BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1182|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1182
Author: Battin (R), et al
Amended: 5/2/06
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 4-0, 4/18/06
AYES: Migden, Poochigian, Cedillo, Margett
NO VOTE RECORDED: Perata, Romero
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 12-0, 5/15/06
AYES: Murray, Aanestad, Alarcon, Alquist, Ashburn, Battin,
Dutton, Escutia, Ortiz, Poochigian, Romero, Torlakson
NO VOTE RECORDED: Florez
SUBJECT : Registered sex offenders: Internet disclosure:
felony child
pornography
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill includes felony child pornography
offenses on the Megans Law Internet web site, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Pursuant to current law, the Department of
Justice (DOJ) makes information about registered sex
offenders available to the public via an Internet web site,
as specified. [Section 290.46 of the Penal Code] DOJ is
required to include on this web site a registrant's name
and known aliases, a photograph, a physical description,
including gender and race, date of birth, criminal history,
CONTINUED
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any other information that the DOJ deems relevant unless
expressly excluded under the statute.
Current law additionally requires DOJ to include on its
Internet web site the home address of persons who are
required to register as sex offenders for any of the
following offenses:
- Kidnapping a child under 14 to commit a lewd act.
- Kidnapping to commit rape, sodomy, oral copulation, or
sexual penetration.
- Rape by force or by threat to kidnap or inflict extreme
pain.
- Rape or sexual penetration in concert.
- Aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 by a
person more than 10 years older.
- Sodomy of a child under 14 by a person more than 10
years older, by force, by threat to kidnap or inflict
extreme pain, or in concert.
- Oral copulation of a child under 14 by a person more
than 10 years older, by threat to kidnap or inflict
extreme pain, or in concert.
- Sexual penetration of a child under 14 by a person more
than 10 years older, by force, by threat to kidnap or
inflict extreme pain, or in concert.
- Felony lewd or lascivious conduct with a child under 14
or a dependent adult.
- Continuous sexual abuse of a child under 14.
- Sexually Violent Predator, as specified. [Section
290.46(b)(2) of the Penal Code]
Current law requires the DOJ web site of registered sex
offenders to include ZIP Code information, instead of home
address information, for persons who are required to
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register as sex offenders for any of the following
offenses:
- Assault with intent to commit a sex crime.
- Felony sexual battery.
- Rape of an unconscious, disabled, or intoxicated victim.
- Felony enticement of a child under 18 for prostitution.
- Felony inducement of a sex crime by fraud or fear.
- Procurement of a child under 16 for a lewd act.
- Abduction of a child under 18 for purposes of
prostitution.
- Sodomy of an unconscious, disabled, or intoxicated
victim.
- Sodomy of a child under 16 by a person over 21.
- Oral copulation of an unconscious, disabled, or
intoxicated victim.
- Oral copulation of a child under 16 by a person over 21.
- Sexual penetration of an unconscious, disabled, or
intoxicated victim.
- Sexual penetration of a child under 16 by a person over
21.
- Child annoyance. [Section 290.46(d)(2) of the Penal
Code]
This bill adds specified felony child pornography offenses
to this list of offenses. [Specifically, Section 311.1,
311.2(b), (c), and (d), 311.3, 311.4, 311.10, and 311.11 of
the Penal Code, provided the offense is a felony.]
This bill additionally provides a mechanism for someone who
has been convicted of one of these offenses to be excluded
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from the web site if the registrant "submits to the
Department of Justice a certified copy of a probation
report filed in court that clearly states that the depicted
person was at least 16 years of age at the time of the
depiction."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2006-07 2007-08
2008-09 Fund
DOJ: Megan's Law <$150
General
additions
There are an estimated 1,000 sex offenders with the
specified felony child pornography offenses included in
DOJ's Violent Crime Information Network (VCIN) database who
are not otherwise on the Megan's Law web site for other
convictions. Many of the pornography offenses are not
noted in VCIN as felony or misdemeanor, so DOJ staff will
need to review manually the criminal history records to
determine whether the offense was a felony or misdemeanor.
Since this bill excludes persons who submit a probation
report indicating the person depicted in the pornography
was at least 16 years old, DOJ will also need to develop a
tracking system for exclusions, develop and review
applications, and respond to inquiries.
Most of this work is one-time, and costs are estimated at
less than $150,000.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/16/06)
California District Attorneys Association
California Peace Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs' Association
Children's Civil Rights Union
Office of the Attorney General
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Peace Officers Research Association of California
San Bernardino County Sheriff
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/16/06)
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states in part:
"Current law requires a person convicted of child
pornography to register as a sex offender under Section
290 of the Penal Code. However, these offenses are not
included on Megan's Law website as specified in Section
290.46 of the Penal Code.
"This bill would add felony child pornography
convictions to the Megan's Law website.
"Child pornography is estimated at being a $3 billion
dollar a year industry.
"Between surfing the web, digital cameras, cell phones,
and I-Pods - the age of technology provides for a
convenient, fast, easy and essentially secretive avenue
for pedophiles and sexual predators to obtain, produce,
purchase/sell, advertise and view child pornography.
"Sexual predators have come to rely on computers to
fulfill their addictive behavior. Fortunately for an
investigator, computers offer a trail of electronic
evidence which can be invaluable for a prosecutor's
case. Unfortunately, child pornography is difficult to
uncover and in many cases it is only detected after a
horrendous crime has been committed. One example is
the Danielle Van Dam case, where a little girl who
lived in Rancho Bernardo, California was abducted and
killed approximately three years ago. The subject was
a neighbor, David Westerfield, and when investigators
searched his computer they successfully retrieved
various media files that showed his tendency for child
pornography. Westerfield was convicted of Van Dam's
murder and is currently on death row."
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RJG:mel 5/17/06 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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