BILL NUMBER: AB 1913 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Cardenas, Cedillo, Firebaugh,
Runner, Vincent, and Wright and Senators Hughes and Murray
(Coauthor: Senator Polanco)
FEBRUARY 11, 2000
An act to add Sections 186.27 and 186.29 to, and to repeal and add
Section 186.26 of, the Penal Code, and to amend Sections 625.3, 743,
746, and 749.22 of, and to add Sections 654.5 and 654.7 to, the
Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to juveniles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1913, as introduced, Cardenas. Juveniles: crime prevention.
(1) Existing law provides that any adult who utilizes physical
violence to coerce, induce, or solicit a minor to actively
participate in a criminal street gang, as defined, or who threatens a
minor with physical violence on 2 or more occasions with a specified
period with the intent to do the same, shall be punished by
imprisonment in the state prison for one, 2, or 3 years. Existing law
also provides that a minor who is 16 years of age or younger who
violates these provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor, and that no
person shall be convicted of violating these provisions on speech
alone except upon a showing of a credible threat of violence, as
defined.
This bill would delete the above described provisions and instead
provide that any person who threatens another person with physical
violence on two or more occasions with the intent to coerce, induce,
or solicit any person to actively participate in a criminal street
gang, or who uses physical violence to do the same, or who uses
physical violence to coerce, induce, solicit, or otherwise prevent
another person from leaving any criminal street gang, is punishable
by imprisonment in the state prison for one, 2, or 3 years. The bill
would also provide that if the person solicited, recruited, coerced,
or threatened pursuant to these provisions is a minor, an additional
and consecutive term of imprisonment of 6, 12, or 18 months shall be
imposed. The bill would also provide that any person who actively
solicits or recruits a minor on the grounds of, or within 1,000 feet
of, a public or private elementary, vocational, junior high, or high
school when that facility is open for classes, to actively
participate in a criminal street gang, or with the intent that the
person engage in a pattern of criminal gang activity or otherwise
promote, further, or assist in any felonious conduct by members of
the gang, shall be punishable by a term of imprisonment in the state
prison of one, 2, or 3 years. By changing the definition and scope
of an existing crime, and by creating new crimes, this bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) This bill would provide that, contingent upon an appropriation
of $5,000,000 in the state budget for this purpose, reasonable
expenses for relocation shall be made available at the discretion of
local law enforcement agencies to any person who is a victim of a
criminal street gang or is a witness to a gang crime and is willing
to testify in court. The bill would provide that local law
enforcement agencies shall operate the program at the county level
and seek reimbursement from the state.
(3) Existing law provides that a minor who is 14 years of age or
older who is taken into custody by a peace officer for the personal
use or possession of a firearm during the commission or attempted
commission of a felony shall not be released until that minor is
brought before a judicial officer for a mental health assessment, as
specified.
This bill would expand this requirement to also apply to minors
taken into custody during the commission or attempted commission of
specified offenses leading to a presumption that the defendant should
be tried as an adult. By imposing new duties on law enforcement
officers, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(4) Existing law provides that in cases where a probation officer
determines that a minor is or likely will be within the jurisdiction
of the juvenile court, the officer may delineate an alternative
program or programs, not to exceed 6 months, designed to adjust the
situation bringing the minor within the juvenile court's jurisdiction
by providing care and treatment for addiction, individual and family
counseling, and other services as specified. Existing law provides
that a court may, without adjudging the minor a ward of the court,
continue any hearing on a petition for 6 months and order the minor
to participate in these alternative programs and services.
This bill would provide that all minors designated as eligible for
alternative supervision diversion pursuant to these provisions shall
be enrolled in an appropriate accredited school program as a
condition of program participation, be placed on a probation officer
caseload of no more than 35 cases, be given a social history
assessment as specified, and be provided with counseling and mental
health services, if appropriate. This bill would also provide that,
subject to appropriation in the state budget, $35,000,000 shall be
available to local community-based organizations and mental health
agencies to provide services pursuant to these provisions.
The bill would also provide that eligible minors arrested for
misdemeanor offenses shall be referred to the local probation
department or to a local juvenile crime diversion or gang prevention
program under supervision of the local police or sheriff's
department, which would be responsible for referring the minor to the
appropriate program and for confirming the minor completes the
program requirements.
The bill would also provide that, subject to appropriation in the
state budget, at least $100,000,000 shall be made available for
support of local juvenile crime diversion and gang prevention
programs, at least $50,000,000 shall be made available for
utilization by local school district police departments for
development of school-based juvenile crime diversion programs, as
specified, and at least $20,000,000 shall be made available to
support local juvenile crime diversion and gang prevention programs
for predelinquent youth. By imposing additional duties on local law
enforcement personnel, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
(5) Existing law establishes a 3-year pilot project, subject to
appropriation of funds therefor, to be known as the "Repeat Offender
Prevention Project" for operation in specified counties, the purpose
of which is to design, establish, implement, and evaluate a model
program for the reduction of recidivism among juvenile offenders, as
specified.
This bill would specify that this program is contingent upon the
appropriation of $220,000,000, remove the 3-year limitation, and make
the program available to every county probation department in the
state.
(6) Existing law provides that a minor shall be selected for
participation in the Repeat Offender Prevention Project based on
several specified factors, including that the minor is 151/2 years of
age or younger, has been declared a ward of the juvenile court for
the first time, and is to be supervised by a probation department
selected for participation in the project.
This bill would expand this factor to also include minors who have
been designated as eligible for alternative supervision diversion
for the first time.
(7) Existing law establishes the Juvenile Crime Enforcement and
Accountability Challenge Grant Program, and provides that to be
eligible for grants under this program, each county shall establish a
multiagency juvenile justice coordinating council, as specified,
that shall develop and implement a continuum of county-based
responses to juvenile crime.
This bill would instead provide that each county that receives
funding under this program or under the Repeat Offender Prevention
Project must establish a multiagency coordinating council.
(8) This bill would provide that contingent upon a funding
allocation of $3,500,000 in the state budget, the Gang Violence
Reduction Project shall be established in Los Angeles, Orange,
Alameda, and San Joaquin Counties as specified.
(9) This bill would provide that contingent upon an allocation of
$3,800,000 in the state budget, the California Youth Authority shall
establish a Gang Information and Supervision Agent project at each of
its 17 parole districts.
(10) This bill would provide that contingent upon an allocation of
$2,300,000 in the state budget, the Gang Service Project shall be
added to each parole unit in the state.
(11) This bill would provide that contingent upon an allocation of
$15,000,000 in the state budget, the California Youth Authority
shall administer a bid process for allocation of the funds to local
and community agencies that provide gang prevention services in local
communities with a high number of commitments to the California
Youth Authority.
(12) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 186.26 of the Penal Code is repealed.
186.26. (a) Any adult who utilizes physical violence to coerce,
induce, or solicit another person who is under 18 years of age to
actively participate in any criminal street gang, as defined in
subdivision (f) of Section 186.22, the members of which engage in a
pattern of criminal gang activity, as defined in subdivision (e) of
Section 186.22, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison
for one, two, or three years.
(b) Any adult who threatens a minor with physical violence on two
or more separate occasions within any 30-day period with the intent
to coerce, induce, or solicit the minor to actively participate in a
criminal street gang, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section
186.22, the members of which engage in a pattern of criminal gang
activity, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section 186.22, shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison for one, two, or three
years or in a county jail for up to one year.
(c) A minor who is 16 years of age or older who commits an offense
described in subdivision (a) or (b) is guilty of a misdemeanor.
(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit
prosecution under any other provision of the law.
(e) No person shall be convicted of violating this section based
upon speech alone, except upon a showing that the speech itself
threatened violence against a specific person, that the defendant had
the apparent ability to carry out the threat, and that physical harm
was imminently likely to occur.
SEC. 2. Section 186.26 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
186.26. (a) Any person who threatens another person with physical
violence on two or more occasions with the intent to coerce, induce,
or solicit any person to actively participate in a criminal street
gang, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 186.22, shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison for one, two, or three
years.
(b) Any person who uses physical violence to coerce, induce, or
solicit another person to actively participate in any criminal street
gang, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 186.22, shall be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison for one, two, or three
years.
(c) Any person who uses physical violence to coerce, induce,
solicit, or otherwise prevent another person from leaving any
criminal street gang, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 186.22
shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for one, two,
or three years.
(d) If the person solicited, recruited, coerced, or threatened
pursuant to subdivision (a), (b), or (c) is a minor, an additional
term of imprisonment of 6, 12, or 18 months shall be imposed in
addition and consecutive to the penalty described for a violation of
these subdivisions.
(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit
prosecution under any other provision of law.
SEC. 3. Section 186.27 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
186.27. Any person who actively solicits or recruits a minor on
the grounds of, or within 1,000 feet of, a public or private
elementary, vocational, junior high, or high school when that
facility is open for classes, to actively participate in a criminal
street gang, as defined in subdivision (f) of Section 186.22 or with
the intent that the person solicited or recruited engage in a pattern
of criminal gang activity, as defined in subdivision (e) of Section
186.22, or with the intent that the person solicited or recruited
promote, further, or assist in any felonious conduct by members of
the criminal street gang, shall be punishable by a term of
imprisonment in the state prison for one, two, or three years.
SEC. 4. Section 186.29 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
186.29. Contingent upon an appropriation of five million dollars
($5,000,000) in the state budget for this purpose, reasonable
expenses for relocation shall be made available to a person who is a
victim of a criminal street gang or a witness to a gang crime and is
willing to testify in court, if in the judgment of the applicable
local law enforcement agency a credible threat of physical harm has
been made against the victim or witness, or the immediate family
thereof, or where the victim or witness otherwise reasonably fears
for his or her safety or the safety of his or her immediate family.
Sheriff's departments and local police agencies shall operate the
program at the county level and shall seek reimbursement from the
state.
SEC. 5. Section 625.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
625.3. Notwithstanding Section 625, a minor who is 14 years of
age or older and who is taken into custody by a peace officer for the
personal use or possession of a firearm during the commission or
attempted commission of a felony or any offense listed in
subdivision (b) of Section 707 shall not be released until that
minor is brought before a judicial officer. At the time the minor
is brought before a judicial officer, the judicial officer shall
assess the minor's mental health status, and shall order the minor to
continue to be detained and a mental health evaluation conducted in
accordance with Article 3 (commencing with Section 6550) of Chapter 2
of Part 2 of Division 6, if the judicial officer concludes that the
minor poses a danger to the safety of himself or herself, or to the
public. Any firearm found on the person of a minor subject to this
section shall be confiscated.
SEC. 6. Section 654.5 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
654.5. (a) All minors designated as eligible for alternative
supervision diversion pursuant to Section 654 or 654.2 shall:
(1) Be enrolled and attending an appropriate accredited school
program as a condition of program participation.
(2) Be placed on a probation officer caseload of no more than 35
assigned cases for at least six months.
(3) Be given a social history assessment which includes school
evaluations, mental heath assessment, and family background history.
(4) Be provided counseling and mental health services, if
appropriate.
(b) Subject to appropriation in the state budget, an appropriation
of thirty-five million dollars ($35,000,000) shall be available to
local community-based organizations and mental health agencies to
provide services to minors eligible for alternative supervision
diversion pursuant to Section 654 or 654.2. County probation
departments shall allocate these funds on a request for proposal
basis.
SEC. 7. Section 654.7 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
654.7. Minors who are arrested for committing a misdemeanor
offense or attempted commission of a misdemeanor offense and who are
eligible for alternative supervision diversion pursuant to Section
654 or 654.2 shall be referred to the local probation department or
to a local juvenile crime diversion or gang prevention programs under
the supervision of the local police or sheriff's department.
(b) If the minor is not referred to the local probation
department, the local police or sheriff's department will be
responsible for referring the minor to the appropriate alternative
supervision program and confirming that the minor completes the
program requirements.
(c) Subject to appropriation in the state budget, the State of
California shall make at least one hundred million dollars
($100,000,000) available annually for support of local juvenile crime
diversion and gang prevention programs. These funds shall be
administered by the Department of Corrections and allocated and
distributed through a request for proposal process. A local law
enforcement agency shall be the lead applicant.
(d) Subject to appropriation in the state budget, the State of
California shall make at least fifty million dollars ($50,000,000)
available annually for utilization by local school district police
departments for the purpose of developing school-based juvenile crime
diversion programs. These funds shall be administered by the
Department of Corrections and allocated and distributed through a
request for proposal process. Eighty percent of the funds shall be
allocated for law enforcement personnel costs, and the remainder
shall be used for services and support and for computer technology.
(e) Subject to appropriation in the state budget, the State of
California shall make at least twenty million dollars ($20,000,000)
available annually to support local juvenile crime diversion and gang
prevention programs for predelinquent youth. These funds shall be
administered by the Department of Corrections and allocated and
distributed through a request for proposal process. A local law
enforcement agency or probation department shall be the lead
applicant.
SEC. 8. Section 743 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
743. Contingent upon the appropriation of funds
therefor, there is hereby established a three-year pilot project
which shall be known as two hundred twenty million
dollars ($220,000,000) annually, the "Repeat Offender
Prevention Project." This project shall operate in the
Counties of Fresno, Humboldt, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San
Mateo, and Solano, and the City and County of San Francisco,
Project" shall be made available to every county
probation department in this state unless the board of
supervisors of one or more of these counties adopts a resolution to
the effect it will not participate in the project, each of which
shall either design, establish, implement, and
evaluate a model program to meet the needs of a juvenile offender
population identified as having the potential to become repeat
serious offenders utilizing the findings of exploratory studies
conducted in Orange County between 1989 and 1993 by the research
staff of the Orange County Probation Department and
which identified certain minors who were designated as the
"8 percent" population. The main goal of this program is to develop
and implement a cost-effective multiagency, multidisciplinary program
which targets youth displaying behavior that may lead to delinquency
and recidivism.
SEC. 9. Section 746 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
746. A minor shall be selected for participation in a program
established pursuant to this article based upon the following
factors:
(a) The minor is 151/2 years of age or younger, has either
been declared a ward of the juvenile court pursuant to
Section 601 or 602 for the first time or has been
designated as eligible for alternative supervision diversion pursuant
to Section 654 or 654.2 for the first time, and is to be
supervised by a probation department selected for participation in
this project.
(b) The minor has been evaluated and found to have at least three
of the following factors, that place the minor at a significantly
greater risk of becoming a chronic juvenile or adult offender:
(1) School behavior and performance problems. This shall include
at least one of the following: attendance problems; school
suspension or expulsion; or failure in two or more academic classes
during the previous six months or comparable academic period.
(2) Family problems. These shall include at least one of the
following: poor parental supervision or control; documented
circumstances of domestic violence; child abuse or neglect; or family
members who have engaged in criminal activities.
(3) Substance abuse. This shall include any regular use of
alcohol or drugs by the minor, other than experimentation.
(4) High-risk predelinquent behavior. This shall include at least
one of the following: a pattern of stealing; chronic running away
from home; or gang membership or association.
(5) The minor matches the at-risk profile for becoming a chronic
and repeat juvenile offender according to the criteria developed by
the Multi-Agency At-Risk Youth Committee (MAARYC).
SEC. 10. Section 749.22 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
749.22. To be eligible for this grant, each county shall
be required to Counties that receive funding pursuant
to Section 743 or from the Juvenile Crime Enforcement and
Accountability Challenge Grant Program shall establish a
multiagency juvenile justice coordinating council that shall develop
and implement a continuum of county-based responses to juvenile
crime. The coordinating councils shall, at a minimum, include the
chief probation officer, as chair, and one representative each from
the district attorney's office, the public defender's office, the
sheriff's department, the board of supervisors, the department of
social services, the department of mental health, a community-based
drug and alcohol program, a city police department, the county office
of education or a school district, and an at-large community
representative. In order to carry out its duties pursuant to this
section, a coordinating council shall also include representatives
from nonprofit community-based organizations providing services to
minors. The board of supervisors shall be informed of
community-based organizations participating on a coordinating
council. The coordinating councils shall develop a comprehensive,
multiagency plan that identifies the resources and strategies for
providing an effective continuum of responses for the prevention,
intervention, supervision, treatment, and incarceration of male and
female juvenile offenders, including strategies to develop and
implement locally based or regionally based out-of-home placement
options for youths who are persons described in Section 602.
Counties may utilize community punishment plans developed pursuant to
grants awarded from funds included in the 1995 Budget Act to the
extent the plans address juvenile crime and the juvenile justice
system or local action plans previously developed for this program.
The plan shall include, but not be limited to, the following
components:
(a) An assessment of existing law enforcement, probation,
education, mental health, health, social services, drug and alcohol
and youth services resources which specifically target at-risk
juveniles, juvenile offenders, and their families.
(b) An identification and prioritization of the neighborhoods,
schools, and other areas in the community that face a significant
public safety risk from juvenile crime, such as gang activity,
daylight burglary, late-night robbery, vandalism, truancy, controlled
substance sales, firearm-related violence, and juvenile alcohol use
within the council's jurisdiction.
(c) A local action plan (LAP) for improving and marshaling the
resources set forth in subdivision (a) to reduce the incidence of
juvenile crime and delinquency in the areas targeted pursuant to
subdivision (b) and the greater community. The councils shall
prepare their plans to maximize the provision of collaborative and
integrated services of all the resources set forth in subdivision
(a), and shall provide specified strategies for all elements of
response, including prevention, intervention, suppression, and
incapacitation, to provide a continuum for addressing the identified
male and female juvenile crime problem, and strategies to develop and
implement locally based or regionally based out-of-home placement
options for youths who are persons described in Section 602.
(d) Develop information and intelligence-sharing systems to ensure
that county actions are fully coordinated, and to provide data for
measuring the success of the grantee in achieving its goals. The
plan shall develop goals related to the outcome measures that shall
be used to determine the effectiveness of the program.
(e) Identify outcome measures which shall include, but not be
limited to, the following:
(1) The rate of juvenile arrests.
(2) The rate of successful completion of probation.
(3) The rate of successful completion of restitution and
court-ordered community service responsibilities.
SEC. 11. The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(a) The California Youth Authority successfully operated the Gang
Violence Reduction Project in the East Los Angeles area for many
years. This project received national, state, and local recognition
for the innovative and effective impact the project had on gang
violence. The two key components attributed to the program's success
were that the program was operated and managed by the Youth
Authority parole agents who provided essential credibility with other
law enforcement agents and the program operated on a dual mission,
which was to provide critical intelligence to law enforcement
regarding gang activity and mitigate or prevent gang conflicts that
lead to violence. Contingent on a funding allocation of three
million five hundred thousand dollars ($3,500,000) in the state
budget, the California Youth Authority Gang Violence Reduction
Project shall be established in four counties throughout the state,
Los Angeles, Orange, Alameda, and San Joaquin Counties, to provide
eight hundred fifty thousand dollars ($850,000) per project site to
include the cost of Youth Authority personnel, equipment, and
services.
(b) The Department of Youth Authority currently supervises
gang-involved parolees throughout 17 parole offices, however, these
parolees are not consolidated into specified gang caseloads. A Gang
Information Supervision Agent position should be established in each
parole district throughout the state. The Gang Information
Supervision Agent would allow for greater coordination between law
enforcement and probation officers for high risk gang involved
parolees. Contingent on an allocation of three million eight hundred
thousand dollars ($3,800,000) in the state budget, the California
Youth Authority shall establish the Gang Information and Supervision
Agent project at each of its 17 parole districts.
(c) The Department of Youth Authority currently operates two Gang
Service Projects in the state. This program provides additional
supervision to gang identified youth as well as providing a
designated amount of community service hours. Youth Correctional
Counselor positions should be added to each parole unit to provide
the additional supervision and establish the community service
projects. Contingent on an allocation of two million three hundred
thousand dollars ($2,300,000) in the state budget, the Gang Service
Project shall be added to each parole unit in the state.
(d) The Department of Youth Authority currently administers the
Youth Centers and Youth Shelters Bond Act. The bond act, together
with additional appropriations, has allowed the department to
distribute approximately fifty million dollars ($50,000,000) in
capital improvement costs to build or acquire youth centers and youth
shelters throughout California. This has been a major contribution
to providing a safe and appropriate place for at-risk youth.
However, adequate operating funds for these centers has not been
provided. Contingent on an allocation of fifteen million dollars
($15,000,000) in the state budget, the Department of the Youth
Authority shall administer a bid process for allocation of these
funds to local and community agencies that provide gang prevention
services in local communities with high number of commitments to the
California Youth Authority.
SEC. 12. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution for certain
costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
because in that regard this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.
However, notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies
and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.