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SB-513 Assault and battery of a public utility worker.(2017-2018)

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Date Published: 09/02/2017 04:00 AM
SB513:v95#DOCUMENT

Enrolled  September 01, 2017
Passed  IN  Senate  August 31, 2017
Passed  IN  Assembly  August 24, 2017
Amended  IN  Assembly  July 10, 2017
Amended  IN  Senate  May 26, 2017
Amended  IN  Senate  April 03, 2017

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 513


Introduced by Senator Bradford

February 16, 2017


An act to amend Sections 241 and 243 of the Penal Code, relating to assault and battery.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 513, Bradford. Assault and battery of a public utility worker.
Existing law makes assault punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 6 months, or by both that fine and imprisonment. Existing law makes battery punishable by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed 6 months, or by both that fine and imprisonment. Existing law provides for higher fines and longer terms of imprisonment for an assault or battery against specified individuals, including a peace officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties when the person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a peace officer.
This bill would make assault of a utility worker, as defined, engaged in the performance of his or her duties, and the person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a utility worker engaged in the performance of his or her duties, punishable by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 6 months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
This bill would make battery of a utility worker, as defined, engaged in the performance of his or her duties, when the person committing the battery knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a utility worker engaged in the performance of his or her duties, and an injury is inflicted on the utility worker, punishable by a fine of not more than $3,000, by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding 6 months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
By enhancing the punishment for a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
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.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 241 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

241.
 (a) An assault is punishable by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) If an assault is committed against the person of a parking control officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties, and the person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a parking control officer, the assault is punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(c) If an assault is committed against the person of a peace officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, mobile intensive care paramedic, lifeguard, process server, traffic officer, code enforcement officer, animal control officer, or search and rescue member engaged in the performance of his or her duties, or a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care outside a hospital, clinic, or other health care facility, and the person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a peace officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, mobile intensive care paramedic, lifeguard, process server, traffic officer, code enforcement officer, animal control officer, or search and rescue member engaged in the performance of his or her duties, or a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care, the assault is punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(d) If an assault is committed against the person of a utility worker engaged in the performance of his or her duties, and the person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a utility worker engaged in the performance of his or her duties, the assault is punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(e) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:
(1) “Peace officer” means a person defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2.
(2) “Emergency medical technician” means a person possessing a valid course completion certificate from a program approved by the State Department of Health Care Services for the medical training and education of ambulance personnel, and who meets the standards of Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) “Mobile intensive care paramedic” refers to a person who meets the standards set forth in Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code.
(4) “Nurse” means a person who meets the standards of Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code.
(5) “Lifeguard” means a person who is:
(A) Employed as a lifeguard by the state, a county, or a city, and is designated by local ordinance as a public officer who has a duty and responsibility to enforce local ordinances and misdemeanors through the issuance of citations.
(B) Wearing distinctive clothing that includes written identification of the person’s status as a lifeguard and that clearly identifies the employing organization.
(6) “Process server” means a person who meets the standards or is expressly exempt from the standards set forth in Section 22350 of the Business and Professions Code.
(7) “Traffic officer” means a person employed by a county or city to monitor and enforce state laws and local ordinances relating to parking and the operation of vehicles.
(8) “Animal control officer” means a person employed by a county or city for purposes of enforcing animal control laws or regulations.
(9) (A) “Code enforcement officer” means a person who is not described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 and who is employed by a governmental subdivision, public or quasi-public corporation, public agency, public service corporation, a town, city, county, or municipal corporation, whether incorporated or chartered, that has enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare requirements, and whose duties include enforcement of any statute, rules, regulations, or standards, and who is authorized to issue citations, or file formal complaints.
(B) “Code enforcement officer” also includes a person who is employed by the Department of Housing and Community Development who has enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare requirements pursuant to the Employee Housing Act (Part 1 (commencing with Section 17000) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); the State Housing Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 17910) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); the Manufactured Housing Act of 1980 (Part 2 (commencing with Section 18000) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); the Mobilehome Parks Act (Part 2.1 (commencing with Section 18200) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); and the Special Occupancy Parks Act (Part 2.3 (commencing with Section 18860) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code).
(10) “Parking control officer” means a person employed by a city, county, or city and county, to monitor and enforce state laws and local ordinances relating to parking.
(11) “Search and rescue member” means a person who is part of an organized search and rescue team managed by a governmental agency.
(12) “Utility worker” means a person employed by, or who is a contractor to, an investor-owned or publicly owned water corporation, electrical corporation, gas corporation, or electric cooperative that performs services for or delivers a commodity to the public or any portion thereof and the service performed is the construction, alteration, demolition, installation, maintenance, or repair of water, electrical, or gas infrastructure.

SEC. 2.

 Section 243 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

243.
 (a) A battery is punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(b) If a battery is committed against the person of a peace officer, custodial officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, lifeguard, security officer, custody assistant, process server, traffic officer, code enforcement officer, animal control officer, or search and rescue member engaged in the performance of his or her duties, whether on or off duty, including when the peace officer is in a police uniform and is concurrently performing the duties required of him or her as a peace officer while also employed in a private capacity as a part-time or casual private security guard or patrolman, or a nonsworn employee of a probation department engaged in the performance of his or her duties, whether on or off duty, or a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care outside a hospital, clinic, or other health care facility, and the person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a peace officer, custodial officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, lifeguard, security officer, custody assistant, process server, traffic officer, code enforcement officer, animal control officer, or search and rescue member engaged in the performance of his or her duties, nonsworn employee of a probation department, or a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care, the battery is punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(c) (1) If a battery is committed against a custodial officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, lifeguard, process server, traffic officer, or animal control officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties, whether on or off duty, or a nonsworn employee of a probation department engaged in the performance of his or her duties, whether on or off duty, or a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care outside a hospital, clinic, or other health care facility, and the person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a nonsworn employee of a probation department, custodial officer, firefighter, emergency medical technician, lifeguard, process server, traffic officer, or animal control officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties, or a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care, and an injury is inflicted on that victim, the battery is punishable by a fine of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000), by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for 16 months, or two or three years.
(2) If the battery specified in paragraph (1) is committed against a peace officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties, whether on or off duty, including when the peace officer is in a police uniform and is concurrently performing the duties required of him or her as a peace officer while also employed in a private capacity as a part-time or casual private security guard or patrolman and the person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a peace officer engaged in the performance of his or her duties, the battery is punishable by a fine of not more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for 16 months, or two or three years, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(d) If a battery is committed against a utility worker engaged in the performance of his or her duties, and the person committing the battery knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a utility worker engaged in the performance of his or her duties, and an injury is inflicted on the victim, the battery is punishable by a fine of not more than three thousand dollars ($3,000), by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding six months, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(e) If a battery is committed against a person and serious bodily injury is inflicted on the person, the battery is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year or imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for two, three, or four years.
(f) (1) If a battery is committed against a spouse, a person with whom the defendant is cohabiting, a person who is the parent of the defendant’s child, former spouse, fiancé, or fiancée, or a person with whom the defendant currently has, or has previously had, a dating or engagement relationship, the battery is punishable by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail for a period of not more than one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If probation is granted, or the execution or imposition of the sentence is suspended, it shall be a condition thereof that the defendant participate in, for no less than one year, and successfully complete, a batterer’s treatment program, as described in Section 1203.097, or if none is available, another appropriate counseling program designated by the court. However, this provision shall not be construed as requiring a city, a county, or a city and county to provide a new program or higher level of service as contemplated by Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution.
(2) (A) Upon conviction of a violation of this subdivision, if probation is granted, the conditions of probation may include, in lieu of a fine, one or both of the following requirements:
(i) That the defendant make payments to a battered women’s shelter, up to a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000).
(ii) That the defendant reimburse the victim for reasonable costs of counseling and other reasonable expenses that the court finds are the direct result of the defendant’s offense.
(B) For any order to pay a fine, make payments to a battered women’s shelter, or pay restitution as a condition of probation under this subdivision, the court shall make a determination of the defendant’s ability to pay. In no event shall an order to make payments to a battered women’s shelter be made if it would impair the ability of the defendant to pay direct restitution to the victim or court-ordered child support. If the injury to a married person is caused in whole or in part by the criminal acts of his or her spouse in violation of this section, the community property shall not be used to discharge the liability of the offending spouse for restitution to the injured spouse, required by Section 1203.04, as operative on or before August 2, 1995, or Section 1202.4, or to a shelter for costs with regard to the injured spouse and dependents, required by this section, until all separate property of the offending spouse is exhausted.
(3) Upon conviction of a violation of this subdivision, if probation is granted or the execution or imposition of the sentence is suspended and the person has been previously convicted of a violation of this subdivision or Section 273.5, the person shall be imprisoned for not less than 48 hours in addition to the conditions in paragraph (1). However, the court, upon a showing of good cause, may elect not to impose the mandatory minimum imprisonment as required by this subdivision and may, under these circumstances, grant probation or order the suspension of the execution or imposition of the sentence.
(4) The Legislature finds and declares that crimes specified in this subdivision merit special consideration when imposing a sentence so as to display society’s condemnation for these crimes of violence upon victims with whom a close relationship has been formed.
(5) If a peace officer makes an arrest for a violation of paragraph (1), the peace officer is not required to inform the victim of his or her right to make a citizen’s arrest pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 836.
(g) As used in this section:
(1) “Peace officer” means any person defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2.
(2) “Emergency medical technician” means a person who is either an EMT-I, EMT-II, or EMT-P (paramedic), and possesses a valid certificate or license in accordance with the standards of Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code.
(3) “Nurse” means a person who meets the standards of Division 2.5 (commencing with Section 1797) of the Health and Safety Code.
(4) “Serious bodily injury” means a serious impairment of physical condition, including, but not limited to, the following: loss of consciousness; concussion; bone fracture; protracted loss or impairment of function of a bodily member or organ; a wound requiring extensive suturing; and serious disfigurement.
(5) “Injury” means a physical injury that requires professional medical treatment.
(6) “Custodial officer” means a person who has the responsibilities and duties described in Section 831 and who is employed by a law enforcement agency of a city or county or who performs those duties as a volunteer.
(7) “Lifeguard” means a person defined in paragraph (5) of subdivision (e) of Section 241.
(8) “Traffic officer” means a person employed by a city, county, or city and county to monitor and enforce state laws and local ordinances relating to parking and the operation of vehicles.
(9) “Animal control officer” means a person employed by a city, county, or city and county for purposes of enforcing animal control laws or regulations.
(10) “Dating relationship” means frequent, intimate associations primarily characterized by the expectation of affectional or sexual involvement independent of financial considerations.
(11) (A) “Code enforcement officer” means a person who is not described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 and who is employed by a governmental subdivision, public or quasi-public corporation, public agency, public service corporation, a town, city, county, or municipal corporation, whether incorporated or chartered, who has enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare requirements, and whose duties include enforcement of any statute, rules, regulations, or standards, and who is authorized to issue citations, or file formal complaints.
(B) “Code enforcement officer” also includes a person who is employed by the Department of Housing and Community Development who has enforcement authority for health, safety, and welfare requirements pursuant to the Employee Housing Act (Part 1 (commencing with Section 17000) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); the State Housing Law (Part 1.5 (commencing with Section 17910) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); the Manufactured Housing Act of 1980 (Part 2 (commencing with Section 18000) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); the Mobilehome Parks Act (Part 2.1 (commencing with Section 18200) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code); and the Special Occupancy Parks Act (Part 2.3 (commencing with Section 18860) of Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code).
(12) “Custody assistant” means a person who has the responsibilities and duties described in Section 831.7 and who is employed by a law enforcement agency of a city, county, or city and county.
(13) “Search and rescue member” means a person who is part of an organized search and rescue team managed by a government agency.
(14) “Security officer” means a person who has the responsibilities and duties described in Section 831.4 and who is employed by a law enforcement agency of a city, county, or city and county.
(15) “Utility worker” means a person employed by, or who is a contractor to, an investor-owned or publicly owned water corporation, electrical corporation, gas corporation, or electric cooperative that performs services for or delivers a commodity to the public or any portion thereof and the service performed is the construction, alteration, demolition, installation, maintenance, or repair of water, electrical, or gas infrastructure.
(h) It is the intent of the Legislature by amendments to this section at the 1981–82 and 1983–84 Regular Sessions to abrogate the holdings in cases such as People v. Corey, 21 Cal. 3d 738, and Cervantez v. J.C. Penney Co., 24 Cal. 3d 579, and to reinstate prior judicial interpretations of this section as they relate to criminal sanctions for battery on peace officers who are employed, on a part-time or casual basis, while wearing a police uniform as private security guards or patrolmen and to allow the exercise of peace officer powers concurrently with that employment.

SEC. 3.

 No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because 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 XIII B of the California Constitution.