Bill Text: CA AB2459 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Elder abuse.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-02-24 - Read first time. [AB2459 Detail]
Download: California-2013-AB2459-Introduced.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 2459 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Conway
FEBRUARY 21, 2014
An act to amend Section 368 of the Penal Code, relating to elder
abuse.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2459, as introduced, Conway. Elder abuse.
Under existing law, a person who is a caretaker of an elder or
dependent adult who violates any provision of law proscribing theft,
embezzlement, forgery, fraud, or specified identify theft provisions
of law, is subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000, by imprisonment in
a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and
imprisonment when the moneys, labor, goods, services, or real or
personal property taken or obtained is of a value not exceeding $950.
This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that
provision.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 368 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
368. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that crimes against
elders and dependent adults are deserving of special consideration
and protection, not unlike the special protections provided for minor
children, because elders and dependent adults may be confused, on
various medications, mentally or physically impaired, or incompetent,
and therefore less able to protect themselves, to understand or
report criminal conduct, or to testify in court proceedings on their
own behalf.
(b) (1) Any A person who knows or
reasonably should know that a person is an elder or dependent adult
and who, under circumstances or conditions likely to produce great
bodily harm or death, willfully causes or permits any elder or
dependent adult to suffer, or inflicts thereon unjustifiable physical
pain or mental suffering, or having the care or custody of any elder
or dependent adult, willfully causes or permits the person or health
of the elder or dependent adult to be injured, or willfully causes
or permits the elder or dependent adult to be placed in a situation
in which his or her person or health is endangered, is punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine
not to exceed six thousand dollars ($6,000), or by both that fine and
imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three,
or four years.
(2) If in the commission of an offense described in paragraph (1),
the victim suffers great bodily injury, as defined in Section
12022.7, the defendant shall receive an additional term in the state
prison as follows:
(A) Three years if the victim is under 70 years of age.
(B) Five years if the victim is 70 years of age or older.
(3) If in the commission of an offense described in paragraph (1),
the defendant proximately causes the death of the victim, the
defendant shall receive an additional term in the state prison as
follows:
(A) Five years if the victim is under 70 years of age.
(B) Seven years if the victim is 70 years of age or older.
(c) Any A person who knows or
reasonably should know that a person is an elder or dependent adult
and who, under circumstances or conditions other than those likely to
produce great bodily harm or death, willfully causes or permits
any an elder or dependent adult to
suffer, or inflicts thereon unjustifiable physical pain or mental
suffering, or having the care or custody of any
an elder or dependent adult, willfully causes or permits
the person or health of the elder or dependent adult to be injured or
willfully causes or permits the elder or dependent adult to be
placed in a situation in which his or her person or health may be
endangered, is guilty of a misdemeanor. A second or subsequent
violation of this subdivision is punishable by a fine not to exceed
two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by imprisonment in a county jail
not to exceed one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(d) Any A person who is not a
caretaker who violates any provision of law proscribing theft,
embezzlement, forgery, or fraud, or who violates Section 530.5
proscribing identity theft, with respect to the property or personal
identifying information of an elder or a dependent adult, and who
knows or reasonably should know that the victim is an elder or a
dependent adult, is punishable as follows:
(1) By a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by a fine not exceeding
ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for two, three, or four years, or by
both that fine and imprisonment, when the moneys, labor, goods,
services, or real or personal property taken or obtained is of a
value exceeding nine hundred fifty dollars ($950).
(2) By a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that
fine and imprisonment, when the moneys, labor, goods, services, or
real or personal property taken or obtained is of a value not
exceeding nine hundred fifty dollars ($950).
(e) Any A caretaker of an elder or a
dependent adult who violates any provision of law proscribing theft,
embezzlement, forgery, or fraud, or who violates Section 530.5
proscribing identity theft, with respect to the property or personal
identifying information of that elder or dependent adult, is
punishable as follows:
(1) By a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500), or by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by a fine not exceeding
ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by imprisonment pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for two, three, or four years, or by
both that fine and imprisonment, when the moneys, labor, goods,
services, or real or personal property taken or obtained is of a
value exceeding nine hundred fifty dollars ($950).
(2) By a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by both that
fine and imprisonment, when the moneys, labor, goods, services, or
real or personal property taken or obtained is of a value not
exceeding nine hundred fifty dollars ($950).
(f) Any A person who commits the
false imprisonment of an elder or a dependent adult by the use of
violence, menace, fraud, or deceit is punishable by imprisonment
pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for two, three, or four
years.
(g) As used in this section, "elder" means any
a person who is 65 years of age or older.
(h) As used in this section, "dependent adult" means any
a person who is between the ages of 18 and 64,
who has physical or mental limitations which
that restrict his or her ability to carry out normal activities
or to protect his or her rights, including, but not limited to,
persons who have physical or developmental disabilities or whose
physical or mental abilities have diminished because of age.
"Dependent adult" includes any a person
between the ages of 18 and 64 who is admitted as an inpatient to a
24-hour health facility, as defined in Sections 1250, 1250.2, and
1250.3 of the Health and Safety Code.
(i) As used in this section, "caretaker" means any
a person who has the care, custody, or control
of, or who stands in a position of trust with, an elder or a
dependent adult.
(j) Nothing in this section shall preclude prosecution under both
this section and Section 187 , or 12022.7 , or
any other provision of law. However, a person
shall not receive an additional term of imprisonment under both
paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (b) for any single offense, nor
shall a person receive an additional term of imprisonment under both
Section 12022.7 and paragraph (2) or (3) of subdivision (b) for any
single offense.
(k) In any case in which a person is convicted of violating these
provisions, the court may require him or her to receive appropriate
counseling as a condition of probation. Any A
defendant ordered to be placed in a counseling program shall
be responsible for paying the expense of his or her participation in
the counseling program as determined by the court. The court shall
take into consideration the ability of the defendant to pay, and no
defendant shall be denied probation because of his or her inability
to pay.
