BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 1713 (Campos) - Child abuse reporting: image processors.
Amended: As Introduced Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: July 2, 2012 Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1713 would expand the definition of commercial
film and photographic print processor to include "image"
processors for purposes of mandated child abuse and reporting
laws, as specified.
Fiscal Impact:
Potential ongoing costs to the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation (CDCR), likely less than $150,000
(General Fund) for increased state prison commitments to the
extent increasing the number of mandated reporters results
in additional felony convictions.
Ongoing costs to the Judicial Branch, potentially in the
range of $25,000 to $50,000 (General Fund) for additional
misdemeanor and felony court filings.
Minor, absorbable costs to the Department of Justice (DOJ)
to process additional CANRA reports.
Non-reimbursable local law enforcement costs due to
additional reporting and investigation, as well as increased
enforcement for failure to report, offset to a degree by
fine revenue.
Background: Existing law establishes the Child Abuse and Neglect
Reporting Act, which generally is intended to protect children
from abuse and neglect. Existing law enumerates 40 categories of
persons who are mandated child abuse and neglect reporters and
provides that, except as specified, "a mandated reporter shall
make a report?whenever the mandated reporter, in his or her
professional capacity or within the scope of his or her
employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the
mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the
victim of child abuse or neglect."
AB 1713 (Campos)
Page 1
Under existing law, a mandated reporter includes a commercial
film and photographic print processor, which is defined as "any
person who develops exposed photographic film into negatives,
slides, or prints, or who makes prints from negatives or slides,
for compensation. The term includes any employee of such a
person; it does not include a person who develops film or makes
prints for a public agency."
This bill proposes to revise and update existing law in light of
the widespread creation, duplication, and printing of digital
images via computers and other related image processes in use
today.
Proposed Law: This bill would expand the definition of
commercial film and photographic print processor to include
"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.
Related Legislation: AB 1434 (Feuer) 2012 makes an employee or
administrator of a public or private postsecondary institution,
whose duties bring the employee or administrator into contact
with children on a regular basis or who supervises those whose
duties bring the person into contact with children on a regular
basis, as to child abuse or neglect occurring on that
institution's premises or at an official activity of, or program
conducted by the institution, a mandated reporter. This bill is
scheduled to be heard in this Committee today.
AB 1435 (Dickinson) 2012 makes an athletic coach, athletic
administrator, or athletic director employed by any public or
private school that provides kindergarten or any of grades 1 to
12, inclusive, a mandated reporter. This bill is scheduled to be
heard in this Committee today.
AB 1438 (Bradford) 2012 expands the existing crime for failing
to notify a peace officer of a specified violent crime against a
child under 14 to include non-forcible child molestation. This
bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Public Safety.
AB 1713 (Campos)
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AB 1564 (Lara) 2012 makes volunteers of public or private
organizations including nonprofit organizations, whose duties
require direct contact with and supervision of children,
mandated reporters. This bill was not heard in the Assembly
Committee on Public Safety.
AB 1817 (Atkins) 2012 would make commercial computer
technicians, as specified, mandated reporters. This bill has
been referred to this Committee for analysis.
SB 1264 (Vargas) 2012 would add to the existing list of mandated
reporters any athletic coach, including, but not limited to, an
assistant coach or a graduate assistant involved in coaching, at
public or private postsecondary institutions. This bill has been
referred to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.
Staff Comments: To the extent this bill expands the number of
mandated reporters and/or the scope of reporting requirements
could result in an increased number of incidents reported and
prosecuted, resulting in increased state incarceration costs,
likely less than $150,000 General Fund per year.
The Judicial Council may incur increased misdemeanor filings
related to a mandated reporter's failure to report an incident
of child abuse or neglect, as well as increased felony filings
for investigated reports of abuse that could lead to prosecution
and incarceration. The annual impact to the Judicial Branch
could range from approximately $25,000 to $50,000 for 50
misdemeanor or 25 felony filings per year.
Local law enforcement will also incur non-reimbursable
enforcement costs due to increased reporting and investigations,
as well as enforcement costs associated with failure to report,
offset to a degree by fine revenue.
Recommended Amendments: Existing law does not include a person
who develops film or makes prints for a public agency as a
"commercial film and photographic print processor" for purposes
of mandated reporting. Given the expansion of the definition of
"commercial film and photographic print processor" to include
"image" processors, staff recommends an amendment to revise the
criteria relating to public agencies to reference "images" to
maintain the existing exemption afforded to public agencies, as
AB 1713 (Campos)
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follows:
"The term includes any employee of such a person; it does not
include a person who develops film or makes prints or images for
a public agency."