BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 18|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 18
Author: Oropeza (D)
Amended: 5/5/09
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/28/09
AYES: Leno, Benoit, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,
Wright
SUBJECT : Elder or dependent adult abuse
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill increases the fines for specified
crimes against elder or dependent adults.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that any person who
knows or reasonably should know that a person is an elder
or dependant adult and who, under circumstances or
conditions likely to produce great bodily harm or death,
willfully causes or permits any elder or dependent adult
and who, under circumstances or conditions likely to
produce great bodily harm or death, willfully causes or
permits any elder or dependant adult to suffer, or inflicts
thereon unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or
having the care or custody of any elder or dependant adult,
willfully causes or permits the person or health of the
elder or dependant adult to be injured, or willfully causes
or permits the elder or dependent adult to be placed in a
situation in which his or her person or health is
CONTINUED
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endangered is a wobbler punishable by imprisonment in the
county jail not exceeding one year or by a fine of up to
$6,000 ($22,800 with penalty assessments), or both the fine
and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison
for two, three or four years. Additional enhancements
apply if the person actually suffers great bodily injury.
(Penal Code 368 (b).)
This bill provides that the fine is $6,000 upon a first
conviction or a fine not to exceed $10,000 upon a second or
subsequent conviction.
Existing law provides that any person who knows or
reasonably should know that a person is an elder or
dependant adult and who, under circumstances or conditions
other than those likely to produce great bodily harm or
death, willfully causes or permits any elder or dependant
adult to suffer, or inflicts thereon unjustifiable physical
pain or mental suffering, or having the care or custody of
any elder or dependant adult, willfully causes or permits
the person or health of the elder or dependant adult to be
injured, or willfully causes or permits the elder or
dependant adult to be placed in a situation in which his or
her person or health may be endangered, is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a
fine up to $1,000 ($3,800 with penalty assessments). A
second or subsequent violation of this subdivision is
punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,000, or by
imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year, or by
both that fine and imprisonment. (Penal Code 368 (c).)
This bill increases the fine for a second and subsequent
violation of Penal Code Section 368(c) to a fine not to
exceed $5,000 and/or up to one year in county jail.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/5/09)
ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION, California Council
California State Sheriffs' Association
Congress of California Seniors
Peace Officers Research Association of California
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Professional Fiduciary Association of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"Anecdotal evidence as well as hard numbers from various
law enforcement agencies make it clear that elder abuse is
still very much a hidden, pervasive, and deadly crime. It
is vital that enforcement efforts are ramped up, penalties
are increased, and attention is brought to what is, even
today, a widespread crime with little public attention paid
to it.
"No one can tell for sure just how many of our elderly are
being abused, but several research institutes have issued
reports stating that nationally there could be up to 5
million cases a year, with 84 percent going unreported.
"In California alone, California Adult Protective Services
(APS), back in 2000, estimated a monthly average of 872
confirmed elder abuse cases (see New Directions for Elder
and Dependant Adult Abuse and Adult Protective Services in
California: A Six Month Review, 4, available at
http://www.dss.cahwnet.gov/research/res/pdf/APSPub.pdf
(Last visited Oct. 29, 2002).
"This is an ongoing problem in California. In 1998, a
General Accounting Office (GAO) Report noted that there
were "significant care problems" in nearly one-third of all
California nursing homes, and the California Department of
Social Services and the GAO estimated that "225,000
incidents of adult abuse occur annually in the state, but
only 44,000 or less than one-fifth are reported." (See
Elder and Dependant Adult Abuse: Analysis of SB 2199 Before
the Sen. Rules Comm., 1997-98 Sess., available at
http://infor.sen.ca.gov/pub/97-98/bill/sen/sb_2151-2200/sb_2
199cfa_19980830_142652_sem_floor.html(Aug . 28, 1998).
"There is no comprehensive federal elder abuse law, and
into this void, the states must step.
"The Washington Post, in an article dated January 8, 2008,
(http:www.washingtonpost.com/wp-
dyn/content/article/2008/01/25/AR2008012502774_pf.html),
state that, 'All other factors being equal, victims of even
relative minor mistreatment are three times more likely to
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die prematurely than those who are not victimized ?the
public has not yet embraced elder abuse as a public policy
issue.'
"Abuse is pervasive. It takes place in both
institutional and home-based care settings, with the
vast majority (70-90 percent) of abusers being a
relative.
"The flood of baby boomers headed to retirement homes
across the nation is going to exacerbate this problem
unless strong measures are taken now. By 2020,
California will have over 9 million aged residents.
"Many caretakers and senior organizations feel the
existing penalties, even with criminal penalty
enhancements, are simply not strong enough to serve as
a deterrent.
"Therefore, SB 18 would enhance penalties against abusers,
and at the same time bring more public attention
desperately needed to this ever-increasing population with
its attendant, ever-increasing abuse."
RJG:cm 5/5/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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