BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1461
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Date of Hearing: June 10, 2014
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
SB 1461 (Committee on Public Safety) - As Amended: April 21,
2014
SUMMARY : Makes technical and corrective changes, as well as
non-controversial substantive changes, to various code sections
relating to criminal justice laws. Specifically, this bill :
1)Provides that the Compact Administrator of California's
participation in the Interstate Compact for juveniles is the
Secretary of the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, or his or her designee.
2)Replaces the Department of General Services' representative on
the Attorney General's California Law Enforcement
Telecommunications System (CLETS) Advisory Committee with a
representative from the California Office of Emergency
Services.
3)Clarifies that the prohibition against operating a personal
watercraft any time between the hours from sunset to sunrise
does not apply to marine patrol, harbor police or emergency
personnel in performance of their duties.
4)Clarifies that the accessory theory still exists as a
prosecutorial option for the crime of transportation of
controlled substances for sale.
5)States, except in cases where a different punishment is
prescribed, every offense declared to be an infraction is
punishable by a fine not exceeding $250.
6)Makes a number of cross-reference and technical changes in the
Corporation Code, Health and Safety Code, Family Code, Fish
and Game Code, Penal Code and Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to public safety.
EXISTING LAW :
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1)Establishes the Interstate Compact for Juveniles, which, among
other things, provides for the establishment of rules and
procedures for the tracking and supervision or return of
juveniles and juvenile offenders among compacting states.
(Welf. & Inst. Code, � 1400, et. seq.)
2)Provides that the Compact Administrator of California's
participation in the Interstate Compact for juveniles is the
executive director of the Corrections Standards Authority.
(Welf. & Inst. Code, � 1401.)
3)Requires the Attorney General's CLETS Advisory Committee to
consist of representatives from the following organizations
(Gov. Code, � 15155):
a) Two representatives from the Peace Officers' Association
of the State of California;
b) One representative from the California State Sheriffs'
Association;
c) One representative from the League of California Cities;
d) One representative from the County Supervisors
Association of California;
e) One representative from the Department of Justice;
f) One representative from the Department of Motor
Vehicles;
g) One representative from the Department of General
Services;
h) One representative from the California Highway Patrol;
and,
i) One representative from the California Police Chiefs
Association.
4)States that no person shall operate a personal watercraft at
any time between the hours from sunset to sunrise. (Harb. &
Nav. Code � 655.7, subd. (d).)
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5)Defines "transports" for purposes of transporting specified
controlled substances to mean to transport for sale. States
that this section does not preclude or limit the prosecution
of an individual for aiding and abetting the commission of, or
conspiring to commit, any act prohibited by this section.
(Health & Saf. Code, �� 11352 & 11379.)
6)Provides that an infraction is a crime not punishable by
imprisonment and that a person charged with an infraction is
not entitled to a jury trial. (Pen. Code, � 19.6.)
7)Specifies several code sections that can be prosecuted as a
misdemeanor or an infraction and states that, except where a
lesser maximum fine is expressly provided for a violation of
those sections, a violation that is an infraction is
punishable by a fine not exceeding $250. (Pen. Code, � 19.8,
subd. (a).)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown.
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : "This is the annual omnibus bill. In past
years, the omnibus bill has been introduced by all members of
the Committee on Public Safety. This bill is similar to the
ones introduced as Committee bills in the past in that it has
been introduced with the following understanding:
The bill's provisions make only technical or minor
changes to the law; and
There is no opposition by any member of the Legislature
or recognized group to the proposal.
"This procedure has allowed for introduction of fewer minor
bills and has saved the Legislature time and expense over the
years."
1)Interstate Compact for Juveniles : Welfare and Institutions
Code section 1401 currently designates the executive director
of the Corrections Standards Authority to be the Compact
Administrator over California's participation in the
Interstate Compact for Juveniles. This designation was made
when the newly amended and ratified Interstate Compact for
Juveniles was adopted and codified into California law in AB
1053 (Solorio, Chapter 268, Statutes of 2009).
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Although the Compact Administrator was designated as such, the
day-to-day operations have historically been conducted by the
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(CDCR). Moreover, in the budget act of 2011-2012, the
Corrections Standards Authority was re-created as the Board of
State and Community Corrections, an entity separate and
independent of CDCR. Returning the Compact Administrator
designation to CDCR will conform statute to current practice,
as well as provide for sustainable oversight and fulfillment
of the responsibilities under the Interstate Compact for
Juveniles, and be in the best interests of the supervision of
juvenile offenders and the public safety of the compacting
states.
2)CLETS Advisory Committee : Government Code section 15155
details the membership of the Attorney General's CLETS
Advisory Committee. One of the subsections mandates a
representative from the Department of General Services (DGS)
to be on the committee.
DGS no longer organizationally houses the relevant
telecommunications unit expertise that initiated membership at
the statute's origin in 1965. Given the Executive Branch
reorganization that went into effect in July 2013, the
relevant unit is now within the California Office of Emergency
Services.
3)Prohibitions on Use of Personal Watercraft : Existing law
(Harb. & Nav. Code, � 655.7, subd. (d)) generally governs the
use of personal watercraft (PWC). Specifically, HN 655.7(d)
provides that no person shall operate a personal watercraft at
any time between the hours from sunset to sunrise. Marine
patrols statewide use PWC for patrolling and rescues, but if
they do so between sunset and sunrise, technically, they are
violating the law. Participants in races, professional
exhibitions, or other sanctioned events are exempt from the
operational requirements of HN 655.7, but no such exemption
exists for law enforcement or emergency personnel.
4)Transportation of Controlled Substances : Last year Governor
Brown signed AB 721 (Chapter 504, Statutes of 2013) which
amended existing law to make the transportation of specified
controlled substances a felony only if the individual is
transporting the controlled substance for sale. Before the
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bill passed the Senate, the author amended the bill to clarify
that AB 721 did not eliminate conspiracy as a prosecutorial
option. In the relevant statutes, it does not specifically
state that someone can be prosecuted as an accessory to the
offense. This bill specifies that AB 721 does not limit the
prosecution of a person acting as an accessory to the
underlying crime.
5)Deletion of Reference to the Violent Crime Information
Network : California Penal Code section 290.012, subdivision
(d) specifies that sex offender registration information shall
be submitted to the Department of Justice, Violent Crime
Information Network (VCIN). In August of 2010, in accordance
with PC section 290.022, the VCIN was replaced with the
California Sex and Arson Registry as the State's repository
for sex and arson registration information. As such, Penal
Code section 290.012, subdivision (d) currently mandates law
enforcement agencies to submit information to a system that no
longer exists.
6)Previous Legislation :
a) SB 514 (Committee on Public Safety), Chapter 59,
Statutes of 2013, was the annual 2013 Public Safety
Committee's omnibus bill.
b) SB 1144 (Strickland), Chapter 867, Statutes of 2012, was
the annual 2012 Public Safety Committee's omnibus bill.
a) SB 428 (Strickland), Chapter 304, Statutes of 2011, was
the annual 2011 Public Safety Committee's omnibus bill.
b) SB 1062 (Strickland), Chapter 708, Statutes of 2010, was
the annual 2010 Public Safety Committee's omnibus bill.
c) SB 174 (Strickland), Chapter 35, Statutes of 2009, was
the annual 2009 Public Safety Committee's omnibus bill.
d) SB 1241 (Margett), Chapter 699, Statutes of 2008, was
the annual 2008 Public Safety Committee's omnibus bill.
e) SB 425 (Margett), Chapter 302, Statutes of 2007, was the
annual 2007 Public Safety Committee's omnibus bill.
f) SB 1422 (Margett), Chapter 901, Statutes of 2006, was
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the annual 2006 Public Safety Committee's omnibus bill.
g) SB 1107 (Senate Committee on Public Safety), Chapter
279, Statutes of 2005, was the annual 2005 Public Safety
Committee's omnibus bill.
h) SB 1796 (Senate Committee on Public Safety), Chapter
405, Statutes of 2004, was the annual 2004 Public Safety
Committee's omnibus bill.
i) SB 851 (Senate Committee on Public Safety), Chapter 468,
Statutes of 2003, was the annual 2003 Public Safety
Committee's omnibus bill.
j) SB 1852 (Senate Committee on Public Safety), Chapter
545, Statutes of 2002, was the annual 2002 Public Safety
Committee's omnibus bill.
aa) SB 485 (Senate Committee on Public Safety), Chapter 473,
Statutes of 2001, was the annual 2001 Public Safety
Committee's omnibus bill.
bb) SB 832 (Senate Committee on Public Safety), Chapter 853,
Statutes of 1999, was the annual 1999 Public Safety
Committee's omnibus bill.
cc) SB 1880 (Senate Committee on Public Safety), Chapter
606, Statutes of 1998, was the annual 1998 Public Safety
Committee's omnibus bill.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California State Sheriffs' Association
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
SB 1461
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