BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1649|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1649
Author: Waldron (R)
Amended: 4/1/14 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/10/14
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, De Le�n, Knight, Liu, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mitchell
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/5/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Computer crimes
SOURCE : San Diego County District Attorney's Office
DIGEST : This bill specifically and separately provides that
the crimes and penalties for unauthorized access of or damage to
a computer, computer system or data shall apply to government
and public safety infrastructure computers, computer systems and
data; and to update and augment relevant statutory terms.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Punishes the following offenses by a fine not exceeding
$10,000, by a sentenced felony jail term of 16 months, two
years or three years, or both, or as a misdemeanor by a fine
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not exceeding $5,000, by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding one year, or both:
A. Any person who knowingly accesses and without
permission alters, damages, deletes, destroys, or
otherwise uses any data, computer, computer system, or
computer network in order to devise or execute any scheme
or artifice to defraud, deceive, or extort, or wrongfully
control or obtain money, property or data.
B. Any person who knowingly accesses and without
permission takes, copies or makes use of any data from a
computer, computer system, or computer network, or takes
or copies any supporting documentation, whether existing
or residing internal or external to a computer, computer
system, or computer network.
C. Any person who knowingly accessing and without
permission adds, alters, damages, deletes, or destroys any
data, computer software, or computer programs which reside
or exist internal or external to a computer, computer
system, or computer network.
D. Any person who knowingly and without permission
disrupting or causing the disruption of computer services
or denies or causes the denial of computer services or
denies or causes the denial of computer services to an
authorized user of a computer, computer system, or
computer network.
2. Punishes any person who knowingly and without permission uses
or causes to be used computer services, as specified.
3. Punishes any person who knowingly and without permission
provides or assists in providing a means of accessing,
accesses, or causes to be accessed a computer, computer
system, or computer network, a specified.
4. Punishes any person who knowingly introduces any computer
contaminant into any computer, or computer system, or
computer network, as specified.
5. Punishes any person who knowingly and without permission uses
the Internet domain name of another individual, corporation,
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or entity in connection with the sending of one or more
electronic mail messages, and thereby damages or causes
damage to a computer, computer system, or computer network,
as specified.
6. Allows an exemption for a person using computer services
without permission and outside his or her employment if the
acts do not cause an injury, as defined, to the employer or
another, provided that the value of supplies or computer
services used does not exceed $250.
7. Requires the forfeiture of computer equipment, as specified.
This bill:
1. Specifically and separately provides that the various crimes
and penalties applicable to unauthorized use of, access to or
harm to a computer, computer system or data apply to
government and public safety infrastructure computers,
systems and data.
2. Adds "cause input to, cause output from, or cause data
processing with" within the meaning of "access" to a computer
or computer system.
3. Includes "remote systems" and "mobile devices" within the
meaning of "computer network."
4. Includes "Internet services, electronic mail services, or
electronic message services" within the definition of
"computer services."
5. Defines "government computer system" to mean any computer
system, or part thereof, that is owned, operated, or used by
any federal, state, or local governmental entity.
6. Defines "public safety infrastructure computer system" to
mean any computer system, or part thereof, that is necessary
for the health and safety of the public including computer
systems owned, operated, or used by drinking water and
wastewater treatment facilities, hospitals, emergency service
providers, telecommunication companies, and gas and electric
utility companies.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/23/14)
San Diego County District Attorney's Office (source)
California District Attorneys Association
California Municipal Utilities Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
OPPOSITION : (Verified 6/23/14)
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Public Defenders Association
Electronic Frontier Foundation
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
AB 1649 will separately define computer crimes involving
government systems such as websites and phone lines that
are utilized by hospitals, schools, cities, and many other
organizations. Separately defining such crimes against
government entities will allow us to track and document
the extent of such crimes, which appear to be increasing.
Cyber criminals often target government computer systems,
resulting in tampering, interferences, or damages.
Numerous incidents have occurred that have compromised the
privacy, safety, and personal information of many
individuals. For example in 2013, a caller to a San Diego
emergency room threatened the dispatcher that he would
paralyze the hospital's phone service if she didn't pay
him the amount demanded. Shortly after, the emergency
room's phone lines went silent for nearly 48 hours,
affecting the communication services. Recently, another
case arose when a California State University Sacramento
employee website was breached, where Social Security and
Driver's License numbers of 1,800 employees could have
been accessed.
AB 1649 also updates definitions and terminology relevant
to computer crimes. The law must reflect the rapid
changes in technology. Otherwise, outdated or incomplete
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definitions in computer crime statutes could allow
computer crime perpetrators to escape prosecution and
conviction. Further, jurors could be confused if
definitions and terms are not accurate and complete.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Attorneys for
Criminal Justice states, "Existing law makes it a crime to
knowingly and without permission disrupt or deny computer
services to an authorized user of the computer, computer system,
or computer network. This crime provides a fine of $10,000 for
felony violations and $5,000 for misdemeanor violations.
This proposal is unnecessary as the specified crimes are
currently covered under Penal Code 594. The code specifically
provides a penalty for vandalism against property belonging to
public entities which likely addresses the crimes indentified in
this legislation. In practical terms, the increased fines
charged will in fact be much higher than the stated amounts as
penalties and restitution orders are commonly added to these
crimes."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 5/5/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk,
Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Logue, Mansoor, Melendez, Vacancy
JG:de 6/25/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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