BILL ANALYSIS
SB 449
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 449 (Aanestad)
As Amended May 22, 2007
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :39-0
GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION 14-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Torrico, Plescia, Charles |Ayes:|Leno, Walters, Caballero, |
| |Calderon, De Leon, Evans, | |Davis, DeSaulnier, |
| |Garcia, Jeffries, Levine, | |Emmerson, Huffman, |
| |Mendoza, Portantino, | |Karnette, Krekorian, La |
| |Price, Silva, Soto, Tran | |Malfa, Lieu, Ma, |
| | | |Nakanishi, Nava, Sharon |
| | | |Runner, Solorio |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Expands the list of exemptions from the California
Public Records Act (PRA) to include additional victims of sex
crimes. Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows victims of certain sex crimes to withhold their names
and addresses from being made public under the PRA.
2)Makes a conforming change in the Penal Code to remove an
existing discrepancy.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires, under the PRA, state and local agencies to make
public records available upon receipt of a request that
reasonably describes an identifiable record not otherwise
exempt from disclosure by express provisions of law, and upon
the payment of fees to cover the associated costs.
2)Exempts from disclosure the names and addresses of victims of
specified crimes, at the victim's request or the victim's
parent or guardian if the victim is a minor.
3)Allows law enforcement to obtain, for official business, the
name of a sex crime victim even if the victim requested to
SB 449
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keep the language confidential.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, costs would be minor and absorbable.
COMMENTS : While some PRA exemptions do exist to protect the
privacy of sex crime victims, there are still many other heinous
sex offenses that do not share same protection. Some of the
non-exempt crimes include abduction of a child for prostitution,
aggravated sexual assault of a child, continuous sexual abuse of
a minor, and incest. Public knowledge of these sex offenses can
be just as distressing on the life of a victim as knowledge of
those crimes currently exempted. To address this discrepancy,
this bill will add an additional 17 sex offenses to the list of
PRA exemptions. If passed, the author contends this bill will
"ultimately protect victims of horrible crimes from public
embarrassment" and give them the privacy they need to heal.
The bill exempts victims of the following crimes from the CPRA:
Penal Code Section 265: abduction for marriage or defilement.
Penal Code Section 266: enticement of unmarried female under 18
for purposes of prostitution).
Penal Code Section 266(a): abduction by fraudulent inducement
for prostitution.
Penal Code Section 266(b) abduction to live in illicit relation.
Penal Code Section 266(c): inducing commission of sexual act
through false representation creating fear).
Penal Code Section 266(e): purchasing a person for purposes of
prostitution/immoral purposes, hiring a panderer.
Penal Code Section 266(f): sale of a person for immoral
purposes.
Penal Code Section 266(j): procurement of child under 16 for
lewd/lascivious acts.
Penal Code Section 267: abduction of child under 18 for
prostitution.
Penal Code Section 269: aggravated sexual assault of a child.
Penal Code Section 288.3: contact of minor with intent to commit
sexual offense.
Penal Code Section 285: incest.
Penal Code Section 288.2: distribution or exhibition of lewd
material to minor.
Penal Code Section 288.3: arranging meeting with minor for
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lewd/lascivious purposes.
Penal Code Section 288.5: continuous sexual abuse of a child.
Penal Code Section 288.7: sexual intercourse/sodomy/oral
copulation/sexual penetration with a child 10 years of age or
younger).
Penal Code Section 647.6: annoying or molesting child under 18.
Analysis Prepared by : Eric Johnson / G.O. / (916) 319-2531
FN: 0002776