BILL NUMBER: AB 1763	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 25, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 11, 2012
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 22, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Davis

                        FEBRUARY 17, 2012

   An act to amend Sections 781 and 923 of the Penal Code, relating
to grand jury proceedings.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1763, as amended, Davis. Grand jury proceedings: Attorney
General: powers and duties.
   Existing law authorizes the Attorney General to convene the grand
jury to investigate and consider certain criminal matters. The
Attorney General is authorized to take full charge of the
presentation of the matters to the grand jury, issue subpoenas,
prepare indictments, and do all other things incident thereto to the
same extent as the district attorney may do. Existing law authorizes
the Attorney General to  empanel   impanel 
a special grand jury to investigate, consider, or issue indictments
for specified activities relating to Medi-Cal fraud.
   This bill also would authorize the Attorney General to convene a
special  statewide  grand jury, as prescribed, for cases
involving fraud or theft that  occurs   occur
 in more than one county  and where all potential
charges could not otherwise be brought in a single county 
and were conducted by a single defendant or multiple defendants
acting in concert.  The bill would establish the Attorney
General's Special Grand Jury Fund in the State Treasury and would
require each defendant convicted of charges brought by a special
grand jury to pay a fine of $500 into that fund to be used upon
appropriation of the Legislature. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 781 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   781.  Except as provided in Section 923, when a public offense is
committed in part in one jurisdictional territory and in part in
another, or the acts or effects thereof constituting or requisite to
the consummation of the offense occur in two or more jurisdictional
territories, the jurisdiction of the offense is in any competent
court within either jurisdictional territory.
  SEC. 2.  Section 923 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   923.  (a) Whenever the Attorney General considers that the public
interest requires, he or she may, with or without the concurrence of
the district attorney, direct the grand jury to convene for the
investigation and consideration of those matters of a criminal nature
that he or she desires to submit to it. He or she may take full
charge of the presentation of the matters to the grand jury, issue
subpoenas, prepare indictments, and do all other things incident
thereto to the same extent as the district attorney may do.
   (b) Whenever the Attorney General considers that the public
interest requires, he or she may, with or without the concurrence of
the district attorney, petition the court to impanel a special grand
jury to investigate, consider, or issue indictments for any of the
activities subject to fine, imprisonment, or asset forfeiture under
Section 14107 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. He or she may
take full charge of the presentation of the matters to the grand
jury, issue subpoenas, prepare indictments, and do all other things
incident thereto to the same extent as the district attorney may do.
If the evidence presented to the grand jury shows the commission of
an offense or offenses for which jurisdiction would be in a county
other than the county where the grand jury is impaneled, the Attorney
General, with or without the concurrence of the district attorney in
the county with jurisdiction over the offense or offenses, may
petition the court to impanel a special grand jury in that county.
Notwithstanding any other  provision of  law, upon
request of the Attorney General, a grand jury convened by the
Attorney General pursuant to this subdivision may submit confidential
information obtained by that grand jury, including, but not limited
to documents and testimony, to a second grand jury that has been
impaneled at the request of the Attorney General pursuant to this
subdivision in any other county where venue for an offense or
offenses shown by evidence presented to the first grand jury is
proper. All confidentiality provisions governing information,
testimony, and evidence presented to a grand jury shall be applicable
 ,  except as expressly permitted by this subdivision. The
Attorney General shall inform the grand jury that transmits
confidential information and the grand jury that receives
confidential information of any exculpatory evidence, as required by
Section 939.71. The grand jury that transmits information to another
grand jury shall include the exculpatory evidence disclosed by the
Attorney General in the transmission of the confidential information.
The Attorney General shall inform both the grand jury transmitting
the confidential information and the grand jury receiving that
information of their duties under Section 939.7. A special grand jury
convened pursuant to this subdivision shall be in addition to the
other grand juries authorized by this chapter or Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 893).
   (c) Whenever the Attorney General considers that the public
interest requires, he or she may, with or without the concurrence of
the district attorney, impanel a special  statewide  grand
jury to investigate, consider, or issue indictments in matters in
which there are multiple activities, in which fraud or theft is a
material element, that have occurred in more than one county  ,
 and  were  conducted either by a single defendant or
multiple defendants acting in concert.
   (1) This special  statewide  grand jury may be impaneled
in the Counties of Fresno, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, or San
Francisco, at the Attorney General's discretion.  A special
grand jury impaneled under this section shall serve for a term of 18
months unless dismissed earlier by the Attorney General. Upon notice
by the Attorney General to the grand jury coordinator or presiding
judge of the county where the special grand jury is impaneled, the
special grand jury's term can be extended by up to six months. This
special grand jury is subject to the requirements of Sections 888.2,
893 and 940.   When impaneling a special statewide grand
jury pursuant to this subdivision, the Attorney General shall use an
existing regularly impaneled grand jury to serve as the special
statewide grand jury and make arrangements with the grand jury
coordinator in the applicable county, or with the presiding judge or
whoever is charged with scheduling the grand jury hearings, in order
to ensure orderly coordination and use of the grand jurors' time for
both regular grand jury duties and special statewide grand jury
duties. Whenever the Attorney G   eneral impanels a 
 special statewide grand jury, the prosecuting attorney
representing the Attorney General shall inform the special statewide
grand jury at the outset of the case that the special grand jury is
acting as a special statewide grand jury with statewide jurisdiction.

   (2) For special  statewide  grand juries impaneled
pursuant to this subdivision, the Attorney General may issue
subpoenas for documents and witnesses located anywhere in the state
in order to obtain evidence to present to the special  statewide
 grand jury. The special  statewide  grand jury may
hear all evidence in the form of testimony or physical evidence
presented to the special  statewide  grand jury,
irrespective of the location of the witness or physical evidence
prior to subpoena. The special  statewide  grand jury
impaneled pursuant to this subdivision may indict a person or persons
with charges for crimes that occurred in counties other than where
the special  statewide  grand jury is impaneled. The
indictment shall then be submitted to the appropriate court in any of
the counties where any of the charges could otherwise have been
properly brought. The court where the indictment is filed under this
subdivision shall have proper jurisdiction over all counts in the
indictment.
   (3) Notwithstanding Section 944, an indictment found by a special
 statewide  grand jury and endorsed as a true bill by the
special  statewide  grand jury foreperson, may be presented
to the appropriate court, as set forth in paragraph (2), solely by
the prosecutor and within five court days of the endorsement of the
indictment. For indictments presented to the court in this manner,
the prosecutor shall also file with the court or court clerk, at the
time of presenting the indictment, an affidavit signed by the special
 statewide  grand jury foreperson attesting that all the
jurors who voted on the indictment heard all of the evidence
presented by the prosecutor, and that a proper number of jurors voted
for the indictment pursuant to Section 940. The Attorney General's
Office shall be responsible for prosecuting an indictment produced by
the special  statewide  grand jury.
   (4) If a defendant makes a timely and successful challenge to the
Attorney General's right to convene a special  statewide 
grand jury by clearly demonstrating that the charges brought are not
encompassed by this subdivision, the court shall dismiss the
indictment without prejudice to the Attorney General, who may bring
the same or other charges against the defendant at a later date by
way of another special  statewide  grand jury, properly
convened, or a regular grand jury, or by any other procedure
available.
   (5) The provisions of Section 939.71 shall apply to the special
 statewide  grand jury.
   (6) Unless otherwise set forth in this section, a law applying to
a regular grand jury impaneled pursuant to Section 23 of Article I of
the California Constitution shall apply to a special  statewide
 grand jury unless the application of the law to a special 
statewide  grand jury would substantially interfere with the
execution of one or more of the provisions of this section. If there
is substantial interference, the provision governing the special 
statewide  grand jury will govern.
   (7) A special  statewide  grand jury convened pursuant to
this subdivision shall be in addition to the other grand juries
authorized by this chapter or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section
893).
   (d)  (1)    Upon certification
by the Attorney General, a statement of the costs directly related to
the impanelment and activities of the grand jury pursuant to
subdivisions (b) and (c) from the presiding judge of the superior
court where the grand jury was impaneled shall be submitted for state
reimbursement of the costs to the county. To be reimbursed, the
costs shall be itemized, and be no more than what would be charged to
a regularly impaneled grand jury convened by the county pursuant to
Section 23 of Article I of the California Constitution, unless an
alternative payment arrangement is agreed upon by the county and the
Attorney General. 
   (2) A defendant convicted on charges brought by a special grand
jury pursuant to this section shall pay a fine of five hundred
dollars ($500), which shall be assessed by the court and transmitted
to the Attorney General's Special Grand Jury Fund, which is hereby
established in the State Treasury to be used upon appropriation of
the Legislature.