BILL NUMBER: AB 1392 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Tran
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Section 290.004 of add
Section 640.9 to the Penal Code, relating to sex
offenders vandalism, and making an
appropriation therefor .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1392, as amended, Tran. Sex offenders: mentally
disordered offenders. Vandalism: Graffiti and Gang
Technology Fund .
Under existing law, a person is guilty of vandalism if he or she
maliciously destroys, damages, or defaces with graffiti or other
inscribed material any real or personal property that is not his or
her own. The court is authorized to order a defendant who is
convicted of vandalism to clean up, repair, or replace the damaged
property, or to order the defendant, and his or her parents if the
defendant is a minor, to keep the damaged property or another
specified property in the community free of graffiti for up to one
year.
Under existing law, any person who actively participates in any
criminal street gang with knowledge that its members engage in a
pattern of criminal gang activity and who promotes felonious criminal
conduct by members of that gang is guilty of a felony and shall be
punished, as specified.
Existing law establishes the Graffiti Removal and Damage Recovery
Program by which a city, county, city and county, or other public
agency may elect to have the probation officer of the county recoup
for it, through juvenile court proceedings, the costs associated with
the defacement by minors of its property and the property of others,
as specified. The program requires minors who are found to be within
the jurisdiction of the juvenile court by reason of committing
specified acts of vandalism, as a condition of probation, to wash,
paint, repair, or replace the property defaced, damaged, or destroyed
by the minor or otherwise pay restitution as well as the costs of
identifying and apprehending the minor, as specified. The court is
required to order the minor or the minor's estate to pay those costs
to the probation officer to the extent the court determines that the
minor or the minor's estate have the ability to do so, as specified.
This bill would provide that any person who commits specified acts
of vandalism shall, in addition to any other punishment, pay a fine
of $150, or $300 if the person is also determined to have committed a
gang-related offense, as defined. By increasing the punishment for
existing crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
This bill would establish the Graffiti and Gang Technology Fund
for deposit of the vandalism fines, to be continuously appropriated
to the Department of Justice exclusively for the direct or indirect
costs of technological advancements for law enforcement in the
identification and apprehension of vandals and gang members, as
specified. The bill would provide that the distribution of funds
shall be made by the CalGang Executive Board based on the
recommendations of the California Gang Node Advisory Committee and
the California Graffiti Advisory Committee. The bill would require
the department to maintain annual fiscal reports on the fund, and to
prepare an annual report with specified information for submission to
the CalGang Executive Board.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Existing law requires specified persons who have been or are
determined to be mentally disordered sex offenders, or persons who
have been found guilty of a sex offense but found not guilty by
reason of insanity at trial, to register in accordance with the Sex
Offender Registration Act.
This bill would make nonsubstantive changes to those provisions.
Vote: majority 2/3 . Appropriation:
no yes . Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
(a) There is a present, vital, and growing need to develop
innovative strategies and technological services to effectively
reduce the trauma of graffiti and gang violence. A Graffiti and Gang
Technology Fund is needed to safeguard the fiscal integrity of
cities, counties, cities and counties, and the state.
(b) The Legislature declared criminal street gangs to be a clear
and present danger and menace to public order and safety in enacting
the Street Terrorism Enforcement and Prevention Act (Chapter 11
(commencing with Section 186.20) of Title 7 of Part 1 of the Penal
Code).
(c) There is a strong and growing trend of graffiti vandals
becoming more dangerous and developing into criminal street gangs.
(d) Graffiti vandalism is a costly and pervasive problem affecting
all residents, property owners, businesses, and public agencies
across the state.
(e) The California Research Bureau estimates that the statewide
cost of graffiti abatement is potentially upwards of $350 million
annually, the majority of which is borne by local governments. The
overwhelming amount of graffiti vandalism and gang-related criminal
activity far outweighs the resources available to law enforcement for
the identification and apprehension of these offenders.
(f) Law enforcement resources are maximized through technological
advances and the use of shared databases. Cities and counties that
are utilizing graffiti databases, such as the Cities of Pico Rivera
and San Jose, and Orange County, are making quantum leaps in the
identification, apprehension, and intervention of graffiti vandals.
The use of the most advanced technology is clearly the most
cost-effective and responsible approach available. New technologies
make it possible to hold vandals accountable for all the vandalism
they have done by allowing for the retention of information related
to past vandalism.
(g) Graffiti vandalism appears to be a gateway crime for truancy,
trespass, and more dangerous crimes, including those involving gang
activity. Involvement in gangs can be deadly. It is paramount to
intervene with youth as soon as possible if they have begun to be
involved with this type of criminal activity. The use of the most
advanced technology will help law enforcement identify youth
involvement in criminal activity. Early intervention may prevent
further negative consequences for young vandals, their families, and
communities, as has been the case in the City of Pico Rivera.
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature to maximize scarce law
enforcement resources with the utilization of graffiti databases,
shared intelligence databases, and new innovative technologies. The
Legislature finds that prudent stewardship and clear necessity
mandates the establishment of the Graffiti and Gang Technology Fund
for law enforcement.
(i) It is the intent of the Legislature to impose fines on
offenders for deposit into the Graffiti and Gang Technology Fund to
support the procurement of new technology to help eradicate the
damage committed by those offenders. Increased fines for gang-related
graffiti are warranted because of the huge intimidation factor
imposed on the community.
SEC. 2. Section 640.9 is added to the
Penal Code , to read:
640.9. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
section to safeguard the fiscal integrity of cities, counties, cities
and counties, and the state by providing the technology needed to
maximize law enforcement resources through the establishment of a
Graffiti and Gang Technology Fund.
(b) For purposes of this section, "gang-related" means that the
person was an active participant in a criminal street gang, as
specified in subdivision (a) of Section 186.22, or committed an
offense for the benefit of, or at the direction of, a criminal street
gang, as specified in subdivision (b) or (d) of Section 186.22.
(c) Any person who violates Section 594, 594.2, 594.3, 594.4,
640.5, 640.6, or 640.7 shall, in addition to any other punishment,
pay a fine in either of the following amounts, to be deposited in the
Graffiti and Gang Technology Fund:
(1) One hundred fifty dollars ($150).
(2) Three hundred dollars ($300), if the person is also determined
to have committed a gang-related offense.
(d) The court shall order a minor or the minor's estate to pay a
fine imposed pursuant to subdivision (c) to the extent the court
determines that the minor and the minor's estate have the ability to
do so.
(e) Notwithstanding Section 13340 of the Government Code, there is
hereby created in the State Treasury the Graffiti and Gang
Technology Fund, which is hereby appropriated to the Department of
Justice, without regard to fiscal years, exclusively for the direct
or indirect costs of technological advancements for law enforcement
in the identification and apprehension of vandals and gang members.
(1) The fund shall consist of fines received pursuant to
subdivision (c), grants, gifts, and donations or bequests from
private sources. The CalGang Executive Board shall distribute the
funds based on the recommendations of the California Gang Node
Advisory Committee and the California Graffiti Advisory Committee. At
least 30 percent of the funds shall be distributed for
graffiti-related purposes, at least 30 percent of the funds for
gang-related purposes, any funds remaining shall be utilized for law
enforcement's greater need of technology as determined by the CalGang
Executive Board. The department may use up to 4 percent of those
remaining funds for administrative costs, as determined by the
CalGang Executive Board.
(2) The department shall maintain annual fiscal reports on the
Graffiti and Gang Technology Fund in a form consistent with the
generally accepted accounting principles.
(3) The department shall prepare an annual report for submission
to the CalGang Executive Board. The report shall be made available to
the public upon request and shall include all of the following:
(A) The total amount of money deposited into the fund.
(B) The amount of money expended from the fund.
(C) The amount of money remaining in the fund.
(4) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the department may carry over
funds deposited in the Graffiti and Gang Technology Fund until the
time that funds are needed. The CalGang Executive Board may request
funds be saved for a specific need. Records of these funds shall be
available for public review upon request.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
SECTION 1. Section 290.004 of the Penal Code is
amended to read:
290.004. Any person who, since July 1, 1944, has been or
hereafter is determined to be a mentally disordered sex offender
under Article 1 (commencing with Section 6300) of Chapter 2 of Part 2
of Division 6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or any person
who has been found guilty in the guilt phase of a trial for an
offense for which registration is required by this act, but who has
been found not guilty by reason of insanity in the sanity phase of
the trial, shall register in accordance with the Act.