BILL NUMBER: SB 794	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Blakeslee

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

   An act to add Section 243.93 to the Penal Code, relating to
battery.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 794, as introduced, Blakeslee. Battery: gassing.
   Existing law establishes the State Department of Mental Health,
provides for the administration of state hospitals, and provides for
the involuntary confinement of certain individuals in those state
hospitals, including persons who have been found not guilty of a
charge by reason of insanity, who have been found incompetent to
stand trial by a judge, or have been determined, as a result of a
mental disorder, to be a danger to themselves or others.
   Existing law provides that every person confined in a local
detention facility, state prison, or under the jurisdiction of the
Division of Juvenile Facilities of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, who commits a battery upon the person of a peace
officer by "gassing," as defined, is guilty of aggravated battery.
   This bill would provide that a person confined to a state hospital
who commits battery upon the person of a peace officer or employee
of a state hospital by gassing is guilty of aggravated battery,
punishable by imprisonment in county jail or state prison for 2, 3,
or 4 years.
   The bill would also require the State Department of Mental Health
to submit a report to the Legislature by January 1, 2016, regarding
gassing incidents at state hospitals.
   By creating a new crime, this 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.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 243.93 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
   243.93.  (a) Every person confined in a state hospital who commits
battery by gassing upon the person of any peace officer, as defined
in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, or
employee of the state hospital is guilty of aggravated battery and
shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail or by imprisonment
in the state prison for two, three, or four years.
   (b) For purposes of this section, "gassing" means intentionally
placing or throwing, or causing to be placed or thrown, upon the
person of another, any human excrement or other bodily fluids or
bodily substances or any mixture containing human excrement or other
bodily fluids or bodily substances that results in actual contact
with the person's skin or membranes.
   (c) As used in this section, "director" shall mean the director of
the state hospital.
   (d) The director, or any other person in charge of the state
hospital, as the case may be, shall use every available means to
immediately investigate all reported or suspected violations of
subdivision (a), including, but not limited to, the use of
forensically acceptable means of preserving and testing the suspected
gassing substance to confirm the presence of human excrement or
other bodily fluids or bodily substances. If there is probable cause
to believe that the individual has violated subdivision (a), the
director may, when he or she deems it medically necessary to protect
the health of an officer or employee who may have been subject to a
violation of this section, order the individual to receive an
examination or test for hepatitis or tuberculosis or both hepatitis
and tuberculosis on either a voluntary or involuntary basis
immediately after the event, and periodically thereafter as
determined to be necessary by the director in order to ensure that
further hepatitis or tuberculosis transmission does not occur. These
decisions shall be consistent with an occupational exposure as
defined by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The results of any examination or test shall be provided to the
officer or employee who has been subject to a reported or suspected
violation of this section. Nothing in this subdivision shall be
construed to otherwise supersede the operation of Title 8 (commencing
with Section 7500) of Part 3. Any person performing tests,
transmitting test results, or disclosing information pursuant to this
section shall be immune from civil liability for any action taken in
accordance with this section.
   (e) The director or other person in charge of the state hospital
shall refer all reports for which there is probable cause to believe
that the individual has violated subdivision (a) to the local
district attorney for prosecution.
   (f) Nothing in this section shall preclude prosecution under both
this section and any other provision of law.
  SEC. 2.  (a) The State Department of Mental Health shall report to
the Legislature, by January 1, 2016, its findings and recommendations
on gassing incidents at state hospitals and the medical testing
authorized by this section. The report shall be submitted in
compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code. The report shall
include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
   (1) The total number of gassing incidents at each state hospital
up to the date of the report.
   (2) The disposition of each gassing incident, including the
administrative penalties imposed, the number of incidents that are
prosecuted, and the results of those prosecutions, including any
penalties imposed.
   (3) A profile of the individuals who commit the aggravated
batteries, including the number of individuals who have one or more
prior serious or violent felony convictions.
   (4) Efforts that the department has taken to limit these
incidents, including staff training and the use of protective
clothing and goggles.
   (5) The results and costs of the medical testing authorized by
this section.
   (b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2017, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that
date.
  SEC. 3.   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.