BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE RULES COMMITTEE SB 1796
Office of Senate Floor Analyses
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
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Bill No: SB 1796
Author: Leslie (R), et al
Amended: 7/21/98
Vote: 21
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SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/21/98
AYES: Vasconcellos, Rainey, Burton, Kopp, McPherson,
Polanco, Schiff
NOT VOTING: Watson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 12-0, 5/26/98
AYES: Johnston, Alpert, Burton, Dills, Hughes, Johnson,
Kelley, Leslie, McPherson, Mountjoy, O'Connell,
Vasconcellos
NOT VOTING: Calderon
SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 5/28/98
AYES: Alpert, Ayala, Brulte, Burton, Calderon, Costa,
Dills, Greene, Hayden, Haynes, Hughes, Hurtt,
Johannessen, Johnson, Johnston, Karnette, Kelley, Knight,
Kopp, Leslie, Lockyer, Maddy, McPherson, Monteith,
Mountjoy, O'Connell, Peace, Polanco, Rainey, Rosenthal,
Schiff, Sher, Solis, Thompson, Vasconcellos, Watson,
Wright
NOT VOTING: Craven, Lewis
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 8/20/98 (Passed on Consent) - See
last page for vote
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SUBJECT : Electronic stalking and harassment
SOURCE : Author
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DIGEST : This bill would add threats or annoying
communications made by electronic communication, such as
through the Internet, to existing statutes prohibiting
threats or annoying communications by other means.
Assembly Amendments :
1.Add co-authors.
2.Revise the definition of "credible threat."
3.Define "electronic communication device."
4.Exclude contracts made in good faith.
5.Expand existing law to include contact by means of
electronic equipment, and define same.
6.Add double-joining language.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that the tort of
stalking occurs when the defendant engaged in a pattern of
conduct intended to follow, alarm, or harass, resulting in
the plaintiff reasonably fearing for his or her safety or
the safety of an immediate family member, where the
defendant has either made a credible threat or violated a
restraining order.
This bill would expand the definition of "credible threat"
to mean a verbal or written threat, including that
communicated by means of an electronic communication
device, or a threat implied by a pattern of conduct or a
combination of verbal, written or electronically
communicated statements and conduct, made with the intent
and apparent ability to carry out the threat so as to cause
the persons who is the target of the threat to reasonably
fear for his or her safety or the safety of his or her
immediate family.
The bill would define "electronic communication device" to
include telephones, cellular telephones, computers, video
records, FAX machines or pagers. (This definition is the
same as used in federal law.)
Existing law prohibits the willful threat to commit a crime
which will result in the death or great bodily injury of
another, with the specific intent that the statement be
taken as a threat even if there is no actual intent of
carrying out the crime, where the threat is so unequivocal,
immediate, and specific so as to cause the recipient to
reasonably be in sustained fear for his or her own safety
or the safety of his or her immediate family. The
punishment is an alternative felony/misdemeanor, punishable
by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year or
in state prison for 16 months, two years, or three years.
This bill would clarify that this provision applies to
threatening statements made verbally, in writing, or
electronically, whether via the Internet or by other means
of electronic communication.
Existing law prohibits, regardless of the good faith of the
caller, the making of telephone calls to others with the
intent to annoy, where the caller either uses obscene
language or makes threats to the other party's person or
property. Existing law also prohibits the repeated
telephoning of another at the recipient's residence or,
under certain circumstances, place of work, with the intent
to annoy, except where the repeated telephoning is
conducted in good faith. An offense committed by use of a
telephone may be deemed to have been committed either where
the call was made or where it was received. The offense is
a misdemeanor.
This bill would expand these provisions to include the
sending of electronic communications, and would apply a
good faith exception to obscene and threatening
communications. In the case of electronic communications,
the violation would be deemed to be at the location from
which the communication was sent or was first received by
the recipient. Any offense committed by use of an
electronic communication device or medium, including the
Internet, may be deemed to have been committed where the
electronic communication or communications were originally
sent or first viewed by the recipient.
The bill also states that the adoption of these changes is
not intended to restrict the types of conduct or actions
that can constitute harassment or stalking.
This bill is double-joined with AB 2351 (Hertzberg) dealing
with computer crimes.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01
Fund
Cyberstalking Unknown increased costs,
potentiallyGeneral
$62 in 1998-99 and $124 in subsequent
years for incarceration in state prison
Unknown increased costs for county
jail and probation
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/20/98)
Attorney General
California District Attorneys Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
California Peace Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs' Association
National Organization for Women
Kids Safe
California Alliance for Consumer Protection
Adult Entertainment Industry Education Fund
CyberAngels Internet Safety Organization
California Psychiatric Association
Sacramento Area Stalking Survivors
Sacramento District Attorney
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"Senate Bill 1796 seeks to make "cyberstalking punishable
under current harassment and stalking laws. Cyberstalking
is new high-tech version of an old terror, "stalking." At
its worst, it becomes real world stalking, with potentially
dangerous and even deadly consequences. It can take the
form of threatening, obscene or hateful e-mail, spreading
vicious rumors about a victim on-line, an electronic
sabotage like e-mail bombs (overwhelming a victim's system
with possibly thousands of e-mails). This bill would
clarify that electronic communication includes e-mail,
faxes, Internet communication (such as "chat rooms",
"bulletin boards", etc.), and electronic voice mail and
pagers.
According to CyberAngeles Internet Safety Organization,
"Criminal 'cyberstalking' appears to have caught
professional law enforcement unprepared. The technology is
so new that cyberstalking victims often find themselves
vainly trying to explain what is happening to them to
technologically unprepared police officers and prosecutors.
However, more and more law enforcement officers and
district attorneys are becoming aware and educated in the
area of high tech crime. There is a growing consensus in
California that current stalking and harassment laws need
to be expanded to also include electronic communication.
"Both men and women can be stalked on-line, but the
majority of victims, as off-line, are female. It is
estimated that there are 200,000 real life stalkers in
America today, out of a population of around 250 million;
that is 0.0008% of the U.S. population. In other words,
roughly 1 in 1250 persons is a stalker. It is estimate
that over 1.5 million Americans today have been or are
currently stalking victims; that is 0.006% of the
population, or 1 person in 166. If these figures were
reflected on the Internet (although no one actually knows
these figures for sure), then we would find 40,000 Internet
stalkers cruising the information superhighway, stalking an
estimated 300,000 targets nationwide."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Ackerman, Aguiar, Alby, Alquist, Aroner, Ashburn,
Baca, Battin, Baugh, Bordonaro, Bowen, Bowler, Brewer,
Brown, Bustamante, Campbell, Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo,
Cunneen, Davis, Ducheny, Escutia, Figueroa, Firestone,
Floyd, Gallegos, Goldsmith, Granlund, Havice, Hertzberg,
Honda, House, Kaloogian, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Kuykendall,
Leach, Lempert, Leonard, Margett, Martinez, Mazzoni,
McClintock, Migden, Miller, Morrissey, Morrow, Murray,
Napolitano, Olberg, Oller, Ortiz, Pacheco, Papan, Perata,
Poochigian, Prenter, Pringle, Richter, Runner, Scott,
Shelley, Strom-Martin, Sweeney, Thompson, Thomson,
Torlakson, Vincent, Washington, Wayne, Wildman, Woods,
Wright, Villaraigosa
NOT VOTING: Baldwin, Frusetta, Machado, Takasugi
RJG:ctl 8/21/98 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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