BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1295|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1295
Author: Block (D), et al.
Amended: 5/27/14
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/29/14
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Knight, Liu, Mitchell, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: De Le�n
SUBJECT : Trespass: requests for law enforcement assistance
SOURCE : Ocean Beach Main Street Association
DIGEST : This bill provides that where the owner, owner's
agent or person in lawful possession of land or a structure that
is not open to the public, and posted as such, requests law
enforcement assistance in demanding that trespassers leave the
property, the request shall remain valid while the property
remains posted as closed to the public, as specified.
Senate Floor Amendments of 5/27/14 provide that where the owner
or lawful possessor of property requests law enforcement
assistance in ejecting trespassers from property that has posted
as not open to the public; the request shall expire at the
request of the owner or lawful possessor.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
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1. Includes numerous provisions defining various forms of
trespass and trespass penalties. The crime definitions and
penalties typically turn on whether any damage has been done
to the property and whether the trespasser refuses a valid
request to leave the property.
2. Provides that any person is guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable by a county jail term of up to six-months, a fine
of up to $1000, or both, who enters any other person's
cultivated or fenced land, or who enters uncultivated or
unenclosed lands where signs forbidding trespass are
displayed at intervals not less than three to the mile along
exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails entering the
lands without written permission, and does any of the
following:
A. Refuses or fails to leave immediately upon being
requested to do so by the owner, owner's agent or by
the person in lawful possession;
B. Tears down, mutilates, or destroys any sign or
notice forbidding trespass or hunting;
C. Removes or tampers with any lock on any gate on or
leading into the lands; or
D. Discharges a firearm.
3. Provides that a person commits one form of trespass to
cultivated, fenced or posted land, where he/she, without the
written permission of the landowner, the owner's agent or of
the person in lawful possession of the land:
A. Willfully enters any lands under cultivation or
enclosed by fence, belonging to, or occupied by another
person; or
B. Willfully enters upon uncultivated or unenclosed
lands where signs forbidding trespass are displayed at
intervals not less than three to the mile along all
exterior boundaries and at all roads and trails
entering the lands.
4. States that a single request for a peace officer's assistance
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may be made for a period not to exceed six-months when the
premises or property is closed to the public and posted as
being closed.
This bill:
1. Removes the six-month limit for a peace officer's assistance,
as specified, and instead makes the request for a peace
officer's assistance valid for the entire period in which the
premises or property is closed to the public and posted as
being closed.
2. Provides that the requestor shall inform the law enforcement
agency to which the request was made when the assistance is
no longer desired.
3. States that the request for assistance shall expire upon
transfer of ownership of the property or upon a change in the
person in lawful possession.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/27/14)
Ocean Beach Main Street Association (source)
San Diego Chamber of Commerce
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/27/14)
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Public Defenders Association
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce
state, "Business owners find the limited 6-month requirement
burdensome and find that the 6-month reissuance can lead to gaps
in service if a timely reauthorization is not always possible.
This legislation would remove the 6-month limit and would
instead make the request for a peace officer's assistance valid
for the entire period in which the premises or property is
closed to the public and posted as being closed, effectively
reducing paperwork for both small businesses and, local police
departments."
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ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Public Defenders
Association states, "This appears to be a technical requirement
that has to be shown before someone can successfully be
prosecuted for trespass, accordingly, the [r]eason to remove the
existing requirement would be to make it easier to prosecute
someone for trespass. A large number of our clients are
homeless and "trespass" especially on land that has been vacant
for 6 months or more."
JG:d 5/28/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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