BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1475
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 17, 2007
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Jose Solorio, Chair
AB 1475 (Galgiani) - As Introduced: February 23, 2007
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Makes commercial computer technicians mandated
reporters for the purpose of the Child Abuse and Neglect
Reporting Act (CANRA). Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes commercial computer technicians mandated reporters for
the purpose of the CANRA.
2)Defines "commercial computer technician" as any person who
repairs, installs, or otherwise services any computer,
including, but not limited to, any component part, device,
memory storage or recording mechanism, auxiliary storage
recording or memory capacity, or any other materials relating
to the operation and maintenance of a computer or computer
network or system for compensation. The term also includes
any employee of such a person.
3)Requires a commercial film and photographic print processor or
a commercial computer technician to report any film,
photograph, videotape, computer files, CD-ROM or DVD, magnetic
disk memory, magnetic tape memory, picture graphic or image
that is intentionally saved, transmitted or organized on
hardware or any other media, including, but not limited to,
CD, DVD or thumbdrive, whether by digital analog or other
means and whether directly viewable compressed or encoded who
appears to be under 16 years of age being subject to, or
involved in sexual abuse.
4)Allows a report of suspected sexual abuse to be reported to a
local, state, or federal law enforcement agency in the county
where the images are seen rather than to the law enforcement
agency having jurisdiction over the case, and requires the
report be made immediately, or as soon as practicably possible
by telephone and requires that a written report be forwarded,
as specified, within 36 hours of receiving the information.
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5)Deletes a reference to "sexual conduct" and substitutes the
term "sexual abuse" which is defined in another section of
CANRA.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires that any mandated reporter who has knowledge of, or
observes, a child in his or her professional capacity or
within the scope of his or her employment whom he or she knows
or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse
shall report it immediately to a specified child protection
agency. [Penal Code Section 11166(a).]
2)Requires that reports of suspected child abuse or neglect
shall be made by a mandated reporter to any police or
sheriff's department, a county probation department if
designated by the county to receive mandated reports, or the
county welfare department. (Penal Code Section 11165.9.)
3)Defines "mandated reporter" as specific child-care custodians,
health practitioners, law enforcement officers, and other
medical and professional persons. (Penal Code Section
11165.7.)
4)Provides that the reporting duties under CANRA are individual,
no supervisor or administrator may impede or inhibit the
reporting duties, and no person making a report shall be
subject to any sanctions for making the report. [Penal Code
Section 11166(g)(1).]
5)Provides that any mandated reporter who fails to report an
instance of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or
neglect as required is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by
up to six months in the county jail; by a fine of $1,000; or
by both imprisonment and fine. [Penal Code Section 11166(b).]
6)Requires specified reporting agencies to forward to the
Department of Justice (DOJ) a report of every case of
suspected child abuse or neglect which is determined not to be
unfounded; and if a previously filed report proves to be
unfounded, the DOJ shall be notified in writing and shall not
retain that report. [Penal Code Section 11169(a).]
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7)Requires at the time a reporting agency forwards a report of
suspected child abuse or neglect to the DOJ, that the agency
notify the known or suspected child abuser that he or she has
been reported to the Child Abuse Central Index (CACI). [Penal
Code Section 11165(b).]
8)Requires the DOJ to maintain an index of all reports of child
abuse and neglect submitted by the specified reporting
agencies. The index shall be continually updated and shall
not contain any reports determined to be unfounded. [Penal
Code Section 11170(a)(1).]
9)States that the DOJ shall act only as a repository of the
suspected child abuse or neglect reports that are maintained
in CACI, and that the reporting agencies are responsible for
the accuracy, completeness, and retention of reports. [Penal
Code Section 11170(a)(2).]
10)Requires that information from an inconclusive or
unsubstantiated suspected child abuse or neglect report shall
be deleted from CACI after 10 years if no subsequent report
concerning the suspected child abuser is received within the
10-year period. [Penal Code Section 11170(a)(3).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "This bill adds
commercial computer technicians to the list of mandatory
reporters of child pornography, creating a broader scope of
tools for investigation of this heinous crime and bringing
awareness to the tech community about this issue to urge them
to protect children where they can.
"Currently, six other states (Arkansas, Michigan, Missouri,
Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Dakota) have laws that
include computer technicians as mandatory reporters. Many
other states are now taking action to modernize antiquated
statutes in order to address to the newest technology
available. Digital cameras are becoming more prevalent than
standard film cameras and the storage and development of
digital pictures happens on computers rather than in
photo-processing shops. In order to adequately protect our
children, we must update our laws on mandatory reporting to
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include commercial computer technicians. This bill focuses on
expanding the pool of possible reporters of this egregious act
because every piece of child sexual abuse is one child that
has been violated and abused."
2)What This Bill Would Do : This bill would add "commercial
computer technicians" to the mandatory child abuse or neglect
reporting laws. These persons would be defined to essentially
include persons who service anything related to the operation
or maintenance of a computer, computer network or system for
compensation, as specified. This bill also revises the
description of materials currently applicable to commercial
film and photographic print processors to include materials
applicable to computer technicians, a specified. It currently
is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and/or
a $1,000 fine for a mandatory reporter to fail to report an
incident of known or reasonably suspected child abuse or
neglect; this measure would not change this penalty and simply
extend it to apply to this new category of mandated reporter.
This bill deletes the existing definition of "sexual conduct"
for purposes of depictions that might be viewed by print
processors or computer technicians and, instead, applies their
mandatory reporting obligations to materials depicting a child
"who appears to be under 16 years of age being subject to, or
involved in, sexual abuse." (Sexual abuse is defined in other
parts of CANRA.)
3)Prior Legislation : AB 2304 (Runner), of the 2005-06
Legislative Session, would have added commercial computer
technicians to the CANRA. AB 2304 failed passage in the
Senate Public Safety Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California State Sheriffs' Association (Sponsor)
Alameda County Sheriff-Coroner
Amador County Sheriff-Coroner
Butte County Sheriff-Coroner
Contra Costa County Sheriff
Del Norte County Sheriff
El Dorado County Sheriff-Coroner
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Fresno County Sheriff
Imperial County Sheriff-Coroner
Kern County Sheriff-Coroner
Marin County Sheriff
Mariposa County Sheriff-Coroner
Mono County Sheriff-Coroner
Nevada County Sheriff-Coroner
Sacramento County Sheriff
San Diego County Sheriff
San Joaquin County Sheriff-Coroner
Santa Barbara County Sheriff
Santa Cruz County Sheriff-Coroner
Shasta County Sheriff
Tuolumne County Sheriff-Coroner
Yolo County Sheriff-Coroner
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744