Bill Text: CA AB498 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Graffiti offenses: penalties: abatement program fine:
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-02-01 - Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution. From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [AB498 Detail]
Download: California-2011-AB498-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: AB 498 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JANUARY 4, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Alejo
FEBRUARY 15, 2011
An act relating to local government. An
act to amend Sections 594, 594.3, and 594.4 of, and to add Section
594.9 to, the Penal Code, and to amend Section 13202.6 of the Vehicle
Code, relating to graffiti.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 498, as amended, Alejo. Local government: graffiti
abatement. Graffiti offenses: penalties: abatement
program fine: driver's license: suspension.
(1) Existing law provides that every person who maliciously
commits any act to deface, damage, or destroy any real or personal
property not his or her own, in cases other than those specified by
state law, is guilty of vandalism. Existing law provides that any
person who knowingly commits any act of vandalism to a church,
synagogue, mosque, temple, building owned and occupied by a religious
educational institution, or other place primarily used as a place of
worship where religious services are regularly conducted, or a
cemetery is guilty of a crime. Existing law also provides that any
person who willfully and maliciously injects into or throws upon, or
otherwise defaces, damages, destroys, or contaminates, any structure
with butyric acid, or any other similar noxious or caustic chemical
or substance, is guilty of a public offense.
Existing law requires a court, upon conviction of any person under
those provisions for acts of vandalism consisting of defacing
property with graffiti or other inscribed materials, when appropriate
and feasible, in addition to any other punishment that the court may
impose in the form of a fine or imprisonment, or both, to order the
defendant to clean up, repair, or replace the damaged property
himself or herself, or order the defendant, and his or her parents or
guardians if the defendant is a minor, to keep the damaged property
or another specified property in the community free of graffiti for
up to one year.
This bill would, in addition to the punishment imposed under the
above provisions, require the court to impose a $30 graffiti
abatement program fine for deposit into the Graffiti Abatement
Program Fund, which the bill would create in the State Treasury. The
bill would require, upon appropriation by the Legislature, that the
moneys in the fund be allocated to city and county graffiti abatement
programs in proportion to the number of convictions occurring in
each city or county that has a graffiti abatement program.
(2) Existing law requires the court, for every conviction of a
person for a violation of offenses described in paragraph (1), to
suspend the person's driving privilege for not more than 2 years,
except when the court finds that a personal or family hardship exists
that requires the person to have a driver's license for his or her
own, or a member of his or her family's, employment, school, or
medically related purposes. Existing law also requires the court, if
the person convicted does not yet have the privilege to drive, to
order the Department of Motor Vehicles to delay issuing the privilege
to drive for not less than one year nor more than 3 years subsequent
to the time the person becomes legally eligible to drive. Existing
law, if there is no further conviction for violating the provisions
of paragraph (1) in a 12-month period after the conviction,
authorizes the court, upon petition of the person affected, to modify
the order imposing the delay of the privilege.
This bill would delete the exceptions from these provisions and
the court's discretion to modify the order imposing the delay of a
person's driving privilege.
Existing law authorizes the legislative body of a city, county, or
city and county to provide for the summary abatement of any nuisance
resulting from the defacement of the property of another by graffiti
or any other inscribed material at the expense of the minor or other
person creating, causing, or committing the nuisance, and by
ordinance, as specified.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that would address graffiti abatement.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 594 of the Penal
Code is amended to read:
594. (a) Every (1)
A person who maliciously commits any of the following acts with
respect to any real or personal property not his
or her own, in cases other than those specified by state law, is
guilty of vandalism:
(1)
(A) Defaces with graffiti or other inscribed material.
(2)
(B) Damages.
(3)
(C) Destroys.
Whenever
(2) If a person violates this
subdivision with respect to real property, vehicles, signs, fixtures,
furnishings, or property belonging to any
a public entity, as defined by Section 811.2 of the
Government Code, or the federal government, it shall be a permissive
inference that the person neither owned the property nor had the
permission of the owner to deface, damage, or destroy the property.
(b) (1) If the amount of defacement, damage, or destruction is
four hundred dollars ($400) or more, vandalism is punishable by
imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 ,
or in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine of not more
than ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or if the amount of defacement,
damage, or destruction is ten thousand dollars ($10,000) or more, by
a fine of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), or by both
that fine and imprisonment.
(2) (A) If the amount of defacement, damage, or destruction is
less than four hundred dollars ($400), vandalism is punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by a fine of
not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine
and imprisonment.
(B) If the amount of defacement, damage, or destruction is less
than four hundred dollars ($400), and the defendant has been
previously convicted of vandalism or affixing graffiti or other
inscribed material under Section 594, 594.3, 594.4, 640.5, 640.6, or
640.7, vandalism is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for
not more than one year, or by a fine of not more than five thousand
dollars ($5,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(c) Upon conviction of any person under this section
for acts of vandalism consisting of defacing property with
graffiti or other inscribed materials, the court shall, when
appropriate and feasible, in addition to any punishment imposed under
subdivision (b), order the defendant to clean up, repair, or replace
the damaged property himself or herself, or order the defendant, and
his or her parents or guardians if the defendant is a minor, to keep
the damaged property or another specified property in the community
free of graffiti for up to one year. Participation of a parent or
guardian is not required under this subdivision if the court deems
this participation to be detrimental to the defendant, or if the
parent or guardian is a single parent who must care for young
children. If the court finds that graffiti cleanup is inappropriate,
the court shall consider other types of community service,
where if feasible.
(d) If a minor is personally unable to pay a fine levied for acts
prohibited by this section, the parent of that minor shall be liable
for payment of the fine. A court may waive payment of the fine, or
any part thereof, by the parent upon a finding of good cause.
(e) Upon conviction of a person under this section, the court
shall comply with the provisions of Section 13202.6 of the Vehicle
Code, if applicable.
(e)
(f) As used in this section, the term "graffiti or
other inscribed material" includes any unauthorized inscription,
word, figure, mark, or design, that is written, marked, etched,
scratched, drawn, or painted on real or personal property.
(f)
(g) The court may order any a
person ordered to perform community service or graffiti removal
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) to
undergo counseling.
(g) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2002.
SEC. 2. Section 594.3 of the Penal Code
is amended to read:
594.3. (a) Any A person who
knowingly commits any act of vandalism to a church, synagogue,
mosque, temple, building owned and occupied by a religious
educational institution, or other place primarily used as a place of
worship where religious services are regularly conducted or a
cemetery is guilty of a crime punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail for not exceeding one year or imprisonment pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
(b) Any A person who
knowingly commits any act of vandalism to a church, synagogue,
mosque, temple, building owned and occupied by a religious
educational institution, or other place primarily used as a place of
worship where religious services are regularly conducted or a
cemetery, which that is shown to have
been a hate crime and to have been committed for the purpose of
intimidating and deterring persons from freely exercising their
religious beliefs, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment
pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
(c) Upon conviction of a person under this section, the court
shall comply with the provisions of Section 13202.6 of the Vehicle
Code, if applicable.
(c)
(d) For purposes of this section, "hate crime" has the
same meaning as Section 422.55.
SEC. 3. Section 594.4 of the Penal Code
is amended to read:
594.4. (a) Any A person who
willfully and maliciously injects into or throws upon, or otherwise
defaces, damages, destroys, or contaminates, any structure with
butyric acid, or any other similar noxious or caustic chemical or
substance, is guilty of a public offense, punishable by imprisonment
pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 or in a county jail not
exceeding 6 months, by a fine as specified in subdivision (b), or by
both that imprisonment and fine.
(b) (1) If the amount of the defacement, damage, destruction, or
contamination is fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) or more, by a fine
of not more than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
(2) If the amount of the defacement, damage, destruction, or
contamination is five thousand dollars ($5,000) or more, but less
than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000), by a fine of not more than ten
thousand dollars ($10,000).
(3) If the amount of defacement, damage, destruction, or
contamination is nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) or more, but less
than five thousand dollars ($5,000), by a fine of not more than five
thousand dollars ($5,000).
(4) If the amount of the defacement, damage, destruction, or
contamination is less than nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), by a
fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(c) Upon conviction of a person under this section, the court
shall comply with the provisions of Section 13202.6 of the Vehicle
Code, if applicable.
(c)
(d) For purposes of this section, "structure" includes
any house or other building being used at the time of the offense for
a dwelling or for commercial purposes.
SEC. 4. Section 594.9 is added to the
Penal Code , to read:
594.9. (a) The Graffiti Abatement Program Fund is hereby created
in the State Treasury. Upon conviction for a violation of Section
594, 594.3, or 594.4, the court shall impose a fine of thirty dollars
($30) for deposit into the fund. The moneys in the fund, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, shall be allocated to city and
county graffiti abatement programs in proportion to the number of
convictions for violations of Section 594, 594.3, or 594.4 occurring
in each city or county that has a graffiti abatement program.
(b) As used in this section, "graffiti abatement program" means a
program adopted by a city, county, or city and county by resolution
or ordinance that provides for the administration and financing of
graffiti removal, community education on the prevention of graffiti,
and enforcement of graffiti laws.
SEC. 5. Section 13202.6 of the Vehicle
Code is amended to read:
13202.6. (a) (1) For every a
conviction of a person for a violation of Section 594, 594.3, or
594.4 of the Penal Code, committed while the person was 13 years of
age or older, the court shall suspend the person's driving privilege
for not more than two years , except when the court finds
that a personal or family hardship exists that requires the person to
have a driver's license for his or her own, or a member of his or
her family's, employment, school, or medically related purposes
. If the person convicted does not yet have the privilege
to drive, the court shall order the department to delay issuing the
privilege to drive for not less than one year nor more than three
years subsequent to the time the person becomes legally eligible to
drive. However, if there is no further conviction for
violating Section 594, 594.3, or 594.4 of the Penal Code in a
12-month period after the conviction, the court, upon petition of the
person affected, may modify the order imposing the delay of the
privilege. For each successive
subsequent offense, the court shall suspend the person's
driving privilege for those possessing a driver's license
or delay the eligibility for those not in possession of a driver'
s license at the time of their conviction for one additional
year.
(2) A person whose driving privilege is suspended or delayed for
an act involving vandalism in violation of Section 594, 594.3, or
594.4 of the Penal Code, may elect to reduce the period of suspension
or delay imposed by the court by performing community service under
the supervision of the probation department. The period of suspension
or delay ordered under paragraph (1) shall be reduced at the rate of
one day for each hour of community service performed. If the
jurisdiction has adopted a graffiti abatement program as defined in
subdivision (f) of Section 594 of the Penal Code, the period of
suspension or delay ordered under paragraph (1) shall be reduced at
the rate of one day for each day of community service performed in
the graffiti abatement program when the defendant and his or her
parents or legal guardians are responsible for keeping a specified
property in the community free of graffiti for a specified period of
time. The suspension shall be reduced only when the specified period
of participation has been completed. Participation of a parent or
legal guardian is not required under this paragraph if the court
deems this participation to be detrimental to the defendant, or if
the parent or legal guardian is a single parent who must care for
young children. For purposes of this paragraph, "community service"
means cleaning up graffiti from any public property, including public
transit vehicles.
(3) As used in this section, the term "conviction" includes the
findings in juvenile proceedings specified in Section 13105.
(b) (1) Whenever When the
court suspends driving privileges pursuant to subdivision (a), the
court in which the conviction is had imposed
shall require all drivers' licenses held by the person to be
surrendered to the court. The court shall, within 10 days following
the conviction, transmit a certified abstract of the conviction,
together with any drivers' licenses surrendered, to the department.
In addition to proof of financial responsibility and any other
requirements of this code, the department shall not reissue a driver'
s license or remove a restriction to or the delay of a person's
driving privilege, until it has received proof that the person has
paid the graffiti abatement program fine imposed pursuant to Section
594.4 of the Penal Code.
(2) Violations of restrictions imposed pursuant to this section
are subject to Section 14603.
(c) The suspension, restriction, or delay of driving privileges
pursuant to this section shall be in addition to any other
penalty imposed upon conviction of a violation of Section 594,
594.3, or 594.4 of the Penal Code.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact legislation that would address the abatement of graffiti.
