BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 926
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 926 (Beall and Lara)
As Amended March 17, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :33-0
PUBLIC SAFETY 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Melendez, Jones-Sawyer, |Ayes:|Gatto, Bigelow, |
| |Quirk, Skinner, Stone, | |Bocanegra, Bradford, Ian |
| |Waldron | |Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Donnelly, Eggman, Gomez, |
| | | |Holden, Jones, Linder, |
| | | |Pan, Quirk, |
| | | |Ridley-Thomas, Wagner, |
| | | |Weber |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Extends the statute of limitation for crimes of childhood
sexual abuse from a victim's 28th birthday until the victim's 40th
birthday. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that the prosecution for any of the following offenses
that is alleged to have been committed when the victim was under
18 years of age may be commenced at any time before the victim's
40th birthday:
a) Rape;
b) Sodomy;
c) Lewd or lascivious acts;
d) Oral copulation;
e) Continuous sexual abuse of a child; and,
f) Sexual penetration.
2)Specifies that the extended tolling provisions shall only apply to
crimes that were committed on or after January 1, 2015, or for
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which the statute of limitations that was in effect before January
1, 2015, has not run out as of that date.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that there is no statute of limitations for crimes
punishable by death, or by imprisonment in the state prison for
life, or for life without the possibility of parole.
2)Provides that prosecution for crimes punishable by imprisonment
for eight years or more and not otherwise covered must be
commenced within six years after commission of the offense.
3)Provides that prosecution for felonies punishable by less than
eight years must be commenced within three years after commission
of the offense.
4)Provides that prosecution for a felony offense requiring sex
offender registration shall be commenced within 10 years after
commission of the offense.
5)Provides that, notwithstanding any other time limitations, for
specified sex crimes that are alleged to have been committed when
the victim was under the age of 18, prosecution may be commenced
any time prior to the victim's 28th birthday.
6)Provides that a criminal complaint may be filed within one year
after a report to a law enforcement agency that a person was the
victim of a sexual offense while under the age of 18 years. To
file such a complaint, the applicable limitation period must have
expired and the alleged crime must have involved substantial
sexual conduct corroborated by evidence, as specified.
7)Provides that, notwithstanding any other limitation of time, a
criminal complaint may be filed within one year of the date on
which the identity of the suspect is conclusively established by
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing if specified conditions are
met.
8)Provides that if more than one time period described in the
statute of limitations scheme applies, the time for commencing an
action is governed by that period that expires the latest in time.
9)Provides that the statute of limitations for a civil action based
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on childhood sexual abuse is eight years after the date the
plaintiff attains the age of majority, or within three years of
the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have
discovered that psychological injury or illness occurring after
the age of majority was caused by the sexual abuse, whichever
period expires later.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee,
unknown, potentially significant annual General Fund costs, in the
range of $8 million, for increased state prison commitments.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "[SB] 926 would reform the
criminal statute of limitations by raising the age at which an adult
survivor of childhood sex abuse can seek prosecution from 28 years
of age to 40. Well documented medical research shows that victims
of these horrible crimes suffer from P.T.S.D. [Posttraumatic Stress
Disorder] and severe memory loss. With the psychological damage
caused of child sex abuse coupled with the high rates of recidivism
found in sexual predators, there is a real need to expand the time
survivors of these horrible crimes may come forward and file a
complaint with law enforcement.
"The current law favors the abuser by letting the time run out to
file a criminal complaint before the victim of the abuse is ready.
This potentially has serious public safety consequences by letting
sexual predators wait out the clock and the chain of abuse
continues. States like Illinois and Florida have eliminated the
statute of limitations, while New York, Iowa and Pennsylvania seek
reform as well. It is time for California to reform its laws too.
"SB 926 is a modest proposal. The bill does not eliminate the
statute of limitations; it just gives victims a little more time to
come forward and expose their abuser."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
0004758
SB 926
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