BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 326
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 13, 2013
Counsel: Sandy Uribe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
SB 326 (Beall) - As Amended: May 28, 2013
SUMMARY : Requires a school's chief administrative official
(CAO) to provide notice to pupils' parents or guardians when
allowing a registered sex offender to enter a school campus.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes the CAO of a school to grant a registered sex
offender who is not a family member of a pupil attending the
school permission to come into a school building or upon the
school grounds for purposes of volunteering at the school.
2)Requires the CAO to, at least 14 days prior to the first date
for which permission has been granted, notify the parent or
guardian of each child attending the school that a
sex-offender registrant has been granted permission to be on
school grounds, the date or dates and times for which
permission has been granted, and of the right to obtain
information regarding the registrant from a designated
law-enforcement entity.
3)Specifies that the notification be disseminated by one of the
methods required for the annual parent notification.
4)Provides immunity from civil liability to any CAO or school
employee who in good faith disseminates the notification and
information regarding the grant of permission for a registered
sex offender to volunteer on school grounds.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Enumerates certain crimes for which a person shall be required
to register as a sex offender. [Penal Code Section 290(c).]
2)Requires a minor to register as a sex offender if he or she is
made a ward of the court as a result of a violation of
specified statutes, and if committed to the Department of
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Juvenile Justice. [Penal Code Section 290.008(a) and (c).]
3)Prohibits a sex-offender registrant, whose sex crime was
against a victim under age 16 from working as an employee or
volunteer with minors if the registrants would be working with
minors directly and in an unaccompanied setting on more than
an incidental or occasional basis or would have supervisory or
disciplinary power over the child. If a registrant's crime
was not against a victim under age 16, the registrant must
notify the employer or volunteer organization of his status as
a registrant. Failure to comply with this law is a
misdemeanor offense. (Penal Code Section 290.95.)
4)Provides that any person who is required to register as a sex
offender who comes into any school building or upon any school
ground without lawful business thereon and written permission
from the school's CAO is guilty of a misdemeanor. [Penal Code
Section 626.81(a).]
5)Punishes the entrance of sex offender on school grounds
without permission as follows:
a) Upon a first conviction, by a fine of not exceeding
$500, by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than
six months, or by both the fine and imprisonment.
b) If the defendant has been previously convicted once of
the violation, by imprisonment in a county jail for a
period of not less than 10 days or more than six months, or
by both imprisonment and a fine not exceeding $500, and
shall not be released on probation, parole, or any other
basis until he or she has served not less than 10 days.
c) If the defendant has been previously convicted two or
more times of the violation, by imprisonment in a county
jail for a period of not less than 90 days or more than six
months, or by both imprisonment and a fine not exceeding
$500, and shall not be released on probation, parole, or
any other basis until he or she has served not less than 90
days. [Penal Code Section 626.81(b).]
6)Defines a "CAO" as "the principal of the school, a person who
possesses a standard supervision credential or a standard
administrative credential and who is designated by the
principal, or a person who carries out the same functions as a
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person who possesses a credential and who is designated by the
principal." [Penal Code Section 626(a)(5)(B).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "A recent
incident at a school in Senate District Fifteen has shed light
on some problems with the California Penal Code when dealing
with registered sex offenders on school grounds.
"Current law, California Penal Code 626.81, allows a registered
sex offender to enter any school building, or grounds, with
the written permission from the chief administrative official
of said school. Measures must be taken to ensure correct
decisions are being made when the permission is granted, and
the parents of the school children are in the best position to
make decisions regarding their child's safety.
"We must continue to strive to make our children safer,
especially at their places of learning.
"SB 326 will require a school's administrative official to
notify parents upon granting permission to a registered sex
offender on school grounds.
"This bill ensures that parents are aware that the individual
will be on the premises ahead of time.
"Parental notification of a sex offender on campus gives parents
the opportunity to take precautionary measures if they have
question regarding their child's safety."
2)Origin of this Bill : A Huffington Post article describes the
incident prompting this bill, "The pastor of the Saint
Frances Cabrini School and Parish resigned Monday, weeks after
his defense of a convicted child molester at a parish festival
infuriated parents and scandalized the Diocese of San Jose.
"In announcing the resignation of the Rev. Lieu Vu, the diocese
also released a letter written by a former diocese human
resources employee permitting convicted pedophile Mark Gurries
to participate and volunteer at parish and school events.
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"Gurries unveiled a copy of the letter Oct. 6 when a 19-year-old
former student recognized him working the sound system at a
parish festival, setting off a heated exchange between a group
of parents and the Rev. Vu.
"When parents expressed outrage and demanded Gurries be removed
from campus, the pastor reportedly defended Gurries, saying he
had a right to be there and should be forgiven.
"The heated confrontation continued for five hours, ending when
a Santa Clara County sheriff's deputy, who was working the
festival as security, escorted Gurries off campus. ?
"The letter informs Gurries that he could 'continue to
participate in parent functions' and 'volunteer in parish and
school activities that do not involve regular, unsupervised
contact with children, youth or vulnerable adults.'
"But he was told he 'would not be permitted to volunteer' in
unsupervised activities with children.
"According to the California Penal Code, sex offenders are
forbidden from being on school grounds unless they have a
letter of permission from a chief administrator. Gurries
requested that waiver from the diocese and received it."
(.)
3)Restrictions Limiting Access By Sex Offenders to School
Grounds : California has enacted several laws attempting to
keep sex offenders away from children. Most notably,
Jessica's Law prohibits registered sex offenders from residing
within 2,000 feet "of any public or private school, or park
where children regularly gather." [Penal Code Section
3003.5(b).]
Registered sex offenders generally are also not allowed on
school grounds with permission of the principal. (Penal Code
Section 626.81.) Additionally, registered sex offenders are
not allowed to loiter about schools or public places or near
which children attend or normally congregate. (Penal Code
Section 653b.)
4)Policy Considerations : California is one of the few states
requiring lifetime sex-offender registration with no
discernment for the type of offense. Not all of the offenses
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requiring sex offender registration are sexually violent or
predatory. For example, a person can be required to register
as a sex offender for indecent exposure, which might consist
of an act of urinating in public. (See Penal Code Section
314.) Additionally, not all sex offenders are pedophiles.
While this bill does not revoke a principal's authority to enter
a school campus for purposes of volunteering, does it do so as
a practical matter because of either the costs involved with
providing the required notification, or due to fear of
retribution from the parents of the pupils?
5)Sex Offender Registration Requirements Generally : An offender
who is required to register as a sex offender must do so for
the rest of his or her life. Registration shall be with the
local law enforcement in the place of residence. [Penal Code
Section 290(b).] The registrant must update the registration
annually, within five working days of his or her birthday.
[Penal Code Section 290.012(a).] If the registrant changes
his or her name, the registrant must inform the local law
enforcement agency with which he or she is currently
registered within five working days. (Penal Code Section
290.014.)
A person who moves, whether within the same jurisdiction where
currently registered or to a new jurisdiction inside or
outside California, must, in person, within five working days
of the move, inform the law enforcement agency or agencies
with which he or she last registered of the move, the new
address or transient location, if known, and any plans he or
she has to return to California. (Penal Code Section
290.013.) When a sex offender moves from one county to
another in California without notifying law enforcement in
both the county that the offender departs and the county into
which the offender moves, he or she has committed two
offenses: one under Penal Code Section 290(b), and another
under Penal Code Section 290.013.
Additionally, if a person required to register as a sex offender
spends more than 14 days, or an aggregate period exceeding 30
days in a calendar year, enrolled as a college student or
employed or at such an institution, that person must register
with the campus police department. (Penal Code Section
290.009.)
Re-registration is required upon release from incarceration,
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unless the person was incarcerated for less than 30 days and
is returning to the last registered address. [Penal Code
Section 290.015(a).]
A defendant may be charged with and convicted of multiple
violations of the Sex Offender Registration Act, for example,
based on a failure to register within five days of his or her
birthday and a separate failure to register within five days
of changing his or her address.
6)Argument in Support : According to the California Protective
Parents Association , "This bill will put in place steps an
administrative office official must perform before, and upon
granting permission to a registered sex offender to be on
school grounds. Current law allows a registered sex offender
to enter any school building, or grounds, with the written
permission from the chief administrative official of said
school. While this permission is necessary in some cases,
measures must be taken to ensure correct decisions are being
made when the permission is granted."
7)Related Legislation : SB 565 (Knight) would narrow the list of
persons eligible to serve as non-teaching volunteer aides in
schools by prohibiting individuals who have been convicted of
certain serious felonies, or those that are on post release
community supervision or parole from volunteering unless a
waiver is granted by the school district's governing board.
SB 565 is pending hearing by the Senate Education Committee.
8)Prior Legislation : SB 1128 (Alquist), Chapter 337, Statutes
of 2006, made it a misdemeanor for a sex-offender registrant
to come onto a campus for lawful business without the written
permission of the school's principal.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Protective Parents Association
Children's Psychology Health Center, Inc.
Crime Victims United
David Cortese, Santa Clara County Supervisor, District Three
Saint Francis Cabrini School, Communications Committee & Ladies
League
41 private individuals
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Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744