BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2478
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2478 (Mendoza) - As Amended: April 5, 2010
Policy Committee: Public Safety
Vote: 6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill expands an existing misdemeanor regarding disrupting
school activities absent lawful presence to include willfully
creating a disruption with the intent to threaten the immediate
physical safety of students.
FISCAL EFFECT
Unknown, likely minor nonreimbursable local incarceration costs,
offset to a degree by increased fine revenue.
COMMENT
1)Rationale. This bill is intended to address relatively rare
situations in which current law may not be sufficiently
explicit. The author and proponents cite a 2003 situation in
which a group - the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform - protesting
abortion circled an L.A. Unified middle school in vehicles
displaying large graphic pictures of aborted fetuses while
students were arriving at school. Students became upset - some
frightened, some angry. School officials called the Sheriff's
Department who determined the protesters were violating Penal
Code Section 626.8, which makes it a misdemeanor to disrupt
students or school, as specified.
AB 2478
Page 2
The court ruled in favor the L.A. Sheriff's Department and the
L.A. Unified when the Center contended its First Amendment
rights had been violated, but the Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals ruled in favor of the Center, noting, however, that
more explicit statutory language might well change the
outcome of similar situations should they occur.
2)Current law states that any person who enters any school
building, school grounds, or adjacent streets or walkways,
without lawful business, and whose presence disrupts the
school or its pupils, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable
by up to six months in county jail and/or a fine of up to
$500, if he or she does any of the following:
a) Remains after being asked to leave by school official or
peace officer;
b) Returns to the school or adjacent vicinity within seven
days of being asked to leave, or establishes a pattern of
unauthorized entry.
3)Support . The L.A. Unified School District states, "This
proposed legislation does not unduly burden the right of free
expression, but rather, would ensure that, while individuals
are free to express themselves, such expression will not
result in threats to the physical safety of children by
causing disruption if it takes place outside of areas already
identified in the statute. This bill clarifies the statute,
thereby enabling schools to better ensure the safety and
well-being of the students in their care."
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081