BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1675|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1675
Author: Hagman (R), et al
Amended: 6/14/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/22/10
AYES: Leno, Cogdill, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,
Wright
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 4/22/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Trespass: zoo, circus, animal exhibit and
aquarium
Enclosures
SOURCE : San Francisco Zoo
DIGEST : This bill are to (1) define a new form of
trespass that would be committed where a person, without
consent and contrary to a posted notice, enters an animal
enclosure in a zoo, circus, aquarium or traveling animal
exhibit, and (2) provides that the offense shall be an
alternate misdemeanor-infraction.
ANALYSIS : Existing law states that it is a misdemeanor
punishable by six months in county jail for every person
who willfully enters any lands under cultivation or
enclosed by fence, belonging to, or occupied by, another,
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or entering upon uncultivated or unenclosed lands where
signs forbidding trespass are displayed at intervals not
less than three to the mile along all exterior boundaries
and at all roads and trails entering the lands without the
written permission of the owner of the land, the owner's
agent or of the person in lawful possession and:
1. Refuses or fails to leave the lands immediately upon
being requested by the owner of the land, the owner's
agent or by the person in lawful possession to leave the
lands.
2. Tears down, mutilates, or destroys any sign, signboard,
or notice forbidding trespass or hunting on the lands.
3. Removes, injures, unlocks, or tampers with any lock on
any gate on or leading into the lands.
4. Discharges any firearm. (Penal Code Section 602(l).]
Existing law provides that any person who willfully enters
and occupies real property or structures of any kind
without the consent of the owner, the owner's agent, or the
person in lawful possession, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(Penal Code Section 602(m).)
Existing law allows for prosecution against those who
refuse or fail to leave land, real property, or structures
belonging to or lawfully occupied by another and not open
to the general public, upon being requested to leave by a
peace officer at the request of the owner, the owner's
agent, or the person in lawful possession, and upon being
informed by the peace officer that he or she is acting at
the request of the owner, the owner's agent, or the person
in lawful possession or the owner, the owner's agent, or
the person in lawful possession. (Penal Code Section
602(o).)
Existing law provides that any person who, without the
written permission of the landowner, the owner's agent, or
the person in lawful possession of the land, willfully
enters any lands under cultivation or enclosed by a fence,
belonging to, or occupied by, another, or who willfully
enters upon uncultivated or unenclosed lands where signs
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forbidding trespass are displayed at intervals not less
than three to the mile along all exterior boundaries and at
all roads and trials entering lands, is guilty of a public
offense punishable as follows:
1. A first offense is an infraction punishable by a fine of
$75.
2. A second offense on the same land or any contiguous land
of the same landowner, without the permission of the
landowner, the landowner's agent, or the person in
lawful possession of the land, is an infraction
punishable by a fine of $250.
3. A third or subsequent offense on the same land or any
contiguous land of the same landowner, without the
permission of the landowner, the landowner's agent, or
the person in lawful possession of the land, is a
six-month misdemeanor. (Penal Code Section 602.8.)
This bill makes it an alternate misdemeanor-infraction for
any person, without consent, to enter an animal enclosure
at a zoo, circus, or traveling animal exhibit, if the zoo,
circus or exhibit is licensed or permitted to display
living animals to the public. A misdemeanor conviction is
punishable by up to six-months in the county jail, a fine
not exceed $1,000, or both. An infraction conviction is
punishable by a fine of up to $250.
This bill provides that the crime only applies if signs
prohibiting entrance into the animal enclosures have been
posted either at the entrance to the facility or exhibit or
on the animal enclosure.
This bill includes cross-references and statutory
provisions for the application of standard
alternate-misdemeanor infraction procedures to this
offense.
This bill creates exemptions for a zoo employee acting
within the course of his or her employment and a public
officer acting within the course and scope of his or her
employment in performance of a duty imposed by law.
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This bill defines a "zoo" as a permanent or semi-permanent
collection of living animals kept in enclosures for the
purpose of displaying the animals to the public, including
public aquariums displaying aquatic animals.
This bill provides that an "animal enclosure" is a discrete
containment area, such as the interior of a cage, stall,
pen, aquarium or tank, that is used to house or display an
animal and which is not generally accessible to the public.
This bill includes an exception for a public officer acting
within the scope or his or her employment.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/4/10)
San Francisco Zoo (source)
CA Travel Industry Association
California Association of Joint Powers Authorities
California Association of Zoos and Aquariums
Sacramento Zoo
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office
current trespassing laws do not fully protect our zoos and
the endangered species in these facilities. This bill
helps California zoos better protect their animals and
deter anyone who tries to harm them.
The San Francisco Zoo argues in support of this bill and
states, "As currently interpreted, current law allows any
individual to enter into any zoological animal exhibit or
holding area despite the potential threat to themselves,
the living animals housed therein, the staff, or the
visiting public if they are not intending to 'occupy', or
live in, the animal exhibit or enclosure.
"We believe this decision sets a dangerous precedent that
would allow anyone unsupervised or without the required
permissions to enter into living animal exhibits, exposing
themselves to serious bodily harm with the result that they
in turn could sue the zoological facility or the government
entity owning or operating the facility as a result of such
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behavior."
In September 2009 a man by the name of Kenneth Herron
entered the Grizzly Bear Grotto at the San Francisco Zoo
without authority. When the Zoo pressed charges of
trespassing the judge threw out the case on the grounds
that trespassing was akin to anti squatting laws and to be
found guilty required the intruder to intend to occupy the
area. "The defendant jumped an electrified wall and a
separate fence, jumped [14] feet into a moat, perched
himself in the grizzly bears' living area and showed no
signs of leaving before zookeepers fired a shotgun and
forcibly removed him? If that isn't trespassing, I don't
know what is." Brian Buckelew- spokesman for District
Attorney Harris. Zoos now fear copycats. This event was
just one of three total bear enclosure break-ins world wide
within the past year.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,
Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,
Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,
Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,
Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra
Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,
Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Blumenfield, Caballero, Huber, Huffman,
Norby, Vacancy
RJG:do 8/4/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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