BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1128|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1128
Author: Alquist (D), et al
Amended: 8/22/06
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
SENATE FLOOR : 38-0, 6/1/06
AYES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Alarcon, Alquist, Ashburn,
Battin, Bowen, Cedillo, Chesbro, Cox, Denham, Ducheny,
Dunn, Dutton, Escutia, Figueroa, Florez, Hollingsworth,
Kehoe, Kuehl, Lowenthal, Machado, Maldonado, Margett,
McClintock, Morrow, Murray, Ortiz, Perata, Poochigian,
Romero, Runner, Scott, Simitian, Soto, Speier, Torlakson,
Vincent
NO VOTE RECORDED: Migden
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available
SUBJECT : Sex Offenders
SOURCE : Author
CONTINUED
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DIGEST : This bill enacts the "Sex Offender Punishment,
Control, and Containment Act of 2006" and makes specified
legislative findings and declarations concerning sex
offenders.
Assembly Amendments : (1) authorize the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation to establish a specialized
sex offender treatment program for inmates, (2) add
provisions providing for specified punishment for
committing sex acts with a child 10 years of age or
younger, (3) recast provision relative to punishment for
possession of child pornography materials, (4) recast
provision relative to a sex offender who enters upon or
loiters around any school yard, (5) requires the Office of
Emergency Services instead of the Corrections Standards
Authority to award grants to SAFE teams, (6) deletes
$6,000,000 appropriation to implement #5, (7) add
double-jointing language, and (8) add coauthors.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Includes the One-Strike Sex Crime Sentencing Law that
provides sentences of 15-years-to-life or
25-years-to-life in certain sex crimes if specified
circumstances in aggravation are found to be true.
2. States that the qualifying sex crimes under the
One-Strike Sex Law are forcible rape, forcible spousal
rape, rape by a foreign object, forcible sodomy,
forcible oral copulation, lewd and lascivious acts with
a child under the age of 14 accomplished by force or
duress, and lewd and lascivious acts with a child under
the age of 14 accomplished by other than force or duress
where the defendant is not eligible for probation.
3. Provides that a defendant convicted of a One-Strike sex
offense is only eligible for probation if he or she is
also eligible for probation under Penal Code Section
1203.066, which allows probation for a person convicted
of lewd conduct in intra-family cases where the
defendant is particularly likely to be rehabilitated and
the grant of probation is in the best interests of the
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child.
4. Denies probation for any person convicted of lewd
conduct committed by force, violence, duress or menace.
5. Provides that every person who possesses or controls any
matter depicting a person under the age of 18 years
engaging in sexual conduct or simulating sexual conduct
is guilty of a misdemeanor with imprisonment in the
county jail up to one year or a fine not exceeding
$2,500. If a person has a prior conviction, he or she is
guilty of a felony and subject to imprisonment in the
state prison for two, four, or six years. It is not
necessary to prove that the matter in question is
obscene.
6. Provides that every person who sends, brings, possesses,
prepares, publishes, produces, duplicates or prints any
obscene matter depicting a person under the age of l8
years engaging in or simulating sexual conduct with the
intent to distribute, exhibit, or exchange such material
is guilty of either a misdemeanor or a felony,
punishable by imprisonment in the county jail up to one
year or in the state prison for 16 months, 2 or 3 years
and a fine not to exceed $10,000.
7. Provides that every person who sends, brings, possesses,
prepares, publishes, produces, duplicates or prints any
obscene matter depicting a person under the age of l8
years engaging in or simulating sexual conduct for
commercial purposes is guilty of a felony, punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or six
years and a fine up to $100,000.
8. Provides that every person who sends, brings, possesses,
prepares, publishes, produces, duplicates or prints any
matter depicting a person under the age of l8 years
engaging in or simulating sexual conduct to distribute,
exhibit, or exchange with a minor is guilty of a felony,
punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16
months, 2 or 3 years. It is not necessary to prove
commercial consideration or that the matter is obscene.
9. Provides that any person who hires or uses a minor to
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assist in the possession, preparation or distribution of
obscene matter or for commercial purposes is guilty of a
felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison
for three, six, or eight years.
10. Provides that an inmate serving a determinate term of
imprisonment shall be released on parole for a period of
three years unless the parole authority for good cause
waives the period of parole and discharges the inmate
from custody. A person convicted of "violent" sex
offenses, as defined, and sentenced to determinate terms
shall be released on parole for a period of five years
unless the parole authority for good cause waives the
period of parole.
11. Defines a "SVP" as an inmate "who has been convicted
of a sexually violent offense against two or more
victims and who has a diagnosed mental disorder that
makes the person a danger to the health and safety of
others in that it is likely that he or she will engage
in sexually violent criminal behavior."
12. States that for any subsequent extended commitment,
the term of commitment shall be for two years. The term
shall commence on the date of the termination of the
previous commitment.
13. Provides that for the purposes of extended
commitments, the person shall be evaluated by two
practicing psychologists or psychiatrists, or by one
practicing psychiatrist and one practicing psychologist
designated by DMH, both of whom must concur that the
person has a diagnosed mental disorder so that he or she
is likely to engage in acts of sexual violence without
appropriate treatment and custody.
14. Provides that a prisoner found to be a SVP could be
civilly confined based on a judicial commitment. A "SVP"
is defined as a person who has been convicted of a
"sexually violent offense," as specified, against two or
more victims for whom he or she received a determinate
sentence. A SVP must have a diagnosable mental disorder
that makes the person a danger to the health and safety
of others in that it is likely that he or she will
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engage in sexually violent criminal behavior.
15. Defines "sexually violent offenses" as specified
sexual acts (rape or spousal rape, sex crimes in
concert, lewd conduct with a child under 14 years,
foreign or unknown object rape, sodomy and oral
copulation) committed by force, violence, duress,
menace, or fear of immediate and unlawful bodily injury
on the victim or another person.
16. Provides for a hearing procedure to determine whether
there is probable cause to believe that a person who is
the subject of a petition for civil commitment as a SVP
is likely to engage in sexually violent predatory
criminal behavior upon his or her release from prison.
17)Requires a jury trial at the request of either party
with a determination beyond a reasonable doubt that the
person is a SVP.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, major
annual General Fund (GF) costs, potentially in the range of
$200,000 million. Major costs include:
1. If the numerous penalty-related provisions of this bill
result in a 10% increase in the population of sex
offenders in state prison, the annual GF cost would
eventually exceed $25 million.
2. One-time state capital outlay costs, within a few years,
potentially in the low hundreds of millions of dollars
for construction of additional state mental hospital and
prison beds.
3. Annual General Fund costs of about $3 million per year
for three years to update DOJ's Violent Crime
Information Network and add information to the Megan's
Law Web site. Ongoing maintenance costs of about
$500,000.
4. Costs in the tens of millions of dollars for more staff
and more revocations.
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5. Creating a state and local scheme for assessing the risk
presented by convicted sex offenders, training state and
local authorities in the use of the assessment tool,
assessing sex offenders, increasing state and local
parole and probation staff to supervise more offenders
for longer periods of time and increasing the scope of
probation reports, will result in state costs in the
tens of millions of dollars.
6. Major changes to the SVP program will eventually result
in increased annual costs in the tens of millions of
dollars from increasing the number of SVP referrals,
hearings, and commitments, and increasing the length of
commitments.
7. Increasing fines on persons convicted of registerable
sex crimes (from $200 to $300 on the first conviction,
and from $300 to $500 on a subsequent conviction), will
likely result in a relatively minor increase in revenue,
probably less than $1 million.
8. In-custody sex offender relapse treatment program would
likely cost tens of millions of dollars. To the extent
these programs are effective, and reduce recidivism,
there could be corresponding out-year savings.
9. This bill appropriates $495,000 to OES for child abuse
and abduction prevention programs.
SUPPORT : (Verified as of 6/27 - Assembly Public Safety
Committee analysis)
California Association of Health Facilities
California Association of Homes and Services for the Aging
California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
California District Attorneys Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Parent Teacher Association
City of San Jose
Community Solutions
Crime Victims United
Office of the Attorney General
Peace Officers Research Association
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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
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 8/29/06 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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