BILL ANALYSIS
AB 265
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Date of Hearing: May 5, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON ELECTIONS AND REDISTRICTING
Paul Fong, Chair
AB 265 (Cook) - As Introduced: February 11, 2009
SUBJECT : Office holding: forfeiture.
SUMMARY : Requires an elected state official to forfeit his or
her office upon the conviction of a crime that involves a false
claim of receipt of any military decoration or medal pursuant to
the federal Stolen Valor Act of 2005 (18 U.S.C. Sec. 704)
(Stolen Valor Act).
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires an elected city, county, city and county, or district
official to forfeit his or her office upon the conviction of a
crime that involves a false claim of receipt of any military
decoration or medal pursuant to the Stolen Valor Act.
2)Designates numerous other crimes that result in forfeiture of
office, including conviction for felonies, offenses that
involve a violation of official duties, bribery, selling
appointments, intoxication in the discharge of official
duties, misuse of public funds, and conflict of interest
violations.
3)Makes it a federal crime for any person to falsely represent
himself or herself as having been awarded any decoration or
medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the
United States, or any of the service medals or badges awarded
to the members of such forces.
FISCAL EFFECT : Keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the Bill : According to the author:
I am carrying AB 265 on behalf of the Vietnam Veterans of
America, California State Council. This bill pertains to
the federal Stolen Valor Act of 2005. The Stolen Valor Act
made it illegal for people to misrepresent themselves as
recipients of military honors. Those men and women who
AB 265
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have served in the armed forces of this country deserve
respect and should be honored for their service. Military
members and veterans who have earned or been awarded the
various medals and decorations for bravery, wounds,
campaigns, service, or rank should not have to have their
contributions cheapened by imposters. Especially imposters
who use false claim to these awards for personal gain or
popularity.
This is the fourth bill related to the Stolen Valor Act.
The first two bills incorporated elements of the federal
law into state code. The most recent legislation was SB
1482 in 2008, which requires that any local elected
official who makes false claims to military honors to
forfeit their seat if convicted under the federal Stolen
Valor Act.
AB 265 seeks to expand on SB 1482 and extend the forfeiture
of office to state elected officials.
2)Previous Legislation : SB 1482 (Correa), Chapter 118, Statutes
of 2008, requires a local elected official to forfeit his or
her office upon the conviction of a crime that involves a
false claim of receipt of any military decoration or medal
pursuant to the Stolen Valor Act. This bill seeks to expand
the provisions of SB 1482 so that it is applicable to elected
state officials as well as local officials. Committee staff
is unaware of any other crime for which a local elected
official would forfeit his or her office upon conviction but
an elected state official would not.
3)Consistency : As noted above, existing law already requires an
elected city, county, city and county, or district official to
forfeit his or her office upon the conviction of a crime that
involves a false claim of receipt of any military decoration
or medal pursuant to the Stolen Valor Act - this bill simply
would extend those provisions to elected state officials. The
policy rationale for imposing a harsher punishment on a local
elected official than on a state elected official for
conviction of a violation of the Stolen Valor Act is unclear.
As such, enactment of this bill appears to be consistent with
the Legislature's and Governor's action on SB 1482.
4)Violations of the Stolen Valor Act : Last year, in one of the
first prosecutions under the Stolen Valor Act, the United
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States Attorney's office prosecuted an elected member of the
board of the Three Valleys Municipal Water District (in Los
Angeles County) under the Stolen Valor Act. The board member
was charged and pled guilty to falsely claiming during a
public meeting that he had received the Medal of Honor, the
nation's highest military decoration. The board member was
sentenced to three years of probation and fined $5,000.
Although the Three Valleys Municipal Water District censured
the board member and requested that he resign, he nonetheless
continues to serve on the board. This case was part of the
impetus for SB 1482.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Legion, Department of California
Opposition
None on file.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094