Bill Text: CA AB2246 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Battery: gassing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-05-28 - In committee: Set, second hearing. Held under submission. [AB2246 Detail]
Download: California-2009-AB2246-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2246 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 28, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Blakeslee
FEBRUARY 18, 2010
An act to add Section 243.93 to the Penal Code, relating to
battery.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2246, as amended, Blakeslee. Battery: gassing.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Mental Health
and , provides for the administration
of state hospitals , and provides for the involuntary
confinement of certain individuals in those state hospitals,
including persons who have been found not guilty of a charge by
reason of insanity, who have been found incompetent to stand trial by
a judge, or have been determined, as a result of a mental disorder,
to be a danger to themselves or others.
Existing law establishes the State Department of Developmental
Services and sets forth its duties and responsibilities, including,
but not limited to, administration and oversight of the state
developmental centers and programs relating to persons with
developmental disabilities. Existing law provides for the judicial
commitment of certain persons, including a mentally retarded person
who is a danger to himself or herself or others, mentally disordered
sex offenders, juvenile wards in need of intensive treatment as a
result of a mental disorder, and certain sexually violent predators,
to the State Department of Developmental Services. A person may also
be admitted to a developmental center voluntarily who is
substantially disabled.
Existing law provides that every person confined in a local
detention facility, state prison, or under the jurisdiction of the
Division of Juvenile Facilities of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, who commits a battery upon the person of a peace
officer by "gassing," as defined, is guilty of aggravated battery.
This bill would provide that a person confined to a state hospital
or residing at a state-operated developmental center
operated by the State Department of Developmental Services
who commits battery upon the person of a peace officer or employee of
a state hospital or state development center, by
gassing , is guilty of aggravated battery,
a felony punishable by imprisonment in county
jail or state prison for 2, 3, or 4 years in the
state prison .
The bill would also require the State Department of Mental Health
and the State Department of Developmental Services
to submit reports a report to the
Legislature by January 1, 2015, regarding gassing incidents at
their respective institutions state hospitals
.
By creating a new 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.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 243.93 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
243.93. (a) Every person confined in a state hospital or
residing in a state-operated developmental center operated by the
State Department of Developmental Services who commits
battery by gassing upon the person of any peace officer, as defined
in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, or
employee of the state hospital or state-operated
developmental center is guilty of aggravated battery and
shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail or by imprisonment
in the state prison for two, three, or four years.
(b) For purposes of this section, "gassing" means intentionally
placing or throwing, or causing to be placed or thrown, upon the
person of another, any human excrement or other bodily fluids or
bodily substances or any mixture containing human excrement or other
bodily fluids or bodily substances that results in actual contact
with the person's skin or membranes.
(c) As used in this section, "director" shall mean the director
of the state hospital if a violation of subdivision (a)
occurs in a state hospital, or to the clinical director of a
state-operated developmental center operated by the State Department
of Developmental Services if a violation of subdivision (a) occurs in
a developmental center. of the state hospital.
(d) The director of the state hospital or the clinical
director of a developmental center , or any other person in
charge of the state hospital or developmental center
, as the case may be, shall use every available means to
immediately investigate all reported or suspected violations of
subdivision (a), including, but not limited to, the use of
forensically acceptable means of preserving and testing the suspected
gassing substance to confirm the presence of human excrement or
other bodily fluids or bodily substances. If there is probable cause
to believe that the individual has violated subdivision (a), the
director may, when he or she deems it medically necessary to protect
the health of an officer or employee who may have been subject to a
violation of this section, order the individual to receive an
examination or test for hepatitis or tuberculosis or both hepatitis
and tuberculosis on either a voluntary or involuntary basis
immediately after the event, and periodically thereafter as
determined to be necessary by the director in order to ensure that
further hepatitis or tuberculosis transmission does not occur. These
decisions shall be consistent with an occupational exposure as
defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The
results of any examination or test shall be provided to the officer
or employee who has been subject to a reported or suspected violation
of this section. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to
otherwise supersede the operation of Title 8 (commencing with Section
7500) of Part 3. Any person performing tests, transmitting test
results, or disclosing information pursuant to this section shall be
immune from civil liability for any action taken in accordance with
this section.
(e) The director or other person in charge of the state hospital
or developmental center shall refer all reports
for which there is probable cause to believe that the individual has
violated subdivision (a) to the local district attorney for
prosecution.
(f) Nothing in this section shall preclude prosecution under both
this section and any other provision of law.
SEC. 2. (a) The State Department of Mental Health and the
State Department of Developmental Services shall report to
the Legislature, by January 1, 2015, their respective
its findings and recommendations on gassing
incidents at state hospitals and developmental centers
and the medical testing authorized by this section. The
report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) The total number of gassing incidents at each state hospital
or developmental center up to the date of the
report.
(2) The disposition of each gassing incident, including the
administrative penalties imposed, the number of incidents that are
prosecuted, and the results of those prosecutions, including any
penalties imposed.
(3) A profile of the individuals who commit the aggravated
batteries, including the number of individuals who have one or more
prior serious or violent felony convictions.
(4) Efforts that the department has taken to limit these
incidents, including staff training and the use of protective
clothing and goggles.
(5) The results and costs of the medical testing authorized by
this section.
(b) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2016, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
that is enacted before January 1, 2016, deletes or extends that
date.
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.
