AB 655,
as amended, Quirk-Silva. begin deleteCourt reporters: salary fund. end deleteRegistered sex offenders: local ordinances.
Existing law, the Sex Offender Registration Act, requires persons convicted of specified sex offenses to register with local authorities for life while residing, located, attending school, or working in California. Existing law, as adopted by the voters by the passage of Proposition 83 at the November 7, 2006, statewide general election, prohibits a person who is required to register as a sex offender from living in specified places, including within 2,000 feet of a school or park where children regularly gather. Existing law authorizes municipal jurisdictions to enact local ordinances that further restrict the residency of the registered sex offender. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor for a person who is on parole for specified sex offenses to enter any park where children regularly gather without express permission from the person’s parole agent.
end insertbegin insertThis bill would state that the Legislature does not preempt local agencies from enacting ordinances that restrict where registered sex offenders may go within a local municipality.
end insertbegin insertThis bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
end insertExisting law provides for the appointment of official reporters of the courts, and prescribes the fees and compensation for reporting services. Existing law requires the charge of an official court reporter fee, in addition to any other fee required in civil actions or cases, for the services of an official court reporter on the first and each succeeding judicial day those services are provided, as specified. Fees collected pursuant to this provision may be used only to pay for services of an official court reporter in civil proceedings.
end deleteExisting law, applicable to proceedings in the Los Angeles County Superior Court, directs specified amounts to be set aside from the revenue of the court, including fees for reporting services payable by the parties, for deposit in the Reporters’ Salary Fund. Existing law requires the salaries and benefits of official reporters to be paid from the fund, and authorizes the per diem fees and benefits of official reporters pro tempore to be paid from that fund.
end deleteThis bill would authorize each trial court to establish a Reporters’ Salary Fund for the payment of the salaries and benefits of official reporters, as specified.
end deleteVote: begin deletemajority end deletebegin insert2⁄3end insert.
Appropriation: no.
Fiscal committee: begin deleteyes end deletebegin insertnoend insert.
State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
begin insertSection 290.03 of the end insertbegin insertPenal Codeend insertbegin insert is amended to
2read:end insert
(a) The Legislature finds and declares that a
4comprehensive system of risk assessment, supervision, monitoringbegin insert,end insert
5 and containment for registered sex offenders residing in California
6communities is necessary to enhance public safety and reduce the
7risk of recidivism posed by these offenders. The Legislature further
8affirms and incorporates the following findings and declarations,
9previously reflected in its enactment of “Megan’s Law”:
10(1) Sex offenders pose a potentially high risk of committing
11further sex offenses after release from incarceration or commitment,
P3 1and the protection of the public from reoffending by
these offenders
2is a paramount public interest.
3(2) It is a compelling and necessary public interest that the public
4have information concerning persons convicted of offenses
5involving unlawful sexual behavior collected pursuant to Sections
6290 and 290.4 to allow members of the public to adequately protect
7themselves and their children from these persons.
8(3) Persons convicted of these offenses involving unlawful
9sexual behavior have a reduced expectation of privacy because of
10the public’s interest in public safety.
11(4) In balancing the offenders’ due process and other rights
12against the interests of public security, the Legislature finds that
13releasing information about sex offenders under the circumstances
14specified in the Sex Offender Punishment, Control, and
15Containment Act of 2006 will further the primary
government
16interest of protecting vulnerable populations from potential harm.
17(5) The registration of sex offenders, the public release of
18specified information about certain sex offenders pursuant to
19Sections 290 and 290.4, and public notice of the presence of certain
20high risk sex offenders in communities will further the
21governmental interests of public safety and public scrutiny of the
22criminal and mental health systems that deal with these offenders.
23(6) To protect the safety and general welfare of the people of
24this state, it is necessary to provide for continued registration of
25sex offenders, for the public release of specified information
26regarding certain more serious sex offenders, and for community
27notification regarding high risk sex offenders who are about to be
28released from custody or who already reside in communities in
29this state. This policy of authorizing the
release of necessary and
30relevant information about serious and high risk sex offenders to
31members of the general public is a means of assuring public
32protection and shall not be construed as punitive.
33(7) The Legislature also declares, however, that in making
34information available about certain sex offenders to the public, it
35does not intend that the information be used to inflict retribution
36or additional punishment on any person convicted of a sex offense.
37While the Legislature is aware of the possibility of misuse, it finds
38that the dangers to the public of nondisclosure far outweigh the
39risk of possible misuse of the information. The Legislature is
40further aware of studies in Oregon and Washington indicating that
P4 1community notification laws and public release of similar
2information in those states have resulted in little criminal misuse
3of the information and that the enhancement to public safety has
4been significant.
5(b) In enacting the Sex Offender Punishment, Control, and
6Containment Act of 2006, the Legislature hereby creates a
7standardized, statewide system to identify, assess, monitor and
8contain known sex offenders for the purpose of reducing the risk
9of recidivism posed by these offenders, thereby protecting victims
10and potential victims from future harm.
11(c) The Legislature does not preempt local agencies from
12enacting ordinances that restrict where persons required to register
13pursuant to Section 290 may go within a municipality.
This act is an urgency statute necessary for the
15immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within
16the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into
17immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
18In order to provide municipalities with the ability to adopt and
19implement ordinances related to restrictions on sex offenders, it
20is necessary that this act take effect immediately.
Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 73000)
22is added to Title 8 of the Government Code, to read:
23
Each trial court may establish a Reporters’ Salary Fund.
The Reporters’ Salary Fund shall be a revolving fund
28. Funds deposited into the Reporters’ Salary Fund shall, upon
29appropriation, be
used solely to contribute to the salaries and
30benefits of official reporters.
O
96