Bill Text: CA AB329 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Victim compensation: use of excessive force by law enforcement.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-07-08 - From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on PUB. S. [AB329 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB329-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  March 06, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 329

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Introduced by Assembly Member Rodriguez

January 31, 2019

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An act to add Section 1318.5 to the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Sections 241 and 243 of the Penal Code, relating to hospitals.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 329, as amended, Rodriguez. Hospitals: assaults and batteries.

(1) Existing law defines an assault as an unlawful attempt, coupled with present ability, to commit a violent injury on the person of another. Under existing law, an assault committed against a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care outside a hospital, clinic, or other healthcare health care facility is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

This bill would also make an assault committed against a physician, nurse, or other healthcare health care worker of a healthcare facility hospital engaged in providing services within the facility emergency department punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(2) Existing law defines a battery as any willful and unlawful use of force or violence upon the person of another. Under existing law, a battery committed against a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care outside a hospital, clinic, or other healthcare health care facility is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment.

This bill would also make a battery committed against a physician, nurse, or other healthcare health care worker of a healthcare facility hospital engaged in providing services within the facility emergency department punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or by both that fine and imprisonment. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

(3) This bill would authorize a health facility to post a notice in the facility stating that an assault or battery against staff is a crime, and may result in a criminal conviction, as provided.

(4) 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.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a) In a national survey by the Journal of Emergency Medicine, it was found that out of 263 residents and attendants, 78% of them experienced at least one act of workplace violence in just 12 months.

(b) According to the United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, health care workers experience the most nonfatal incidents of workplace violence compared to other professions, with violent attacks accounting for almost 70% of all nonfatal workplace assaults, causing days away from work in the United States.

(c) According to the Journal of Nursing Administration, in hospitals, violence occurs most frequently in psychiatric wards, emergency departments, waiting rooms, and geriatric units. Studies have found that 35% to 80% of hospital staff have been physically assaulted at least once during their careers.

(d) According to the Journal of Nursing Administration, the 24-hour accessibility of emergency departments, the lack of adequately trained, armed, or visible security guards, and a highly stressful environment are some of the reasons why emergency departments are especially vulnerable to violence.

(e) In a 2018 survey by the American College of Emergency Physicians, 7 in 10 respondents said their hospital reported the incident, yet only 3% pressed charges.

(f) Although hospitals have taken numerous measures to protect their staff and everyone in the hospital, additional help is needed to ensure that when patients do assault individuals in the hospital, they are held accountable and the penalties act as a deterrent from future assaultive behavior.

(g) Under current California law, if a serious injury is sustained, or weapons are used, a battery may be prosecuted as a felony.

(h) As of 2018, California is one of the few states that has not passed a felony law that pertains to violence committed inside a health care facility.

SECTION 1.SEC. 2.

 Section 1318.5 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

1318.5.

 A health facility licensed under this chapter may post a notice in a conspicuous place in any area of the facility, including, but not limited to, the waiting area, lobby, or entrance, stating substantially the following:

WE WILL NOT TOLERATE any form of threatening or aggressive behavior toward our staff. staff, patients, or visitors. Assaults and batteries against our staff staff, patients, or visitors are crimes and may result in a criminal conviction. All staff have the right to carry out their work without fearing for their safety.

SEC. 2.SEC. 3.

 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 the fine and imprisonment.

(b) If an assault is committed against the person of a parking control officer engaged in the performance of their 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 the 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 their duties, or a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care outside a hospital, clinic, or other healthcare health care facility, or a physician, nurse, or other healthcare health care worker of a facility hospital engaged in providing services within the facility, emergency department, 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 their duties, or a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care, or a physician, nurse, or other healthcare health care worker of a facility hospital engaged in providing services within the facility, emergency department, 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 the fine and imprisonment.

(d) As used in this section, the following definitions apply:

(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 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 or a nurse of a healthcare health care facility engaged in providing services within the facility.

(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 which that includes written identification of the person’s status as a lifeguard and which that clearly identifies the employing organization.

(6) “Process server” means any 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 any 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 any person employed by a county or city for purposes of enforcing animal control laws or regulations.

(9) (A) “Code enforcement officer” means any person who is not described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 and who is employed by any governmental subdivision, public or quasi-public corporation, public agency, public service corporation, any 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 any 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 any 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 any person who is part of an organized search and rescue team managed by a governmental agency.

(12) “Healthcare “Health care worker” means a person who, in the course and scope of employment or as a volunteer, performs duties directly associated with the care and treatment rendered by the healthcare health care facility or the security thereof.

SEC. 3.SEC. 4.

 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 their duties, whether on or off duty, including when the peace officer is in a police uniform and is concurrently performing the duties required 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 their 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, or a physician, nurse, or other healthcare health care worker of a healthcare facility hospital engaged in providing services within the facility, emergency department, 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 their duties, nonsworn employee of a probation department, or a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care, or a physician, nurse, or other healthcare health care worker of a healthcare facility hospital engaged in providing services within the facility, emergency department, 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 their duties, whether on or off duty, or a nonsworn employee of a probation department engaged in the performance of their duties, whether on or off duty, or a physician or nurse engaged in rendering emergency medical care outside a hospital, clinic, or other healthcare 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 their 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 their duties, whether on or off duty, including when the peace officer is in a police uniform and is concurrently performing the duties required 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 their 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 any 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.

(e) (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 paragraph does not require 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) 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:

(A) That the defendant make payments to a battered women’s shelter, up to a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000).

(B) 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.

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. An order to make payments to a battered women’s shelter be issued 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 their 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 these specified crimes 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) of this section, the peace officer is not required to inform the victim of the right to make a citizen’s arrest pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 836.

(f) 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 or a nurse of a healthcare health care facility engaged in providing services within the facility.

(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 any bodily member or organ; a wound requiring extensive suturing; and serious disfigurement.

(5) “Injury” means any physical injury which that requires professional medical treatment.

(6) “Custodial officer” means any person who has the responsibilities and duties described in Section 831 and who is employed by a law enforcement agency of any city or county or who performs those duties as a volunteer.

(7) “Lifeguard” means a person defined in paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) of Section 241.

(8) “Traffic officer” means any 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 any 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 any person who is not described in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 and who is employed by any governmental subdivision, public or quasi-public corporation, public agency, public service corporation, any 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 any 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 any person who has the responsibilities and duties described in Section 831.7 and who is employed by a law enforcement agency of any city, county, or city and county.

(13) “Search and rescue member” means any person who is part of an organized search and rescue team managed by a government agency.

(14) “Security officer” means any person who has the responsibilities and duties described in Section 831.4 and who is employed by a law enforcement agency of any city, county, or city and county.

(15) “Healthcare “Health care worker” means a person who, in the course and scope of employment or as a volunteer, performs duties directly associated with the care and treatment rendered by the healthcare health care facility or the security thereof.

(g) 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. 4.SEC. 5.

 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.