BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 1817 (Atkins) - Child abuse reporting: commercial computer
technicians.
Amended: June 26, 2012 Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: August 6, 2012
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1817 would add "commercial computer
technicians" to the list of mandated child abuse and neglect
reporters, as specified.
Fiscal Impact:
Potential ongoing costs, 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, likely in the range
of $25,000 to $50,000 (General Fund) for additional
misdemeanor and felony court filings.
Potential ongoing costs (Local Revenue Fund 2011/General
Fund) to county child welfare services departments for
fielding and investigation of increased mandated reports.
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
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mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the
victim of child abuse or neglect."
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 seeks to reflect advances in digital technology and
update the mandated reporter statute to include computer
technicians and computer-related technology.
Proposed Law: This bill would add the category of "commercial
computer technician" to the list of mandated reporters of child
abuse and neglect. Specifically, this bill would define
"commercial computer technician" as a person who works for a
company that is in the business of repairing, installing, or
otherwise servicing a computer or computer component, including
but not limited to, a computer part, device, memory storage or
recording mechanism, auxiliary storage recording or memory
capacity, or any other material relating to the operation and
maintenance of a computer or computer network system, for a fee.
An employer who provides an electronic communications service or
a remote computing service to the public shall be deemed to
comply with this article if that employer complies with Section
2258A of Title 18 of the United States Code.
This bill would authorize an employer of a commercial computer
technician to implement internal procedures for facilitating
reporting, and may direct employees who are mandated reporters
to report specified materials to an employee designated to
receive the reports. Any employee so designated by the employer
to receive the reports is required to be a commercial computer
technician. A commercial computer technician who makes a report
to the designated employee shall be deemed to have complied with
the mandated reporter requirements, as specified.
This bill would require a commercial computer technician to
report when he or she has knowledge of or observes, within the
scope of his or her professional capacity or employment, any
representation of information, data, or an image, including, but
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not limited to, any computer hardware, software, file, floppy
disk, data storage medium, CD-ROM, computer-generated equipment,
or computer-generated image that is retrievable in perceivable
form and that is intentionally saved, transmitted, or organized
on an electronic medium, depicting a child under 16 years of age
engaged in an act of sexual conduct, to immediately, or as soon
as practicably possible, telephonically report the instance of
suspected abuse to the law enforcement agency located in the
county in which the images or material are seen. As soon as
practicably possible after receiving the information concerning
the incident, the reporter would be required to prepare and
send, fax, or electronically transmit a written follow-up report
of the incident with a brief description of the images or
materials.
This bill would additionally provide that any commercial
computer technician and any employer of a commercial computer
technician who, pursuant to a warrant from a law enforcement
agency investigating a report of child abuse or neglect,
provides the law enforcement agency with a computer or computer
component which contains possible evidence, shall not incur
civil or criminal liability as result of providing that computer
or component to the law enforcement agency.
This bill includes double-jointing language with AB 1713
(Campos) to avoid chaptering out issues.
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
currently on the Suspense File of this Committee.
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 currently on
the Suspense File of this Committee.
AB 1438 (Bradford) 2012 expands the existing crime for failing
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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 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 1713 (Campos) 2012 expands the existing definition of
commercial film and photographic print processors who are
mandated reporters to include several enumerated types of
computer-related data and imagery. This bill is currently on the
Suspense File of this Committee.
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: This bill would add the new category of
"commercial computer technician" to the enumerated list of
mandated reporters of child abuse and neglect.
To the extent this bill expands the number of mandated reporters
could result in an increased number of incidents reported and
prosecuted, resulting in annual state incarceration costs of
$50,000 to $150,000 (General Fund). Additionally, this bill
could result in increased county child welfare agency workload
to field and investigate additional mandated reports. Fiscal
responsibility for the Child Welfare Services (CWS) program was
realigned to the counties under 2011Public Safety Realignment.
Staff notes that pursuant to the recently enacted public safety
realignment budget trailer bill, SB 1020 (Committee on Budget
and Fiscal Review) Chapter 40/2012, for any new program or
higher level of service provided by a local agency above the
level for which funding has been provided for public safety
services including preventing child abuse, neglect, or
exploitation, the state could be required to provide 50 percent
of the nonfederal share of any increased costs.
The Judicial Council may potentially incur increased misdemeanor
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and felony filings related to a mandated reporter's failure to
report an incident of child abuse or neglect, as well as
increased reports of abuse or neglect 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
new 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: Staff recommends an amendment to Section
11165.7(a)(29) of the Penal Code in Section 1.5 of the bill to
be consistent with a recommended amendment to AB 1713 (Campos),
as 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."