BILL ANALYSIS
AB 984
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 984 (Nava)
As Amended January 15, 2010
Majority vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 5-2 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Hagman, |Ayes:|De Leon, Conway, Ammiano, |
| |Furutani, Gilmore, | |Bradford, Charles |
| |Huffman | |Calderon, Coto, Davis, |
| | | |Fuentes, Hall, Harkey, |
| | | |Miller, Nielsen, John A. |
| | | |Perez, Solorio, |
| | | |Audra Strickland, |
| | | |Torlakson |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Hill, Skinner | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Eliminates the requirement that a victim be under the
age of 14 when making it a crime for a person to fail to report
to police an instance when he or she witnesses a murder, rape,
or specified lewd and lascivious acts.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that any person who reasonably believes that he or she
has observed the commission of any of the following offenses
where the victim is a child under the age of 14 years shall
notify a peace officer: murder, rape, and specified lewd and
lascivious acts committed by force or fear. Also,
a) The reporting shall not be construed to affect
privileged relationships as provided by law;
b) The duty to notify a peace officer imposed is satisfied
if the notification or an attempt to provide notice is made
by telephone or any other means;
c) Failure to notify as required is a misdemeanor and is
punishable by a fine of not more than $1,500, by
imprisonment in a county jail for not more than six months,
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or by both that fine and imprisonment;
d) The requirements of this section shall not apply to the
following:
i) A person who is related to either the victim or the
offender, including a husband, wife, parent, child,
brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, or other person
related by consanguinity or affinity;
ii) A person who fails to report based on a reasonable
mistake of fact; and,
iii) A person who fails to report based on a reasonable
fear for his or her own safety or for the safety of his
or her family.
2)Provides that in any case in which the defendant, voluntarily
acting in concert with another person, by force or violence
and against the will of the victim, committed an act of rape
or sexual assault, either personally or by aiding and abetting
the other person, that fact shall be charged in the indictment
or information and if found to be true by the jury, upon a
jury trial, or if found to be true by the court, upon a court
trial, or if admitted by the defendant, the defendant shall
suffer confinement in the state prison for five, seven, or
nine years.
3)Provides that every person who, after a felony has been
committed, harbors, conceals or aids a principal in such a
felony, with the intent that said principal may avoid or
escape from arrest, trial, conviction or punishment, having
knowledge that said principal has committed such a felony or
has been charged with such a felony or convicted thereof is an
accessory to the felony and is guilty of an alternate
felony/misdemeanor.
4)Provides that it is a crime for any person having knowledge of
the actual commission of a crime to take money or property of
another, or any gratuity or reward, or any engagement or
promise thereof upon any agreement or understanding to
compound or conceal a crime or abstain from any prosecution
thereof or to withhold any evidence thereof. The penalty for
such crime is an alternate felony/misdemeanor if the crime
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being concealed was punishable by death or life in prison or
any other felony and a six-month misdemeanor if the crime
being concealed was a misdemeanor.
5)Imposes specified requirements on a mandated reporter, as
defined, with respect to the observation and reporting of
physical abuse of an elder or dependent adult, with failure to
report punishable as a misdemeanor.
6)Provides for the reporting of actual or suspected physical or
other abuse, as defined, of an elder or dependent adult by
specified persons and entities, including care custodians, and
imposes various requirements on state and local agencies in
processing, investigating, and reporting on these reports.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis:
1)No direct state cost.
2)Unknown, likely minor, non-reimbursable local costs to the
extent eliminating the victim age requirement results in
additional prosecutions under the existing misdemeanor failure
to report statute.
3)Unknown, potentially moderate, state costs for increased state
incarceration to the extent eliminating the victim age
requirement results in more and/or more successful
prosecutions and additional state prison commitments for
murder, rape, and specified lewd and lascivious acts. For
example, just two additional annual state prison commitments
per year would result in increased annual General Fund costs
of almost $300,000 in three years. Costs could increase
depending on the conviction offense and the sentence.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "On October 24th, 2009, a
young woman, only 16 years old, left her high school dance to
get a ride from her father when she joined some young men and
began drinking with them. They soon began their assault.
Several of the men beat her, robbed her, and began repeatedly
raping her while people looked on without taking any action.
"Police think that there were up to 10 attackers and anywhere
from 15 to 20 people stopping to watch. Authorities said people
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took photos, laughed and some joined in as the girl was
repeatedly assaulted. People came and went and no one called
the police.
"Under current law, had the victim of this rape been under 14
years of age, observers would have been committing a misdemeanor
punishable by a fine of not more than $1,500, imprisonment for
up to 6 months, or both. The victim in this case was 16, which
means that the observers of her attack were not held
accountable.
"This bill removes the age threshold that requires an observer
to report the act of a murder, rape or crime described in Penal
Code 288(b)(1) against a person."
Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this
bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0003612