.
This bill changes that commitment to an indeterminate term.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09
Fund
Incarceration, annual costs in the multimillion dollar
range3 General
probation, parole
Megan's Law, $2,9845 $2,984$2,984
General
registration
SARATSO training, Unknown costs3
General
testing & offender oversight
Facts of Offense SheetsSignificant costs beginning in
2010-11 General
DOJ: SVP commitments $150 $300 $300
General
SAFE Teams $6,2501,4 $8,0004$8,000
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General
Courts (record retention)
Minor, absorbable costs
General2
Child safety program $4956 $495 $495
General
_____
1 Funding consistent with Governor's proposed 2006-07
budget
2 Trial Court Trust Fund
3 Requirements placed on probation programs (assessing and
monitoring sex offenders, training probation officers &
Facts of Offense sheets) constitute a state-mandated local
program
4 Offset by penalty revenues directed to these purposes by
the bill
5 Partially funded in Governor's proposed 2006-07 budget
6 Appropriated in bill
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/30/06)
California District Attorneys Association
California Police Chiefs Association
Community Solutions
Office of the Attorney General
Peace Officers Research Association
Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"The purpose of the bill is to provide a comprehensive,
proactive approach to preventing the victimization of
Californians by sex offenders. Under current law,
California's tactical methods and infrastructure are
insufficient for law enforcement to appropriately assess,
convict and monitor sex offenders.
"SB 1128 is the product of months of discussion with, and
input from, experts in the area. It incorporates a broad
spectrum of approaches recognized by law enforcement and
avoids key flaws that have marred other bills on this
subject, such as residency requirements that dump offenders
into rural communities or provisions that inadvertently tie
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the hands of police in performing Internet sting
operations.
"SB 1128, the Sex Offender Punishment, Control and
Containment Act of 2006: Increases the prison term for
child rape to 25 years to life; Expands the Megan's Law
database; Toughens penalties for child pornography;
Toughens penalties for Internet predators; Ensures police
can use on-line decoys to catch Internet predators;
Discourages prosecutors from offering plea bargains in sex
offense cases; Gives state and local officials a new system
to monitor dangerous parolees; Increases parole time for
violent sexual offenses; Keeps sex offenders away from
schools, parks, and other places where vulnerable
populations, including the elderly and disabled,
congregate.
"By taking this comprehensive approach SB 1128 will make
all of California's communities safer from all sexual
predators, not just some."
RJG:nl 5/30/06 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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