BILL NUMBER: AB 2177 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 29, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Valadao
FEBRUARY 23, 2012
An act to amend Section 646.9 11413
of the Penal Code, relating to stalking arson
.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2177, as amended, Valadao. Stalking.
Arson.
Under existing law, any person who, in certain places, including,
among other places, a health facility, library, or a place of
worship, explodes, ignites, or attempts to explode or ignite any
destructive device or any explosive, or who commits arson, for the
purpose of terrorizing another, is guilty of a felony, punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for 3, 5, or 7 years, and a fine not
exceeding $10,000.
This bill would add to the list of places to which these
provisions apply an agricultural facility in which the primary
purpose is raising, growing, and caring for livestock in confinement
for the production of food. By expanding the scope of a crime, the
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Under existing law, any person who willfully, maliciously, and
repeatedly follows, or willfully and maliciously harasses another
person, and who makes a credible threat with the intent to place that
person in reasonable fear for his or her safety or the safety of his
or her immediate family is guilty of the crime of stalking,
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one
year, or by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by both that fine and
imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 11413 of the Penal
Code is amended to read:
11413. (a) Any person who explodes, ignites, or attempts to
explode or ignite any destructive device or any explosive, or who
commits arson, in or about any of the places listed in subdivision
(b), for the purpose of terrorizing another or in reckless disregard
of terrorizing another is guilty of a felony, and shall be punished
by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for
three, five, or seven years, and a fine not exceeding ten thousand
dollars ($10,000).
(b) Subdivision (a) applies to the following places:
(1) Any health facility licensed under Chapter 2 (commencing with
Section 1250) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, or any
place where medical care is provided by a licensed health care
professional.
(2) Any church, temple, synagogue, mosque, or other place of
worship.
(3) The buildings, offices, and meeting sites of organizations
that counsel for or against abortion or among whose major activities
are lobbying, publicizing, or organizing with respect to public or
private issues relating to abortion.
(4) Any place at which a lecture, film-showing, or other private
meeting or presentation that educates or propagates with respect to
abortion practices or policies, whether on private property or at a
meeting site authorized for specific use by a private group on public
property, is taking place.
(5) Any bookstore or public or private library.
(6) Any building or facility designated as a courthouse.
(7) The home or office of a judicial officer.
(8) Any building or facility regularly occupied by county
probation department personnel in which the employees perform
official duties of the probation department.
(9) Any private property, if the property was targeted in whole or
in part because of any of the actual or perceived characteristics of
the owner or occupant of the property listed in subdivision (a) of
Section 422.55.
(10) Any public or private school providing instruction in
kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive.
(11) An agricultural facility in which the primary purpose is
raising, growing, and caring for livestock in confinement for the
production of food, including, but not limited to, beef cattle
feedlots, milk cow dairies, egg and poultry operations, swine
breeding and growing farms, livestock auction yards, and
slaughterhouses.
(c) As used in this section, "judicial officer" means a
magistrate, judge, justice, commissioner, referee, or any person
appointed by a court to serve in one of these capacities, of any
state or federal court located in this state.
(d) As used in this section, "terrorizing" means to cause a person
of ordinary emotions and sensibilities to fear for personal safety.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the
prosecution of any person pursuant to Section 18740 or any other
provision of law in lieu of prosecution pursuant to this section.
SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act
pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local
agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a
new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or
changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of
Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a
crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
SECTION 1. Section 646.9 of the Penal Code is
amended to read:
646.9. (a) Any person who willfully, maliciously, and repeatedly
follows or willfully and maliciously harasses another person and who
makes a credible threat with the intent to place that person in
reasonable fear for his or her safety, or the safety of his or her
immediate family is guilty of the crime of stalking, punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a
fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that
fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison.
(b) Any person who violates subdivision (a) when there is a
temporary restraining order, injunction, or any other court order in
effect prohibiting the behavior described in subdivision (a) against
the same party, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison
for two, three, or four years.
(c) (1) Every person who, after having been convicted of a felony
under Section 273.5, 273.6, or 422, commits a violation of
subdivision (a) shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail
for not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than one
thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, or
by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or five years.
(2) Every person who, after having been convicted of a felony
under subdivision (a), commits a violation of this section shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or five
years.
(d) In addition to the penalties provided in this section, the
sentencing court may order a person convicted of a felony under this
section to register as a sex offender pursuant to Section 290.006.
(e) For purposes of this section, "harasses" means engages in a
knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a specific person
that seriously alarms, annoys, torments, or terrorizes the person,
and that serves no legitimate purpose.
(f) For purposes of this section, "course of conduct" means two or
more acts occurring over a period of time, however short, evidencing
a continuity of purpose. Constitutionally protected activity is not
included within the meaning of "course of conduct."
(g) For purposes of this section, "credible threat" means a verbal
or written threat, including that performed through the use of an
electronic communication device, or a threat implied by a pattern of
conduct or a combination of verbal, written, or electronically
communicated statements and conduct, made with the intent to place
the person that is the target of the threat in reasonable fear for
his or her safety or the safety of his or her family, and made with
the apparent ability to carry out the threat so as to cause the
person who is the target of the threat to reasonably fear for his or
her safety or the safety of his or her family. It is not necessary to
prove that the defendant had the intent to actually carry out the
threat. The present incarceration of a person making the threat shall
not be a bar to prosecution under this section. Constitutionally
protected activity is not included within the meaning of "credible
threat."
(h) For purposes of this section, the term "electronic
communication device" includes, but is not limited to, telephones,
cellular phones, computers, video recorders, fax machines, or pagers.
"Electronic communication" has the same meaning as the term defined
in Subsection 12 of Section 2510 of Title 18 of the United States
Code.
(i) This section shall not apply to conduct that occurs during
labor picketing.
(j) If probation is granted, or the execution or imposition of a
sentence is suspended, for any person convicted under this section,
it shall be a condition of probation that the person participate in
counseling, as designated by the court. However, the court, upon a
showing of good cause, may find that the counseling requirement shall
not be imposed.
(k) (1) The sentencing court also shall consider issuing an order
restraining the defendant from any contact with the victim, that may
be valid for up to 10 years, as determined by the court. It is the
intent of the Legislature that the length of any restraining order be
based upon the seriousness of the facts before the court, the
probability of future violations, and the safety of the victim and
his or her immediate family.
(2) This protective order may be issued by the court whether the
defendant is sentenced to state prison, county jail, or if imposition
of sentence is suspended and the defendant is placed on probation.
(l) For purposes of this section, "immediate family" means any
spouse, parent, child, any person related by consanguinity or
affinity within the second degree, or any other person who regularly
resides in the household, or who, within the prior six months,
regularly resided in the household.
(m) The court shall consider whether the defendant would benefit
from treatment pursuant to Section 2684. If it is determined to be
appropriate, the court shall recommend that the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation make a certification as provided in
Section 2684. Upon the certification, the defendant shall be
evaluated and transferred to the appropriate hospital for treatment
pursuant to Section 2684.