BILL NUMBER: AB 1763	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 6, 2012
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 19, 2012
	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 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 impanel a
special statewide grand jury, as prescribed, for cases involving
fraud or theft that occur in more than one county and were conducted
by a single defendant or multiple defendants acting in concert.
   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   for 
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  
venue  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 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  , including this
section,  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 any matters in which
there are two or more 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. When impaneling a
special statewide grand jury pursuant to this subdivision, the
Attorney General shall use an existing regularly impaneled 
criminal  grand jury  within the period of its regular
impanelment  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 General 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 statewide 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   county in which 
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  convened pursuant to this subdivision 
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  
Attorney General  and within five court days of the endorsement
of the indictment. For indictments presented to the court in this
manner, the  prosecutor   Attorney General 
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   Attorney General  , 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.
   (d) 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 or
courts.