BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1335
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1335 (Maienschein)
As Amended January 8, 2014
Majority vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Ayes:|Ammiano, Melendez, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, Allen, |
| |Jones-Sawyer, Quirk, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Ridley-Thomas, Skinner, | |Calderon, Campos, Eggman, |
| |Waldron | |Gomez, Holden, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY : Makes specified sex crimes committed against victims
with mental disorders or physical or developmental disabilities
qualifying crimes for the "One Strike Sex Law" and the
vulnerable victim enhancement. Specifically, this bill :
1)Adds the crimes of rape, sexual penetration, sodomy, and oral
copulation committed against a person who is incapable of
giving legal consent due to a mental disorder or developmental
or physical disability to the list of offenses which qualify
for the vulnerable-victim enhancement.
2)Adds the crimes of rape, sexual penetration, sodomy, and oral
copulation committed against a person who is incapable of
giving legal consent due to a mental disorder or developmental
or physical disability to the list of offenses which qualify
for application of the "One Strike Sex Law".
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that a person who commits an act of rape against a
victim who is incapable of giving legal consent due to a
mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, shall
be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three,
six, or eight years.
2)Provides that a person who commits an act of sodomy against a
victim who is incapable of giving legal consent due to a
AB 1335
Page 2
mental disorder or developmental or physical disability, shall
be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for three,
six, or eight years.
3)Provides that a person who commits an act of oral copulation
against a victim who is incapable of giving legal consent due
to a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability,
shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a
period of three, six, or eight years.
4)Provides that a person who commits an act of sexual
penetration against a victim who is incapable of giving legal
consent due to a mental disorder or developmental or physical
disability shall be punished by imprisonment in the state
prison for a period of three, six, or eight years.
5)Provides an additional punishment of one year when the
defendant knows or reasonably should know that the victim of
an enumerated offense is 65 years of age or older, blind,
deaf, developmentally disabled, a paraplegic, a quadriplegic,
or under 14 years old.
6)Provides an additional punishment of two years when the
defendant knows or reasonably should know that the victim of
an enumerated offense is 65 years of age or older, blind,
deaf, developmentally disabled, a paraplegic, a quadriplegic,
or under 14 years old, and where the defendant also has a
prior conviction for one of those crimes.
7)Defines "developmentally disabled" for purposes of the
vulnerable victim enhancement as "a severe, chronic disability
of a person, which is all of the following:
a) Attributable to a mental or physical impairment or a
combination of mental and physical impairments;
b) Likely to continue indefinitely; and
c) Results in substantial functional limitation in three or
more of the following areas of life activity:
i) Self-care;
ii) Receptive and expressive language;
AB 1335
Page 3
iii) Learning;
iv) Mobility;
v) Self-direction;
vi) Capacity for independent living;
vii) Economic self-sufficiency."
8)Provides that persons who commit rape, spousal rape, rape in
concert, lewd and lascivious acts on a minor, sexual
penetration, sodomy, oral copulation, continuous sexual abuse
of a child, shall be punished by 25-years-to-life if:
a) One or more of the following circumstances exist:
i) The defendant has been previously convicted of a
specified sex offense;
ii) The defendant kidnapped the victim of the present
offense and the movement of the victim substantially
increased the risk of harm to the victim;
iii) The defendant inflicted aggravated mayhem or torture
on the victim or another person in the commission of the
present offense;
iv) The defendant committed the present offense during
the commission of a burglary of the first degree;
v) The defendant committed rape by a foreign object,
sodomy in concert, as specified, oral copulation in
concert as specified; or,
b) Two or more of the following circumstances exist:
i) The defendant kidnapped the victim of the present
offense, as specified;
ii) The defendant committed the present offense during
the commission of a burglary, as specified;
AB 1335
Page 4
iii) The defendant personally used a dangerous or deadly
weapon or a firearm in the commission of the present
offense, as specified;
iv) The defendant has been convicted in the present case
or cases of committing an offense specified against more
than one victim;
v) The defendant engaged in the tying or binding of the
victim or another person in the commission of the present
offense; or,
vi) The defendant administered a controlled substance to
the victim in the commission of the present offense, as
specified.
9)Provides that persons who commit rape, spousal rape, rape in
concert, lewd and lascivious acts on a minor, sexual
penetration, sodomy, oral copulation, continuous sexual abuse
of a child, shall be punished with 15-years-to-life if one of
the following circumstances exist:
vii) The defendant kidnapped the victim of the present
offense, as specified;
viii) The defendant committed the present offense during
the commission of a burglary, as specified;
ix) The defendant personally used a dangerous or deadly
weapon or a firearm in the commission of the present
offense, as specified;
x) The defendant has been convicted in the present case
or cases of committing an offense specified against more
than one victim;
xi) The defendant engaged in the tying or binding of the
victim or another person in the commission of the present
offense; or,
xii) The defendant administered a controlled substance to
the victim in the commission of the present offense, as
specified.
AB 1335
Page 5
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, unknown, potentially significant ongoing out-year
costs for increased state prison commitments.
In 2011 and 2012, about 50 offenders were sentenced to state
prison for the sex offenses covered by this bill. It is not
known how many, if any, would have qualified for the enhanced
punishment proposed by this bill. If only one person, however,
is sentenced annually under the expanded one-strike provisions
of this bill, annual General Fund (GF) costs would exceed
$500,000 after 10 years. In addition, if only one person
annually receives a one-year enhancement, annual GF costs would
be in the range of $60,000.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Under AB 1335, the scope of
existing penalty enhancements in Penal Code section 667.9 will
be expanded, thus allowing prosecutors to obtain higher
penalties when sex crimes are committed against vulnerable
individuals specifically where it is difficult or impossible to
prove force was used due to the nature of the victim's
disability. In the recent California example, this was
imperative as the victim's disability makes her incapable of
speech or movement.
"Additionally, AB 1335 will expand One Strike base crime
offenses to include sex crimes involving a victim who is
incapable of giving consent due to a disability when performed
in conjunction with other aggravating circumstances, such as
kidnapping, restraining or use of a deadly weapon.
"All victims deserve equal protection under the law. AB 1335
will allow for more equitable punishment for those who commit
heinous crimes against victims who do not have the ability to
protect themselves."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0002993
AB 1335
Page 6