Bill Text: CA AB1671 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Confidential communications: disclosure.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-09-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 855, Statutes of 2016. [AB1671 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB1671-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: AB 1671	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 12, 2016
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 17, 2016

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Gomez

                        JANUARY 15, 2016

   An act to amend Section 632  of   of, and to
add Section 632.01 to,  the Penal Code, relating to confidential
communications.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1671, as amended, Gomez. Confidential communications:
disclosure.
   (1) Existing law makes it a crime for a person to intentionally
eavesdrop upon or record a confidential communication by means of an
electronic amplifying or recording device without the consent of all
parties to the confidential communication. Existing law defines a
confidential communication as any communication carried on in
circumstances that reasonably indicate that any party to the
communication desires it to be confined to the parties thereto.
   This bill  additionally would make it a crime  for a
person who unlawfully eavesdrops upon or records a confidential
communication as described above  to intentionally use,
or attempt to use, or to intentionally  disclose, or attempt
to disclose,  or to intentionally distribute, or attempt to
distribute,  the contents of a confidential communication
without the consent of all parties to the confidential communication
unless specified conditions are met. The bill would also make it a
crime  for any person  to aid,  abet,  employ, or
conspire with  any   the  person  who
unlawfully eavesdrops upon or records a confidential communication
 to unlawfully do, permit, or cause the  recordation,
use, or  disclosure  or distribution  of  a
  the  confidential communication. By creating new
crimes, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
   (2) Existing law makes the above-specified crime of eavesdropping
punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,500 or imprisonment in a county
jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison for 16 months or
2 or 3 years. If the person has previously been convicted of
eavesdropping, or has previously been convicted of specified invasion
of privacy crimes, existing law requires the person to be punished
by a fine not exceeding $10,000, by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding one year, or in the state prison for 16 months or 2 or 3
years.
   This bill would require  the-above specified 
 the above-specified  fines to be imposed on a per-violation
 basis.   basis and would impose the same
penalties prescribed for the unlawful eavesdropping upon or recording
of a confidential communication to the disclosure crimes created by
the bill. The bill also would make various technical, nonsubstantive
changes to existing law. 
   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 632 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   632.  (a) A person who, intentionally and without the consent of
all parties to a confidential communication,  does any of the
following shall be punished pursuant to subdivision (b): 
    (1)     By means of any
  uses an  electronic amplifying or recording
 device, eavesdrops   device to eavesdrop 
upon or  records   record  the confidential
communication, whether the communication is carried on among the
parties in the presence of one another or by means of a telegraph,
telephone, or other device, except a  radio.  
radio, shall be punished pursuant to subdivision (b).  
   (2) Uses, attempts to use, discloses, or attempts to disclose, in
any manner, or for any purpose, the contents of any confidential
communication knowing or having reason to know the information was
obtained in violation of paragraph (1).  
   (3) Aids, employs, or conspires with any person or persons to
unlawfully do, permit, or cause to be done any of the acts described
in this subdivision. 
   (b) A violation of subdivision (a) shall be punished by a fine not
exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per violation,
or imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or in the
state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If the person
has previously been convicted of a violation of this section or
Section 631, 632.5, 632.6, 632.7, or 636, the person shall be
punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000) per
violation, by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
   (c) For the purposes of this section, "person" means an
individual, business association, partnership, corporation, limited
liability company, or other legal entity, and an individual acting or
purporting to act for or on behalf of any government or subdivision
thereof, whether federal, state, or local, but excludes an individual
known by all parties to a confidential communication to be
overhearing or recording the communication.
   (d) For the purposes of this section, "confidential communication"
means any communication carried on in circumstances as may
reasonably indicate that any party to the communication desires it to
be confined to the parties thereto, but excludes a communication
made in a public gathering or in any legislative, judicial, 
executive   executive,  or administrative
proceeding open to the public, or in any other circumstance in which
the parties to the communication may reasonably expect that the
communication may be overheard or recorded.
   (e) Except as proof in an action or prosecution for violation of
this section,  no  evidence obtained as a result of
eavesdropping upon or recording a confidential communication in
violation of this section  shall be   is not
 admissible in any judicial, administrative, legislative, or
other proceeding.
   (f) This section does not apply (1) to any public utility engaged
in the business of providing communications services and facilities,
or to the officers,  employees   employees,
 or agents thereof,  where   if  the
acts otherwise prohibited by this section are for the purpose of
construction, maintenance,  conduct   conduct,
 or operation of the services and facilities of the public
utility,  or  (2) to the use of any instrument,
equipment, facility, or service furnished and used pursuant to the
tariffs of a public utility, or (3) to any telephonic communication
system used for communication exclusively within a state, county,
city and county, or city correctional facility.
   (g) This section does not apply to the use of hearing aids and
similar devices, by persons afflicted with impaired hearing, for the
purpose of overcoming the impairment to permit the hearing of sounds
ordinarily audible to the human ear. 
   (h) Paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) does not apply to any member
of the media who uses, attempts to use, discloses, or attempts to
disclose, a confidential communication if all of the following are
true:  
   (1) The communication is truthful and regarding a matter of public
concern.  
   (2) The communication was obtained lawfully by the member of the
media and not obtained by him or her in violation of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a).  
   (3) The person did not know who was responsible for obtaining the
information. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 632.01 is added to the  
Penal Code   , to read:  
   632.01.  (a) A person who violates subdivision (a) of Section 632,
in addition to any punishment under that section, shall be punished
pursuant to subdivision (c) if the person intentionally discloses or
attempts to disclose, or distributes or attempts to distribute, in
any manner, in any forum, including, but not limited to, Internet Web
sites and social media, or for any purpose, the contents of the
confidential communication obtained by that person in violation of
subdivision (a) of Section 632. For purposes of this subdivision,
"social media" means an electronic service or account, or electronic
content, including, but not limited to, videos or still photographs,
blogs, video blogs, podcasts, instant and text messages, email,
online services or accounts, or Internet Web site profiles or
locations.
   (b) A person who aids, abets, employs, or conspires with a person
or persons to unlawfully do, permit, or cause to be done any act
described in subdivision (a) of this section or subdivision (a) of
Section 632, shall be punished pursuant to subdivision (c).
   (c) A violation of subdivision (a) or (b) shall be punished by a
fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per
violation, or imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment. If the
person has previously been convicted of a violation of this section,
the person shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand
dollars ($10,000) per violation, by imprisonment in a county jail not
exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or by both that fine and
imprisonment. 
   SEC. 2.   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.