Amended  IN  Senate  March 04, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill No. 145

Introduced by Senator Wiener
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Eggman)

January 18, 2019

An act to amend Section 288.3 of, and to add Section 290.55 to to, the Penal Code, relating to sex offenders.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 145, as amended, Wiener. Sex offenders: relief from registration.
Existing law, the Sex Offender Registration Act, amended by Proposition 35, as approved by the voters at the November 6, 2012, statewide general election, requires a person convicted of one of certain crimes, as specified, to register with law enforcement as a sex offender while residing in California or while attending school or working in California, as specified. A willful failure to register, as required by the act, is a misdemeanor or felony, depending on the underlying offense.
This bill would authorize a person convicted of certain offenses involving minors to seek discretionary relief from the duty to register if the person is not more than 10 years older than the minor. minor and if that offense is the only one requiring the person to register.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 288.3 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

288.3.
 (a) (1) Every person who contacts or communicates with a minor, or attempts to contact or communicate with a minor, who knows or reasonably should know that the person is a minor, with intent to commit an offense specified in Section 207, 209, 261, 264.1, 273a, 286, 287, 288, 288.2, 289, 311.1, 311.2, 311.4 or 311.11, or former Section 288a, or, except as otherwise specified in paragraph (2), Section 286, 287, or 289, involving the minor shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for the term prescribed for an attempt to commit the intended offense.
(2) (A) Every person who contacts or communicates with a minor, or attempts to contact or communicate with a minor, who knows or reasonably should know that the person is a minor, with intent to commit an offense specified in subdivision (b) of Section 286, subdivision (b) of Section 287, or subdivision (h) or (i) of Section 289, involving the minor shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for the term prescribed for an attempt to commit the intended offense.
(B) A person convicted of violating this paragraph may seek the discretionary relief described in Section 290.55.
(b) As used in this section, “contacts or communicates with” shall include direct and indirect contact or communication that may be achieved personally or by use of an agent or agency, any print medium, any postal service, a common carrier or communication common carrier, any electronic communications system, or any telecommunications, wire, computer, or radio communications device or system.
(c) A person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) who has previously been convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) shall be punished by an additional and consecutive term of imprisonment in the state prison for five years.

SECTION 1.SEC. 2.

 Section 290.55 is added to the Penal Code, immediately following Section 290.5, to read:

290.55.
 (a) A person convicted of If the only offense that requires a person to register pursuant to Section 290 is an offense specified in subdivision (b) (b), the person may, by writ of mandate, seek discretionary relief from the duty, imposed as a result of that conviction, to register pursuant to the act if, at the time of the offense, the person is not more than 10 years older than the minor, as measured from the minor’s date of birth to the person’s date of birth.
(b) This section applies to the offenses described in subdivision (b) of Section 286, subdivision (b) of Section 287, paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 288.3, and subdivisions (h) and (i) of Section 289.