BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1713
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Date of Hearing: March 20, 2012
Counsel: Sandy Uribe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 1713 (Campos) - As Introduced: February 16, 2012
SUMMARY : Makes "image processors" mandated reporters under the
Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (CANRA) and expands the
list of media subject to CANRA provisions. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Expands the list of persons identified as mandated reporters
to include image processors.
2)Defines an "image processor" as any person who "prepares,
publishes, produces, develops, duplicates, or prints any
representation of information, data, or an image, including,
but not limited to, any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative,
slide, photocopy, videotape, video laser disk, computer
hardware, computer software, computer floppy disk, data
storage medium, CD-ROM, computer-generated equipment, or
computer-generated image, for compensation."
3)Expands the list of media to which CANRA provisions apply to
include, among other things, any representation of
information, data, or an image.
4)Makes technical, non-substantive changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires that any mandated reporter who has knowledge of, or
observes, a child in his or her professional capacity or
within the scope of his or her employment whom he or she
knows, or reasonably suspects, has been the victim of child
abuse shall report that incident immediately to a specified
child protection agency by telephone, and further requires a
written report be sent within 36 hours. �Penal Code Section
11166(a).]
2)Defines a "mandated reporter" under CANRA as any of the
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following: a teacher; an instructional aide; a teacher's aide
or teacher's assistant employed by any public or private
school; a classified employee of any public school; an
administrative officer or supervisor of child welfare and
attendance, or a certificated pupil personnel employee of any
public or private school; an administrator of a public or
private day camp; an administrator or employee of a public or
private youth center, youth recreation program, or youth
organization; an administrator or employee of a public or
private organization whose duties require direct contact and
supervision of children; any employee of a county office of
education or the State Department of Education, whose duties
bring the employee into contact with children on a regular
basis; a licensee, an administrator, or an employee of a
licensed community care or child day care facility; a Head
Start program teacher; a licensing worker or licensing
evaluator employed by a licensing agency as defined; a public
assistance worker; an employee of a child care institution,
including, but not limited to, foster parents, group home
personnel, and personnel of residential care facilities; a
social worker, probation officer, or parole officer; an
employee of a school district police or security department;
any person who is an administrator or presenter of, or a
counselor in, a child abuse prevention program in any public
or private school; a district attorney investigator,
inspector, or local child support agency caseworker unless the
investigator, inspector, or caseworker is working with an
attorney appointed to represent a minor; a peace officer, as
defined, who is not otherwise described in this section; a
firefighter, except for volunteer firefighters; a physician
and surgeon, psychiatrist, psychologist, dentist, resident,
intern, podiatrist, chiropractor, licensed nurse, dental
hygienist, optometrist, marriage and family therapist,
clinical social worker, professional clinical counselor, or
any other person who is currently licensed as a health care
professional as specified; any emergency medical technician I
or II, paramedic, or other person certified to provide
emergency medical services; a registered psychological
assistant; a marriage and family therapist trainee, as
defined; a registered unlicensed marriage and family therapist
intern; a state or county public health employee who treats a
minor for venereal disease or any other condition; a coroner;
a medical examiner, or any other person who performs
autopsies; a commercial film and photographic print processor,
as defined; a child visitation monitor, as defined; an animal
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control officer or humane society officer, as defined; a
clergy member, as defined; any custodian of records of a
clergy member, as specified; any employee of any police
department, county sheriff's department, county probation
department, or county welfare department; an employee or
volunteer of a Court Appointed Special Advocate program, as
defined; any custodial officer, as defined; any person
providing services to a minor child, as specified; an alcohol
and drug counselor, as defined; a clinical counselor trainee,
as defined; and a registered clinical counselor intern.
�Penal Code Section 11165.7(a).]
3)Requires a commercial film and photographic print processor
who has knowledge of or observes, within the scope of his or
her professional capacity or employment, any film, photograph,
videotape, negative, or slide depicting a child under the age
of 16 years engaged in an act of sexual conduct, to
telephonically report to the law enforcement agency having
jurisdiction over the case immediately, or as soon as
practicably possible, and subsequently to prepare and send,
fax, or electronically transmit a written report with a copy
of the film, photograph, videotape, negative, or slide
attached. The written report must be transmitted within 36
hours. �Penal Code Section 11166(e).]
4)Provides that mandated reporters shall not incur any civil or
criminal liability for disseminating photographs with the
reports required by CANRA. �Penal Code Section 11172.]
5)Provides that the reporting duties under CANRA are individual,
and no supervisor or administrator may impede or inhibit the
reporting duties, and no person making a report shall be
subject to any sanctions for making the report. �Penal Code
Section 11166(i)(1).]
6)Provides that any mandated reporter who fails to report an
incident of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or
neglect is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six
months confinement in a county jail, or by a fine of $1,000,
or by both imprisonment and fine. �Penal Code Section
11166(c).]
7)Strongly encourages employers to provide their employees who
are mandated reporters with training in the duties imposed by
CANRA. This training shall include training in child abuse
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and neglect identification and training in child abuse and
neglect reporting. Whether or not employers provide their
employees with training in child abuse and neglect
identification and reporting, the employers shall provide
their employees who are mandated reporters with a statement
that informs the employee that he or she is a mandated
reporter and informs the employee of his or her reporting
obligations and of his or her confidentiality rights. �Penal
Code Section 11165.7(c).]
8)Requires that any person who reasonably believes he or she has
observed the commission of a murder, rape, or lewd act upon a
child under the age of 14 years to notify a peace officer, and
provides that the failure to do so is a misdemeanor punishable
by a fine of not more than $1,500, by imprisonment in a county
jail for not more than six months, or by both that fine and
imprisonment. �Penal Code Section 152.3.]
9)Excludes from the reporting requirements for those three
crimes the following people:
a) A person who is related to either the victim or the
offender, including a husband, wife, parent, child,
brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, or other person
related by consanguinity or affinity;
b) A person who fails to report based on a reasonable
mistake of fact; and
c) A person who fails to report based on a reasonable fear
for his or her own safety or for the safety of his or her
family. �Penal Code Section 152.3(e).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author," Modernization
of the terminology in the Penal Code is needed to reflect
advances in image reproduction technology and bring our
mandated reporter law into the digital age. Under current
law, 'commercial film and photographic print processor' means
any person who develops exposed photographic film into
negatives, slides, or prints, or who makes prints from
negatives or slides, for compensation. Which makes me ask -
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When was the last time you developed a roll of film?
"I can tell you that the criminal child abusers are not using
'exposed film' to create 'prints,' and from that child
pornography. They are using computers and smart phones and
flash drives to create and share digital images in data-based
formats. This fact was confirmed by a 2005 Department of
Justice study of child pornography possessors arrested in
Internet-related crimes, which revealed that 96% had images on
hard drives or removable media, and ONLY 18% possessed images
in photographs, books or magazines.
"An updated definition of digital image is already included in
the Penal Code definition of child exploitation, which covers,
film, filmstrip, photograph, negative, slide, photocopy,
videotape, video laser disc, computer hardware, computer
software, computer floppy disc, data storage media, CD-ROM, or
computer-generated equipment or any other computer-generated
images. It is a gap in the law that the mandated reporters
most likely to come across these images - commercial film and
photographic print processors - are not expressly required to
report suspected child abuse or neglect to authorities when
they appear in digital and not photo-negative form. AB 1713
would close that gap."
2)Arguments in Support : According to the American Federation of
State, County and Municipal Employees , "California law
requires certain individuals, who by virtue of their position
or profession have a unique position of responsibility toward
children, to report child abuse. These individuals are known
as Mandated Reporters, and according to Penal Code Section
11165.7 (29), include 'commercial film and photographic print
processors.' Currently, 'commercial film and print processor'
means any person who develops exposed photographic film into
negatives, slides, or prints, or who makes prints from
negatives or slides, for compensation. This definition is out
of date in this modern era of digital cameras and smart phones
. . . . "
"Modernization of the terminology and technology used in the PC
provisions for mandated reporters is needed to reflect the
language already included in the PC definition of child
exploitation."
3)Related Legislation :
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a) AB 1434 (Feuer) makes an employee of a public or private
institution of higher education a mandated reporter. AB
1434 is pending by the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
b) AB 1435 (Dickinson) makes coaches, administrators, and
directors employed by a public or private organization
mandated reporters. AB 1435 is pending by the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
c) AB 1438 (Bradford) makes it a misdemeanor punishable by
up to six months in the county jail to fail to report to a
peace officer an instance of known or suspected lewd acts
upon a child 14 years or younger. AB 1438 is pending by
the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
d) AB 1564 (Lara) makes volunteers of public and private
organizations, including non-profits, mandated reporters
under CANRA, and revokes a non-profit's tax-exempt status
if an employee or volunteer fails to report an instance of
known or suspected child abuse. AB 1713 is pending hearing
by this Committee.
e) AB 1628 (Beall) makes technical, non-substantive changes
to the CANRA. AB 1628 is pending referral by the Assembly
Rules Committee.
f) AB 1817 (Atkins) expands the list of persons identified
as mandated reporters to include commercial computer
technicians. AB 1817 is pending hearing by this Committee.
g) SB 1264 (Vargas) expands the list of persons identified
as mandated reporters to include athletic coaches at public
or private postsecondary institutions, and increases the
penalties for failure to report an incident. SB 1264 is
pending hearing by the Senate Public Safety Committee.
4)Prior Legislation :
a) SB 646 (Watson), Chapter 1444, Statutes of 1987,
established CANRA, which requires specified persons who
have knowledge of or observe a child in their professional
capacity or within the scope of their employment, whom the
person knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of
child abuse to report the known or suspected instance of
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child abuse to a child protective agency, as defined.
b) AB 1241 (Pacheco), Chapter 916, Statutes of 2000,
expanded the list of mandated reporters and training
requirements under CANRA, and required that additional
information be included in a report of suspected child
abuse or neglect.
c) AB 2304 (Runner), of the 2005-06 Legislative Session,
would have made commercial computer technicians mandated
reporters for the purpose of CANRA. AB 2304 failed
passage in the Senate Public Safety Committee, was granted
reconsideration, failed passage again, and was returned to
the Secretary of the Senate.
d) AB 525 (Chu), Chapter 701, Statutes of 2006, expanded
the definition of "child abuse and neglect" to include
instances in which a child suffers or is at substantial
risk of suffering serious emotional damage.
e) AB 673 (Hayashi), Chapter 393, Statutes of 2007, added
death by other than accidental means to the definition of
"child abuse and neglect," and clarified that a mandated
reporter not acting in his or her private capacity or in
the course and scope of his or her employment may report
instances of known or suspected child abuse.
f) AB 2380 (Lowenthal), Chapter 123, Statutes of 2010,
clarified that a "reasonable suspicion" that a child has
been a victim of child abuse or neglect does not require
certainty that a child has been abused, and may be based on
credible information from other individuals.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
BizParentz Foundation
Crime Victims United of California
Opposition
None
AB 1713
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Analysis Prepared by : Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744