BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 834
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 4, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                     SB 834 (Florez) - As Amended:  June 1, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                             Public  
          SafetyVote:7-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill authorizes the court, upon conviction or adjudication  
          of a defendant for a sex offense involving a minor victim, to  
          issue orders prohibiting the defendant, for up to 10 years, from  
          harassing or threatening the victim, or the victim's family  
          members or spouse. Violation of the order would be a  
          misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in county jail and/or  
          a fine of up to $5,000, with subsequent offenses within seven  
          years of a prior conviction punishable as a wobbler - up 16  
          months, two, or three years in state prison, or up to one year  
          in county jail.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Unknown annual GF costs, potentially in excess of $150,000, for  
          increased state incarceration. 

          For example, if each year one person is convicted of a felony  
          for violating the harassment order authorized by this bill,  
          annual GF costs would be about $135,000 in out-years, assuming  
          current per capita costs. In addition, if two persons serving  
          state prison time for a sexual offense against a minor are  
          accused or charged of the harassment offense created by this  
          bill, regardless of whether prosecution ensues, they may forfeit  
          up to 90 days of credit, which, assuming per capita costs,  
          amounts to about $24,000. These forfeited credits may be  
          restored.
                      
           COMMENTS
           
           1)Rationale  . The purpose of this bill is to specifically  








                                                                  SB 834
                                                                  Page  2

            authorize the court, upon conviction in a case where the  
            victim was a minor, to prohibit the defendant from harassing,  
            intimidating, threatening the victim or the victim's family  
            members, for up to 10 years. 

           2)The need for the bill does not appear overwhelming  . Current  
            law (a) makes it a wobbler for a person who has been convicted  
            of specified offenses, including sex offenses and lewd acts on  
            a minor, to communicate to a witness or a victim a credible  
            threat to use force or violence upon that person or that  
            person's family; (b) authorizes a court to issue orders to  
            protect a victim or witness upon belief that harm or  
            intimidation of a victim has occurred or is reasonably likely  
            to occur; (c) prohibits release of the addresses of victims  
            and victims' family members in specified circumstances; and  
            (d) authorizes parole and probation to establish conditions  
            that often include no contact with the victim and/or the  
            victim's family. 
          
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081