BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1775|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1775
Author: Melendez (R)
Amended: 5/13/14 in Senate
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 : 75-0, 4/24/14 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Child Abuse: mandatory reporting
SOURCE : California Association of Marriage and Family
Therapists
DIGEST : This bill updates the definition of sexual
exploitation in the mandated child abuse reporting law with
respect to visual depictions of children in obscene sexual
conduct to reflect modern technology, as specified.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Establishes the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, which
generally is intended to protect children from abuse and
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neglect.
2.Requires mandated child abuse and neglect reporters to make a
report to a specified agency "whenever the mandated reporter,
in his or her professional capacity or within the scope of his
or her employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom
the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been
the victim of child abuse or neglect."
3.Defines "sexual abuse" to mean sexual assault or sexual
exploitation, as specified. Included in the definition of
"sexual exploitation" is the following:
Any person who depicts a child in, or who knowingly
develops, duplicates, prints, or exchanges, any film,
photograph, video tape, negative, or slide in which a child
is engaged in an act of obscene sexual conduct, except for
those activities by law enforcement and prosecution
agencies and other [specified] persons.
This bill:
1.Revises the definition of sexual exploitation by adding the
following characterizations:
A person who depicts a child in, or who knowingly develops,
duplicates, prints, downloads, streams, accesses through
any electronic or digital media, or exchanges, a film,
photograph, videotape, video recording, negative, or slide
in which a child is engaged in an act of obscene sexual
conduct, except for those activities by law enforcement and
prosecution agencies and other specified persons.
2.Makes additional, purely technical revisions.
Comments
The author states in part:
This bill will amend the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act
to include "downloading" and "streaming" as part of its
definition of "sexual exploitation" to ensure the reporting
requirements related to internet child pornography are defined
to reflect modern technology. This bill will further ensure
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the protection of children from the proliferation of sexual
exploitation through internet child pornography as well as
possibly other forms of sexual abuse.
Currently, many mandated reporters, psychotherapists included,
are confused on whether they should report the downloading or
streaming of child pornography, as they are required to with
the printing or copying of such materials.
. . . In the absence of specific language allowing mandatory
reports to be made for the "downloading" or "streaming" of
child pornography, the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act,
as it reads, may be inadequate to protect against sexual
exploitation of children. . . .
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/20/14)
California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists
(source)
Board of Behavioral Sciences
California District Attorneys Association
California Psychological Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Child Abuse Prevention Center
Los Angeles District Attorney's Office
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 4/24/14
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, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, 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: Gray, Harkey, Mansoor, Nazarian, Vacancy
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JG:k 6/23/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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