BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
AB 1335 (Maienschein) - Sex offenses: disabled victims.
Amended: May 20, 2014 Policy Vote: Public Safety 6-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: June 23, 2014
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 1335 would make specified sex crimes committed
against developmentally disabled victims, as defined, qualifying
crimes under the One Strike life-term sentencing scheme and the
vulnerable victim sentence enhancement, as specified.
Fiscal Impact: Potentially significant future increase in state
prison terms (General Fund). The CDCR indicates more than 20
commitments to state prison each year under the crimes specified
in this measure. Future annual costs for even two commitments
(or 10 percent of annual commitments) per year would exceed
$650,000 once the sentences that otherwise would have been
imposed under existing law have been served. This estimate is
based on an in-state contract bed cost of $31,000 per year.
Background: Existing law provides that a person who commits
rape, or an act of sodomy, oral copulation, or sexual
penetration, against a person incapable, because of a mental
disorder or developmental or physical disability, of giving
legal consent, if that fact is known or reasonably should be
known by the person committing the act, is subject to punishment
in state prison for three, six, or eight years.
Existing law provides that a defendant shall be punished by
imprisonment in state prison for life without the possibility of
parole, 25 years to life, or 15 years to life, if convicted of
certain crimes, including but not limited to rape, sexual
penetration, sodomy, or oral copulation, if certain aggravating
factors are proven, including, among other things, the
defendant's record, the manner in which the crime was committed,
and the age of the victim. (Penal Code (PC) � 667.61)
Existing law directs the court to impose a sentence enhancement
AB 1335 (Maienschein)
Page 1
of one year or two years where the defendant is convicted of
specified crimes including rape, sodomy, oral copulation, and
sexual penetration by force, and the defendant knew or
reasonably should have known that the victim is 65 years of age
or older, blind, deaf, developmentally disabled, a paraplegic,
or under 14 years of age. The sentence enhancement is one year
if the defendant has no prior convictions for a qualifying
offense and two years if such a prior conviction has been
established (PC � 667.9)
Proposed Law: This bill would add the crimes of rape (PC �
261(a)(1)), sexual penetration (PC � 289(b)), sodomy (PC �
286(g)), and oral copulation (PC � 288a(g)), perpetrated against
a person who is incapable because of a mental disorder or
developmental or physical disability, of giving legal consent,
to the following provisions of law if the victim is
developmentally disabled, as defined:
Adds the crimes specified above to the One Strike life-term
sentencing scheme which provides that a sentence of life
without the possibility of parole, 25 years to life, or 15
years to life, must be imposed if the disabled or mentally
disordered person is a minor and/or where the offense involves
specified aggravating factors.
Provides that where a defendant is convicted of the crimes
specified above, the court shall impose a sentence enhancement
for a crime against a particularly vulnerable victim, as
follows:
o An additional term of one year if the defendant has
no prior convictions for a qualifying offense.
o An additional term of two years if the defendant
does have a prior conviction for a qualifying offense.
Related Legislation: SB 922 (Knight) would increase the
penalties for specified sex crimes committed against a person's
will by means of force or fear, against a person with a mental
disorder or physical or developmental disability, and this is
known or reasonably should be known to the person committing the
act. This bill is pending hearing in the Assembly Committee on
Public Safety.
Staff Comments: By adding the specified sex crimes committed
against a developmentally disabled victim, as defined, to the
One Strike sentencing scheme and vulnerable victim sentencing
enhancement, this bill could result in longer prison sentences
AB 1335 (Maienschein)
Page 2
and significant out-year General Fund cost increases. Costs
would be dependent on the details of each case and the prison
term that otherwise would have been served in the absence of
this measure.
While CDCR indicates over 20 commitments on average to state
prison over the past four years under the specified sex crimes,
it is unknown what portion of the total commitments would
qualify for the enhanced sentences due to aggravating factors
under the provisions of this bill. To the extent even two cases
(10 percent of annual commitments) in any year are sentenced
under the provisions of this bill would increase future costs by
over $650,000 (General Fund) annually based on an in-state
contract bed cost of $31,000 per year. These costs would not be
incurred until the sentences that otherwise would have been
imposed under existing law have been served.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered the CDCR to reduce the prison
population to 137.5 percent of the prison system's design
capacity by February 28, 2016. Although public safety
realignment has achieved significant reductions in the prison
population, and the 2014-15 Governor's Budget projects meeting
the population cap in the near-term, the analysis by the
Legislative Analyst's Office suggests that CDCR's long-term
prison caseload will likely exceed this cap. Because
California's institutions already exceed the population limit,
any near-term and future increases to the state's prison
population would likely require the state to pursue one of
several options including contracting-out for additional bed
space or releasing current inmates early onto parole.