Bill Text: CA SB558 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Civil actions: childhood sexual abuse.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-10-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 877, Statutes of 2023. [SB558 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB558-Amended.html
Amended
IN
Senate
April 12, 2023 |
Introduced by Senator Rubio |
February 15, 2023 |
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
This bill would specify that distribution includes giving possession or exhibiting in public, including, but not limited to, a billboard, marquee, newsstand, display rack, window, showcase, display case, or similar place so that it is easily visible from a public road, sidewalk or thoroughfare, or the property of others.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 340.1 of the Code of Civil Procedure is amended to read:340.1.
(a) (1) In an action for recovery of damages suffered as a result of childhood sexual assault, the time for commencement of the action shall be within 22 years of the date the plaintiff attains the age of majority or within five years of the date the plaintiff discovers or reasonably should have discovered that psychological injury or illness occurring after the age of majority was caused by the sexual assault, whichever period expires later, for any of the following actions:(a)Every person who knowingly sends or causes to be sent, or brings or causes to be brought, into this state for sale or distribution, or in this state possesses, prepares, publishes, produces, develops, duplicates, or prints any representation of information, data, or image, including, but not limited to, any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative, slide, photocopy, videotape, video laser disc, computer hardware, computer software, computer floppy disc, data storage media, CD-ROM, or computer-generated equipment or any other computer-generated image that contains or incorporates in any manner, any film or filmstrip, with intent to distribute or to exhibit to, or to exchange with, others, or who offers to distribute, distributes, or exhibits to, or exchanges with, others, any obscene
matter, knowing that the matter depicts a person under the age of 18 years personally engaging in or personally simulating sexual conduct, as defined in Section 311.4, shall be punished either by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison, by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by the fine and imprisonment.
(b)This section does not apply to the activities of law enforcement and prosecuting agencies in the investigation and prosecution of criminal offenses or to legitimate medical, scientific, or educational activities, or to lawful conduct between spouses.
(c)This section does not apply to matter which depicts a child under the age of 18, which child is legally emancipated, including lawful conduct between spouses when
one or both are under the age of 18.
(d)It does not constitute a violation of this section for a telephone corporation, as defined by Section 234 of the Public Utilities Code, to carry or transmit messages described in this chapter or perform related activities in providing telephone services.
(e)As used in this section, “distribution” includes giving possession or exhibiting in public, including, but not limited to, a billboard, marquee, newsstand, display rack, window, showcase, display case, or similar place so that it is easily visible from a public road, sidewalk or thoroughfare, or the property of others.
(f)It shall not be a violation of this section to
distribute an image described in subdivision (a) if any of the following applies:
(1)The distribution is made in the course of reporting an unlawful activity.
(2)The distribution is made in compliance with a subpoena or other court order for use in a legal proceeding.
(3)The distribution is made in the course of a lawful public proceeding.
(4)The distribution is related to a matter of public concern or public interest. Distribution is not a matter of public concern or public interest solely because the depicted individual is a public figure.
(a)Every person who knowingly sends or causes to be sent, or brings or causes to be brought, into this state for sale or distribution, or in this state possesses, prepares, publishes, produces, or prints, with intent to distribute or to exhibit to others, or who offers to distribute, distributes, or exhibits to others, any obscene matter is for a first offense, guilty of a misdemeanor. If the person has previously been convicted of any violation of this section, the court may, in addition to the punishment authorized in Section 311.9, impose a fine not exceeding fifty thousand dollars ($50,000).
(b)Every person who knowingly sends or causes to be sent, or brings or causes to be brought, into this state for sale or
distribution, or in this state possesses, prepares, publishes, produces, develops, duplicates, or prints any representation of information, data, or image, including, but not limited to, any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative, slide, photocopy, videotape, video laser disc, computer hardware, computer software, computer floppy disc, data storage media, CD-ROM, or computer-generated equipment or any other computer-generated image that contains or incorporates in any manner, any film or filmstrip, with intent to distribute or to exhibit to, or to exchange with, others for commercial consideration, or who offers to distribute, distributes, or exhibits to, or exchanges with, others for commercial consideration, any obscene matter, knowing that the matter depicts a person under the age of 18 years personally engaging in or personally simulating sexual conduct, as defined in Section 311.4, is guilty of a felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or six years, or by a fine
not exceeding one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000), in the absence of a finding that the defendant would be incapable of paying that fine, or by both that fine and imprisonment.
(c)Every person who knowingly sends or causes to be sent, or brings or causes to be brought, into this state for sale or distribution, or in this state possesses, prepares, publishes, produces, develops, duplicates, or prints any representation of information, data, or image, including, but not limited to, any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative, slide, photocopy, videotape, video laser disc, computer hardware, computer software, computer floppy disc, data storage media, CD-ROM, or computer-generated equipment or any other computer-generated image that contains or incorporates in any manner, any film or filmstrip, with intent to distribute or exhibit to, or to exchange with, a person 18 years of age or older, or who offers to distribute, distributes, or exhibits
to, or exchanges with, a person 18 years of age or older any matter, knowing that the matter depicts a person under the age of 18 years personally engaging in or personally simulating sexual conduct, as defined in Section 311.4, shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, or by a fine not exceeding two thousand dollars ($2,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment, or by imprisonment in the state prison. It is not necessary to prove commercial consideration or that the matter is obscene in order to establish a violation of this subdivision. If a person has been previously convicted of a violation of this subdivision, they are guilty of a felony.
(d)Every person who knowingly sends or causes to be sent, or brings
or causes to be brought, into this state for sale or distribution, or in this state possesses, prepares, publishes, produces, develops, duplicates, or prints any representation of information, data, or image, including, but not limited to, any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative, slide, photocopy, videotape, video laser disc, computer hardware, computer software, computer floppy disc, data storage media, CD-ROM, or computer-generated equipment or any other computer-generated image that contains or incorporates in any manner, any film or filmstrip, with intent to distribute or exhibit to, or to exchange with, a person under 18 years of age, or who offers to distribute, distributes, or exhibits to, or exchanges with, a person under 18 years of age any matter, knowing that the matter depicts a person under the age of 18 years personally engaging in or personally simulating sexual conduct, as defined in Section 311.4, is guilty of a felony. It is not necessary to prove commercial consideration or that the
matter is obscene in order to establish a violation of this subdivision.
(e)Subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, do not apply to the activities of law enforcement and prosecuting agencies in the investigation and prosecution of criminal offenses, to legitimate medical, scientific, or educational activities, or to lawful conduct between spouses.
(f)This section does not apply to matter that depicts a legally emancipated child under the age of 18 years or to lawful conduct between spouses when one or both are under the age of 18 years.
(g)It does not constitute a violation of this section for a telephone corporation, as defined by Section 234 of the Public Utilities Code, to carry or transmit messages described in this chapter or to perform related activities in providing telephone services.
(h)As used in this section, “distribution” includes giving possession or exhibiting in public, including, but not limited to, a billboard, marquee, newsstand, display rack, window, showcase, display case, or similar place so that it is easily visible from a public road, sidewalk or thoroughfare, or the property of others.
(i)It shall not be a violation of this section to distribute an image described in subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, if any of the following applies:
(1)The distribution is made in the course of reporting an unlawful activity.
(2)The distribution is made in compliance with a subpoena or other court order for use in a legal proceeding.
(3)The distribution is made in the course of a lawful public proceeding.
(4)The distribution is related to a matter of public concern or public interest. Distribution is not a matter of public concern or public interest solely because the depicted individual is a public figure.