california legislature—2023–24 regular session
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 2943
Introduced by Assembly Members Zbur and Robert Rivas
February 15, 2024
An act to amend Sections 487, 836, and 853.6 of, and to add Sections 496.6 and 1203g to, the Penal Code, relating to crimes. legislative counsel’s digest
AB 2943, as introduced, Zbur. Crimes: shoplifting.
(1) Existing law divides theft into grand theft and petty theft. Existing law punishes petty theft as a misdemeanor while grand theft is punished as either a misdemeanor or a felon y. Existing law lists specific types of theft which are grand theft and all other cases of theft as petty theft.
Existing law authorizes a person to be char ged with grand theft if the property taken exceeds $950 over the course of distinct but related acts.
This bill would clarify that those related acts include acts committed against multiple victims or in counties other than the county of the current offense.
(2) Existing law prohibits the possession or receipt of stolen property, as specified. A violation of this prohibition is punishable as either a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the v alue of the property and whether the offender has certain prior convictions.
This bill would make it a crime for an y person to possess property unlawfully that was acquired through one or more acts of shoplifting, theft, or burglary from a retail business, if the property is not possessed for personal use and the person has intent to sell, e xchange, or return the merchandise for v alue, or the intent to act in concert with one or more persons to sell, e xchange, or return the merchandise for v alue, and the value of the possessed property exceeds $950.
99 The bill w ould, for the purpose of determining the v alue of the property, aggregate the property with any other property possessed by the person with that intent within the prior three years and with an y property possessed by another person acting in concert with the first person to sell, e xchange, or return the merchandise for v alue, if that property was also acquired unlawfully. The bill would make this crime punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) Existing la w prohibits shoplifting, defined as entering a commercial establishment with intent to commit theft while that establishment is open during re gular business hours, where the v alue of the property that is tak en or intended to be tak en does not e xceed $950. Existing law requires an act that falls within this definition to be charged as shoplifting and not as burglary or theft. Under existing law, shoplifting is punishable as a misdemeanor, except when the defendant has prior convictions, as specified.
Existing law authorizes a peace officer to mak e a warrantless arrest for a misdemeanor when the officer has probable cause to belie ve the person to be arrested has committed the misdemeanor in the officer’ s presence. Existing law also authorizes a private person to make an arrest for a misdemeanor committed in their presence, and requires the person to deliver the arrested person to a peace officer or magistrate. Existing law additionally authorizes a merchant to detain a person for a reasonable time and in a reasonable manner to determine if a person has unlawfully taken merchandise.
Existing law authorizes a peace officer to mak e a warrantless arrest for specified misdemeanors relating to domestic violence, violation of a restraining order, and carrying a concealed firearm at an airport that did not occur in the officer’s presence.
This bill would authorize a peace officer to make a warrantless arrest for a misdemeanor shoplifting of fense not committed in the officer’ s presence if the officer has probable cause to belie ve that person has committed shoplifting, as specified.
(4) Existing law requires a peace officer to release upon a signed promise to appear an y person arrested for a misdemeanor , unless the person demands to be taken before a magistrate. Existing law provides certain reasons a person arrested for a misdemeanor shall not be released including that the person is intoxicated or in need of medical attention, the person is unable to pro vide satisfactory proof of identification, or there are outstanding arrest w arrants for the person. Additionally, 99 — 2 — AB 2943
existing law exempts from this provision persons arrested for specified crimes including domestic violence, stalking, threatening a witness, and, until January 1, 2026, organized retail theft.
This bill would extend that exemption for organized retail theft until January, 2031.
(5) Existing law authorizes the court to suspend a criminal sentence and make and enforce terms of probation for a period not to e xceed 2 years, and in misdemeanor cases, for a period not to e xceed one year.
Existing law authorizes the court to mak e and enforce the terms of probation for specified theft cases for a period not to exceed 3 years.
This bill would, for an offense of shoplifting or petty theft, authorize the court to make and enforce the terms of probation for a period not to exceed 2 years. The bill would require a court that imposes a term longer than one year to consider referring the defendant to a collaborative court or rehabilitation program that is rele vant to the underlying factor or factors that led to the commission of the of fense, as specified. By increasing the period of probation, this bill w ould impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill w ould also state the intent of the Le gislature to enact legislation to pre vent the sale of unla wfully acquired products by requiring sellers of specified products to maintain a chain of custody of the products to demonstrate their lawful provenance and by addressing the use of online platforms to adv ertise and sell unla wfully acquired products. The bill w ould state the intent of the Le gislature to enact legislation to require retail b usinesses of a certain size to periodically report specified data related to thefts and to strengthen laws to prevent stolen goods from being sold via online marketplaces.
(6) 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 w ould pro vide that with re gard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
99 AB 2943 — 3 —
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
line 1 SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Le gislature to enact line 2 legislation to prevent the sale of unlawfully acquired products by line 3 requiring sellers of specified products to maintain chain of custody line 4 records of the products to demonstrate their la wful provenance line 5 and by addressing the use of online platforms to advertise and sell line 6 unlawfully acquired products.
line 7 SEC. 2. It is the intent of the Le gislature to enact le gislation line 8 to require retail businesses of a certain size to periodically report line 9 specified data related to thefts suf fered by the b usinesses while line 10 maintaining protections to ensure that no indi vidual business is line 11 identified publicly through the reporting of the data, and to line 12 strengthen laws to prevent stolen goods from being sold via online line 13 marketplaces.
line 14 SEC. 3. Section 487 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
line 15 487. Grand theft is theft committed in an y of the follo wing line 16 cases:
line 17 (a) When the money, labor, real property, or personal property line 18 taken is of a v alue exceeding nine hundred fifty dollars ($950), line 19 except as provided in subdivision (b).
line 20 (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), grand theft is committed line 21 in any of the following cases:
line 22 (1) (A) When domestic fo wls, a vocados, oli ves, citrus or line 23 deciduous fruits, other fruits, vegetables, nuts, artichokes, or other line 24 farm crops are taken of a value exceeding two hundred fifty dollars line 25 ($250).
line 26 (B) For the purposes of establishing that the value of domestic line 27 fowls, avocados, olives, citrus or deciduous fruits, other fruits, line 28 vegetables, nuts, artichok es, or other f arm crops under this line 29 paragraph exceeds tw o hundred fifty dollars ($250), that v alue line 30 may be sho wn by the presentation of credible e vidence which line 31 establishes that on the day of the theft domestic fowls, avocados, line 32 olives, citrus or deciduous fruits, other fruits, v egetables, nuts, line 33 artichokes, or other f arm crops of the same v ariety and weight line 34 exceeded two hundred fifty dollars ($250) in wholesale value. line 35 (2) When fish, shellfish, mollusks, crustaceans, kelp, algae, or line 36 other aquacultural products are tak en from a commercial or line 37 research operation which is producing that product, of a v alue line 38 exceeding two hundred fifty dollars ($250).
99 — 4 — AB 2943
line 1 (3) Where the money, labor, real property, or personal property line 2 is taken by a serv ant, agent, or emplo yee from their principal or line 3 employer and aggregates nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) or more line 4 in any 12 consecutive month period.
line 5 (c) When the property is taken from the person of another. line 6 (d) When the property taken is any of the following:
line 7 (1) An automobile.
line 8 (2) A firearm.
line 9 (e) If the value of the mone y, labor, real property, or personal line 10 property taken exceeds nine hundred fifty dollars ($950) over the line 11 course of distinct but related acts, including acts committed against line 12 multiple victims or in counties other than the county of the current line 13 offense, the value of the mone y, labor, real property, or personal line 14 property taken may properly be aggre gated to charge a count of line 15 grand theft, if the acts are motivated by one intention, one general line 16 impulse, and one plan.
line 17 SEC. 4. Section 496.6 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
line 18 496.6. (a) Any person who possesses property unlawfully that line 19 was acquired through one or more acts of shoplifting, theft, or line 20 burglary from a retail b usiness, whether or not the person line 21 committed the act of shoplifting, theft, or burglary, is guilty of the line 22 unlawful deprivation of a retail b usiness opportunity when all of line 23 the following apply:
line 24 (1) The property is not possessed for personal use and the person line 25 has the intent to sell, exchange, or return the merchandise for value, line 26 or the intent to act in concert with one or more persons to sell, line 27 exchange, or return the merchandise for value.
line 28 (2) The value of the possessed property e xceeds nine hundred line 29 fifty dollars ($950). For purposes of determining the value of the line 30 property, the property described in paragraph (1) can be considered line 31 in the aggregate with any of the following:
line 32 (A) Any other such property possessed by the person with such line 33 intent within the prior three years.
line 34 (B) Any property possessed by another person acting in concert line 35 with the first person to sell, e xchange, or return the merchandise line 36 for value, when such property was acquired through one or more line 37 acts of shoplifting, theft, or b urglary from a retail b usiness, line 38 regardless of the identity of the person committing the act of line 39 shoplifting, theft, or burglary.
99 AB 2943 — 5 —
line 1 (b) For the purpose of determining in an y proceeding whether line 2 the defendant has the intent to sell, e xchange, or return the line 3 merchandise for value, the trier of fact may consider any competent line 4 evidence, including, but not limited to, the following:
line 5 (1) Whether the defendant has in the prior three years sold, line 6 exchanged, or returned for v alue merchandise acquired through line 7 shoplifting, theft, or b urglary from a retail b usiness, or through line 8 any related offense, including any conduct that occurred in other line 9 jurisdictions, if rele vant to demonstrate a f act other than the line 10 defendant’s disposition to commit the act, as pro vided by line 11 subdivision (b) of Section 1101 of the Evidence Code. line 12 (2) The property involved in the offense is of a type or quantity line 13 that w ould not normally be purchased for personal use or line 14 consumption, including use or consumption by one’ s immediate line 15 family.
line 16 (c) The criminal deprivation of a retail business opportunity is line 17 punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year line 18 or pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170. line 19 SEC. 5. Section 836 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
line 20 836. (a) A peace officer may arrest a person in obedience to line 21 a warrant, or, pursuant to the authority granted to him or her by line 22 Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, line 23 without a w arrant, may arrest a person whene ver an y of the line 24 following circumstances occur:
line 25 (1) The officer has probable cause to believe that the person to line 26 be arrested has committed a public offense in the officer’s presence. line 27 (2) The person arrested has committed a felon y, although not line 28 in the officer’s presence.
line 29 (3) The officer has probable cause to believe that the person to line 30 be arrested has committed a felon y, whether or not a felon y, in line 31 fact, has been committed.
line 32 (b) Any time a peace officer is called out on a domestic violence line 33 call, it shall be mandatory that the officer make a good faith effort line 34 to inform the victim of his or her their right to mak e a citizen’s line 35 arrest, unless the peace officer mak es an arrest for a violation of line 36 paragraph (1) of subdi vision (e) of Section 243 or 273.5. This line 37 information shall include advising the victim how to safely execute line 38 the arrest.
line 39 (c) (1) When a peace officer is responding to a call alle ging a line 40 violation of a domestic violence protecti ve or restraining order 99 — 6 — AB 2943
line 1 issued under Section 527.6 of the Code of Ci vil Procedure, the line 2 Family Code, Section 136.2, 646.91, or paragraph (2) of line 3 subdivision (a) of Section 1203.097 of this code, Section 213.5 or line 4 15657.03 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or of a domestic line 5 violence protecti ve or restraining order issued by the court of line 6 another state, tribe, or territory and the peace officer has probable line 7 cause to believe that the person against whom the order is issued line 8 has notice of the order and has committed an act in violation of line 9 the order , the officer shall, consistent with subdi vision (b) of line 10 Section 13701, make a lawful arrest of the person without a warrant line 11 and tak e that person into custody whether or not the violation line 12 occurred in the presence of the arresting officer. The officer shall, line 13 as soon as possible after the arrest, confirm with the appropriate line 14 authorities or the Domestic Violence Protection Order Re gistry line 15 maintained pursuant to Section 6380 of the F amily Code that a line 16 true copy of the protecti ve order has been re gistered, unless the line 17 victim provides the officer with a copy of the protective order. line 18 (2) The person against whom a protective order has been issued line 19 shall be deemed to have notice of the order if the victim presents line 20 to the officer proof of service of the order , the officer confirms line 21 with the appropriate authorities that a true cop y of the proof of line 22 service is on file, or the person against whom the protective order line 23 was issued w as present at the protecti ve order hearing or w as line 24 informed by a peace officer of the contents of the protective order. line 25 (3) In situations where mutual protective orders have been issued line 26 under Division 10 (commencing with Section 6200) of the Family line 27 Code, liability for arrest under this subdi vision applies only to line 28 those persons who are reasonably belie ved to ha ve been the line 29 dominant aggressor. In those situations, prior to making an arrest line 30 under this subdi vision, the peace officer shall mak e reasonable line 31 efforts to identify, and may arrest, the dominant aggressor involved line 32 in the incident. The dominant aggressor is the person determined line 33 to be the most significant, rather than the first, aggressor . In line 34 identifying the dominant aggressor, an officer shall consider (A) line 35 the intent of the law to protect victims of domestic violence from line 36 continuing abuse, (B) the threats creating fear of ph ysical injury, line 37 (C) the history of domestic violence between the persons involved, line 38 and (D) whether either person involved acted in self-defense. line 39 (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), if a suspect line 40 commits an assault or battery upon a current or former spouse, 99 AB 2943 — 7 —
line 1 fiancé, fiancée, a current or former cohabitant as defined in Section line 2 6209 of the Family Code, a person with whom the suspect currently line 3 is ha ving or has pre viously had an eng agement or dating line 4 relationship, as defined in paragraph (10) of subdi vision (f) of line 5 Section 243, a person with whom the suspect has parented a child, line 6 or is presumed to ha ve parented a child pursuant to the Uniform line 7 Parentage Act (Part 3 (commencing with Section 7600) of Division line 8 12 of the F amily Code), a child of the suspect, a child whose line 9 parentage by the suspect is the subject of an action under the line 10 Uniform Parentage Act, a child of a person in one of the abo ve line 11 categories, any other person related to the suspect by consanguinity line 12 or affinity within the second degree, or any person who is 65 years line 13 of age or older and who is related to the suspect by blood or legal line 14 guardianship, a peace officer may arrest the suspect without a line 15 warrant where both of the following circumstances apply:
line 16 (1) The peace officer has probable cause to belie ve that the line 17 person to be arrested has committed the assault or battery, whether line 18 or not it has in fact been committed.
line 19 (2) The peace officer makes the arrest as soon as probable cause line 20 arises to believe that the person to be arrested has committed the line 21 assault or battery, whether or not it has in fact been committed. line 22 (e) In addition to the authority to mak e an arrest without a line 23 warrant pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (3) of subdi vision (a), a line 24 peace officer may, without a warrant, arrest a person for a violation line 25 of Section 25400 when all of the following apply:
line 26 (1) The officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person line 27 to be arrested has committed the violation of Section 25400. line 28 (2) The violation of Section 25400 occurred within an airport, line 29 as defined in Section 21013 of the Public Utilities Code, in an area line 30 to which access is controlled by the inspection of persons and line 31 property.
line 32 (3) The peace officer mak es the arrest as soon as reasonable line 33 cause arises to believe that the person to be arrested has committed line 34 the violation of Section 25400.
line 35 (f) In addition to the authority to mak e an arr est without a line 36 warrant pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (3) of subdivision (a), a line 37 peace officer may , without a warr ant, arr est a per son for a line 38 violation of Section 459.5 when the violation was not committed line 39 in the officer’s presence if the officer has probable cause to believe line 40 the person committed the violation. The probable cause to mak e 99 — 8 — AB 2943
line 1 an arrest pursuant to this subdivision shall be based on either of line 2 the following:
line 3 (1) A sworn statement obtained by the officer fr om a per son line 4 who witnessed the per son to be arr ested committing the alle ged line 5 violation.
line 6 (2) The officer observing video foota ge that shows the per son line 7 to be arrested committing the alleged violation. line 8 SEC. 6. Section 853.6 of the Penal Code , as amended by line 9 Section 1 of Chapter 856 of the Statutes of 2022, is amended to line 10 read:
line 11 853.6. (a) (1) When a person is arrested for an offense declared line 12 to be a misdemeanor , including a violation of a city or county line 13 ordinance, and does not demand to be tak en before a magistrate, line 14 that person shall, instead of being tak en before a magistrate, be line 15 released according to the procedures set forth by this chapter , line 16 although nothing prevents an officer from first booking an arrestee line 17 pursuant to subdivision (g). If the person is released, the officer line 18 or the officer’s superior shall prepare in duplicate a written notice line 19 to appear in court, containing the name and address of the person, line 20 the of fense char ged, and the time when, and place where, the line 21 person shall appear in court. If, pursuant to subdi vision (i), the line 22 person is not released prior to being book ed and the officer in line 23 charge of the booking or the officer’s superior determines that the line 24 person should be released, the officer or the officer’s superior shall line 25 prepare a written notice to appear in a court.
line 26 (2) When a person is arrested for a misdemeanor violation of a line 27 protective court order involving domestic violence, as defined in line 28 Section 13700, or arrested pursuant to a polic y, as described in line 29 Section 13701, the person shall be taken before a magistrate instead line 30 of being released according to the procedures set forth in this line 31 chapter, unless the arresting officer determines that there is not a line 32 reasonable likelihood that the offense will continue or resume or line 33 that the safety of persons or property w ould be imminently line 34 endangered by release of the person arrested. Prior to adopting line 35 these provisions, each city, county, or city and county shall develop line 36 a protocol to assist officers to determine when arrest and release line 37 is appropriate, rather than taking the arrested person before a line 38 magistrate. The county shall establish a committee to develop the line 39 protocol, consisting of, at a minimum, the police chief or county line 40 sheriff within the jurisdiction, the district attorney, county counsel, 99 AB 2943 — 9 —
line 1 city attorne y, representati ves from domestic violence shelters, line 2 domestic violence councils, and other rele vant community line 3 agencies.
line 4 (3) This subdivision does not apply to the crimes specified in line 5 Section 1270.1, including crimes defined in each of the following:
line 6 (A) Paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 243. line 7 (B) Section 273.5.
line 8 (C) Section 273.6, if the detained person made threats to kill or line 9 harm, has engaged in violence against, or has gone to the residence line 10 or workplace of, the protected party.
line 11 (D) Section 646.9.
line 12 (4) This subdivision shall not affect a defendant’s ability to be line 13 released on bail or on their own recognizance, except as specified line 14 in Section 1270.1.
line 15 (b) Unless waived by the person, the time specified in the notice line 16 to appear shall be at least 10 days after arrest if the duplicate notice line 17 is to be filed by the officer with the magistrate. line 18 (c) The place specified in the notice shall be the court of the line 19 magistrate before whom the person w ould be tak en if the line 20 requirement of taking an arrested person before a magistrate were line 21 complied with, or shall be an officer authorized by that court to line 22 receive a deposit of bail.
line 23 (d) The officer shall deliver one copy of the notice to appear to line 24 the arrested person, and the arrested person, in order to secure line 25 release, shall gi ve their written promise to appear in court as line 26 specified in the notice by signing the duplicate notice, which shall line 27 be retained by the officer, and the officer may require the arrested line 28 person, if the arrested person has no satisfactory identification, to line 29 place a right thumbprint, or a left thumbprint or fingerprint if the line 30 person has a missing or disfigured right thumb, on the notice to line 31 appear. Except for law enforcement purposes relating to the identity line 32 of the arrestee, a person or entity shall not sell, gi ve away, allow line 33 the distribution of, include in a database, or create a database with, line 34 this print. Upon the signing of the duplicate notice, the arresting line 35 officer shall immediately release the person arrested from custody. line 36 (e) The officer shall, as soon as practicable, file the duplicate line 37 notice, as follows:
line 38 (1) It shall be filed with the magistrate if the offense charged is line 39 an infraction.
99 — 10 — AB 2943
line 1 (2) It shall be filed with the magistrate if the prosecuting attorney line 2 has previously directed the officer to do so.
line 3 (3) (A) The duplicate notice and underlying police reports in line 4 support of the charge or charges shall be filed with the prosecuting line 5 attorney in cases other than those specified in paragraphs (1) and line 6 (2).
line 7 (B) If the duplicate notice is filed with the prosecuting attorney, line 8 the prosecuting attorne y, within their discretion, may initiate line 9 prosecution by filing the notice or a formal complaint with the line 10 magistrate specified in the duplicate notice within 25 days from line 11 the time of arrest. If the prosecution is not to be initiated, the line 12 prosecutor shall send notice to the person arrested at the address line 13 on the notice to appear . The failure by the prosecutor to file the line 14 notice or formal complaint within 25 days of the time of the arrest line 15 shall not bar further prosecution of the misdemeanor char ged in line 16 the notice to appear . However, any further prosecution shall be line 17 preceded by a new and separate citation or an arrest warrant. line 18 (C) Upon the filing of the notice with the magistrate by the line 19 officer, or the filing of the notice or formal complaint by the line 20 prosecutor, the magistrate may fix the amount of bail that in the line 21 magistrate’s judgment, in accordance with Section 1275, is line 22 reasonable and sufficient for the appearance of the defendant and line 23 shall endorse upon the notice a statement signed by the magistrate line 24 in the form set forth in Section 815a. The defendant may, prior to line 25 the date upon which the defendant promised to appear in court, line 26 deposit with the magistrate the amount of bail set by the magistrate. line 27 At the time the case is called for arraignment before the magistrate, line 28 if the defendant does not appear , either in person or by counsel, line 29 the magistrate may declare the bail forfeited, and may , in the line 30 magistrate’s discretion, order that further proceedings shall not be line 31 had in the case, unless the defendant has been char ged with a line 32 violation of Section 374.3 or 374.7 of this code or of Section line 33 11357, 11360, or 13002 of the Health and Safety Code, or a line 34 violation punishable under Section 5008.7 of the Public Resources line 35 Code, and the defendant has pre viously been con victed of a line 36 violation of that section or a violation that is punishable under that line 37 section, except when the magistrate finds that undue hardship will line 38 be imposed upon the defendant by requiring the defendant to line 39 appear, the magistrate may declare the bail forfeited and order that line 40 further proceedings not be had in the case.
99 AB 2943 — 11 —
line 1 (D) Upon the making of the order that further proceedings not line 2 be had, all sums deposited as bail shall immediately be paid into line 3 the county treasury for distribution pursuant to Section 1463. line 4 (f) A warrant shall not be issued for the arrest of a person who line 5 has given a written promise to appear in court, unless and until the line 6 person has violated that promise or has f ailed to deposit bail, to line 7 appear for arraignment, trial, or judgment, or to comply with the line 8 terms and provisions of the judgment, as required by law. line 9 (g) The officer may book the arrested person at the scene or at line 10 the arresting agency prior to release or indicate on the citation that line 11 the arrested person shall appear at the arresting agency to be booked line 12 or indicate on the citation that the arrested person shall appear at line 13 the arresting agency to be fingerprinted prior to the date the arrested line 14 person appears in court. If it is indicated on the citation that the line 15 arrested person shall be booked or fingerprinted prior to the date line 16 of the person’s court appearance, the arresting agency, at the time line 17 of booking or fingerprinting, shall provide the arrested person with line 18 verification of the booking or fingerprinting by making an entry line 19 on the citation. If it is indicated on the citation that the arrested line 20 person is to be booked or fingerprinted, the magistrate, judge, or line 21 court shall, before the proceedings be gin, order the defendant to line 22 provide verification that the defendant was booked or fingerprinted line 23 by the arresting agenc y. If the defendant cannot produce the line 24 verification, the magistrate, judge, or court shall require that the line 25 defendant be booked or fingerprinted by the arresting agency before line 26 the ne xt court appearance, and that the defendant pro vide the line 27 verification at the ne xt court appearance unless both parties line 28 stipulate that booking or fingerprinting is not necessary. line 29 (h) A peace officer shall use the written notice to appear line 30 procedure set forth in this section for any misdemeanor offense in line 31 which the officer has arrested a person without a warrant pursuant line 32 to Section 836 or in which the officer has taken custody of a person line 33 pursuant to Section 847.
line 34 (i) When a person is arrested by a peace officer for a line 35 misdemeanor, that person shall be released according to the line 36 procedures set forth in this chapter unless one of the following is line 37 a reason for nonrelease, in which case the arresting officer may line 38 release the person, e xcept as pro vided in subdi vision (a), or the line 39 arresting officer shall indicate, on a form to be established by the 99 — 12 — AB 2943
line 1 officer’s emplo ying la w enforcement agenc y, which of the line 2 following was a reason for the nonrelease:
line 3 (1) The person arrested was so intoxicated that they could have line 4 been a danger to themselves or to others.
line 5 (2) The person arrested required medical examination or medical line 6 care or was otherwise unable to care for their own safety. line 7 (3) The person w as arrested under one or more of the line 8 circumstances listed in Sections 40302 and 40303 of the Vehicle line 9 Code.
line 10 (4) There were one or more outstanding arrest warrants for the line 11 person.
line 12 (5) The person could not pro vide satisf actory e vidence of line 13 personal identification.
line 14 (6) The prosecution of the of fense or of fenses for which the line 15 person was arrested, or the prosecution of an y other of fense or line 16 offenses, would be jeopardized by immediate release of the person line 17 arrested.
line 18 (7) There was a reasonable likelihood that the offense or offenses line 19 would continue or resume, or that the safety of persons or property line 20 would be imminently endangered by release of the person arrested. line 21 (8) The person arrested demanded to be tak en before a line 22 magistrate or refused to sign the notice to appear. line 23 (9) There is reason to believe that the person would not appear line 24 at the time and place specified in the notice. The basis for this line 25 determination shall be specifically stated.
line 26 (10) (A) The person was subject to Section 1270.1. line 27 (B) The form shall be filed with the arresting agenc y as soon line 28 as practicable and shall be made a vailable to an y party ha ving line 29 custody of the arrested person, subsequent to the arresting officer, line 30 and to any person authorized by law to release the arrested person line 31 from custody before trial.
line 32 (11) The person has been cited, arrested, or con victed for line 33 misdemeanor or felon y theft from a store in the pre vious six line 34 months.
line 35 (12) There is probable cause to believe that the person arrested line 36 is guilty of committing or ganized retail theft, as defined in line 37 subdivision (a) of Section 490.4.
line 38 (j) (1) Once the arresting officer has prepared the written notice line 39 to appear and has delivered a copy to the person arrested, the officer 99 AB 2943 — 13 —
line 1 shall deliver the remaining original and all copies as provided by line 2 subdivision (e).
line 3 (2) Any person, including the arresting officer and any member line 4 of the officer’s department or agenc y, or any peace officer, who line 5 alters, conceals, modifies, nullifies, or destro ys, or causes to be line 6 altered, concealed, modified, nullified, or destroyed, the face side line 7 of the remaining original or a copy of a citation that was retained line 8 by the officer, for any reason, before it is filed with the magistrate line 9 or with a person authorized by the magistrate to recei ve deposit line 10 of bail, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
line 11 (3) If, after an arrested person has signed and recei ved a copy line 12 of a notice to appear, the arresting officer determines that, in the line 13 interest of justice, the citation or notice should be dismissed, the line 14 arresting agency may recommend, in writing, to the magistrate line 15 that the charges be dismissed. The recommendation shall cite the line 16 reasons for the recommendation and shall be filed with the court. line 17 (4) If the magistrate makes a finding that there are grounds for line 18 dismissal, the finding shall be entered in the record and the charges line 19 dismissed.
line 20 (5) A personal relationship with any officer, public official, or line 21 law enforcement agency shall not be grounds for dismissal. line 22 (k) (1) A person contesting a charge by claiming under penalty line 23 of perjury not to be the person issued the notice to appear may line 24 choose to submit a right thumbprint, or a left thumbprint if the line 25 person has a missing or disfigured right thumb, to the issuing court line 26 through the person’s local law enforcement agency for comparison line 27 with the one placed on the notice to appear . A local la w line 28 enforcement agency providing this service may charge the requester line 29 no more than the actual costs. The issuing court may refer the line 30 thumbprint submitted and the notice to appear to the prosecuting line 31 attorney for comparison of the thumbprints. When there is no line 32 thumbprint or fingerprint on the notice to appear , or when the line 33 comparison of thumbprints is inconclusi ve, the court shall refer line 34 the notice to appear or copy thereof back to the issuing agency for line 35 further investigation, unless the court finds that referral is not in line 36 the interest of justice.
line 37 (2) Upon initiation of the investigation or comparison process line 38 by referral of the court, the court shall continue the case and the line 39 speedy trial period shall be tolled for 45 days. 99 — 14 — AB 2943
line 1 (3) Upon receipt of the issuing agenc y’s or prosecuting line 2 attorney’s response, the court may mak e a finding of f actual line 3 innocence pursuant to Section 530.6 if the court determines that line 4 there is insufficient e vidence that the person cited is the person line 5 charged and shall immediately notify the Department of Motor line 6 Vehicles of its determination. If the Department of Motor Vehicles line 7 determines the citation or citations in question formed the basis line 8 of a suspension or revocation of the person’s driving privilege, the line 9 department shall immediately set aside the action. line 10 (4) If the prosecuting attorney or issuing agency fails to respond line 11 to a court referral within 45 days, the court shall mak e a finding line 12 of factual innocence pursuant to Section 530.6, unless the court line 13 finds that a finding of f actual innocence is not in the interest of line 14 justice.
line 15 (5) The citation or notice to appear may be held by the line 16 prosecuting attorne y or issuing agenc y for future adjudication line 17 should the arrestee who recei ved the citation or notice to appear line 18 be found.
line 19 (l) For purposes of this section, the term “arresting agenc y” line 20 includes any other agency designated by the arresting agenc y to line 21 provide booking or fingerprinting services.
line 22 (m) This section shall remain in ef fect only until January 1, line 23 2026, 2031, and as of that date is repealed.
line 24 SEC. 7. Section 853.6 of the Penal Code, as added by Section line 25 2 of Chapter 856 of the Statutes of 2022, is amended to read:
line 26 853.6. (a) (1) When a person is arrested for an offense declared line 27 to be a misdemeanor , including a violation of a city or county line 28 ordinance, and does not demand to be tak en before a magistrate, line 29 that person shall, instead of being tak en before a magistrate, be line 30 released according to the procedures set forth by this chapter , line 31 however an officer may first book an arrestee pursuant to line 32 subdivision (g). If the person is released, the officer or the officer’s line 33 superior shall prepare, in duplicate, a written notice to appear in line 34 court, containing the name and address of the person, the offense line 35 charged, and the time when, and place where, the person shall line 36 appear in court. If, pursuant to subdi vision (i), the person is not line 37 released prior to being book ed and the officer in char ge of the line 38 booking or the officer’s superior determines that the person should line 39 be released, the officer or the officer’ s superior shall prepare a line 40 written notice to appear in a court.
99 AB 2943 — 15 —
line 1 (2) When a person is arrested for a misdemeanor violation of a line 2 protective court order involving domestic violence, as defined in line 3 subdivision (b) of Section 13700, or arrested pursuant to a policy line 4 described in Section 13701, the person shall be tak en before a line 5 magistrate instead of being released according to the procedures line 6 set forth in this chapter, unless the arresting officer determines that line 7 there is not a reasonable likelihood that the offense will continue line 8 or resume or that the safety of persons or property w ould be line 9 imminently endangered by release of the person arrested. Prior to line 10 adopting these pro visions, each city , county, or city and county line 11 shall develop a protocol to assist officers to determine when arrest line 12 and release is appropriate, rather than taking the arrested person line 13 before a magistrate. The county shall establish a committee to line 14 develop the protocol, consisting of, at a minimum, the police chief line 15 or county sheriff within the jurisdiction, the district attorney, county line 16 counsel, city attorne y, representati ves from domestic violence line 17 shelters, domestic violence councils, and other relevant community line 18 agencies.
line 19 (3) This subdivision shall not apply to the crimes specified in line 20 Section 1270.1, including crimes defined in each of the following:
line 21 (A) Paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 243. line 22 (B) Section 273.5.
line 23 (C) Section 273.6, if the detained person made threats to kill or line 24 harm, has engaged in violence against, or has gone to the residence line 25 or workplace of, the protected party.
line 26 (D) Section 646.9.
line 27 (4) This subdivision does not affect a defendant’s ability to be line 28 released on bail or on their own recognizance, except as specified line 29 in Section 1270.1.
line 30 (b) Unless waived by the person, the time specified in the notice line 31 to appear shall be at least 10 days after arrest if the duplicate notice line 32 is to be filed by the officer with the magistrate. line 33 (c) The place specified in the notice shall be the court of the line 34 magistrate before whom the person w ould be tak en if the line 35 requirement of taking an arrested person before a magistrate were line 36 complied with, or shall be an officer authorized by that court to line 37 receive a deposit of bail.
line 38 (d) The officer shall deliver one copy of the notice to appear to line 39 the arrested person, and the arrested person, in order to secure line 40 release, shall gi ve their written promise to appear in court as 99 — 16 — AB 2943
line 1 specified in the notice by signing the duplicate notice, which shall line 2 be retained by the officer . The officer may require the arrested line 3 person, if the arrested person has no satisfactory identification, to line 4 place a right thumbprint, or a left thumbprint or fingerprint if the line 5 person has a missing or disfigured right thumb, on the notice to line 6 appear. Except for law enforcement purposes relating to the identity line 7 of the arrestee, a person or entity may not sell, gi ve away, allow line 8 the distribution of, include in a database, or create a database with, line 9 this print. Upon the person signing the duplicate notice, the line 10 arresting officer shall immediately release the person arrested from line 11 custody.
line 12 (e) The officer shall, as soon as practicable, file the duplicate line 13 notice, as follows:
line 14 (1) It shall be filed with the magistrate if the offense charged is line 15 an infraction.
line 16 (2) It shall be filed with the magistrate if the prosecuting attorney line 17 has previously directed the officer to do so.
line 18 (3) (A) The duplicate notice and underlying police reports in line 19 support of the charge or charges shall be filed with the prosecuting line 20 attorney in cases other than those specified in paragraphs (1) and line 21 (2).
line 22 (B) If the duplicate notice is filed with the prosecuting attorney, line 23 the prosecuting attorne y, within their discretion, may initiate line 24 prosecution by filing the notice or a formal complaint with the line 25 magistrate specified in the duplicate notice within 25 days from line 26 the time of arrest. If the prosecution is not to be initiated, the line 27 prosecutor shall send notice to the person arrested at the address line 28 on the notice to appear . The failure by the prosecutor to file the line 29 notice or formal complaint within 25 days of the time of the arrest line 30 shall not bar further prosecution of the misdemeanor char ged in line 31 the notice to appear . However, any further prosecution shall be line 32 preceded by a new and separate citation or an arrest warrant. line 33 (C) Upon the filing of the notice with the magistrate by the line 34 officer, or the filing of the notice or formal complaint by the line 35 prosecutor, the magistrate may fix the amount of bail that in the line 36 magistrate’s judgment, in accordance with Section 1275, is line 37 reasonable and sufficient for the appearance of the defendant and line 38 shall endorse upon the notice a statement signed by the magistrate line 39 in the form set forth in Section 815a. The defendant may, prior to line 40 the date upon which the defendant promised to appear in court, 99 AB 2943 — 17 —
line 1 deposit with the magistrate the amount of bail set by the magistrate. line 2 When the case is called for arraignment before the magistrate, if line 3 the defendant does not appear, either in person or by counsel, the line 4 magistrate may declare the bail forfeited, and may , in the line 5 magistrate’s discretion, order that no further proceedings shall be line 6 had in the case, unless the defendant has been char ged with a line 7 violation of Section 374.3 or 374.7 of this code or of Section line 8 11357, 11360, or 13002 of the Health and Safety Code, or a line 9 violation punishable under Section 5008.7 of the Public Resources line 10 Code, and the defendant has pre viously been con victed of a line 11 violation of that section or a violation that is punishable under that line 12 section, e xcept in cases where the magistrate finds that undue line 13 hardship will be imposed upon the defendant by requiring the line 14 defendant to appear, the magistrate may declare the bail forfeited line 15 and order that no further proceedings be had in the case. line 16 (D) Upon the making of the order that no further proceedings line 17 be had, all sums deposited as bail shall immediately be paid into line 18 the county treasury for distribution pursuant to Section 1463. line 19 (f) A warrant shall not be issued for the arrest of a person who line 20 has given a written promise to appear in court, unless and until the line 21 person has violated that promise or has f ailed to deposit bail, to line 22 appear for arraignment, trial, or judgment or to comply with the line 23 terms and provisions of the judgment, as required by law. line 24 (g) The officer may book the arrested person at the scene or at line 25 the arresting agency prior to release or indicate on the citation that line 26 the arrested person shall appear at the arresting agency to be booked line 27 or indicate on the citation that the arrested person shall appear at line 28 the arresting agency to be fingerprinted prior to the date the arrested line 29 person appears in court. If it is indicated on the citation that the line 30 arrested person shall be booked or fingerprinted prior to the date line 31 of the person’s court appearance, the arresting agency, at the time line 32 of booking or fingerprinting, shall provide the arrested person with line 33 verification of the booking or fingerprinting by making an entry line 34 on the citation. If it is indicated on the citation that the arrested line 35 person is to be booked or fingerprinted, the magistrate, judge, or line 36 court shall, before the proceedings be gin, order the defendant to line 37 provide verification that the defendant was booked or fingerprinted line 38 by the arresting agenc y. If the defendant cannot produce the line 39 verification, the magistrate, judge, or court shall require that the line 40 defendant be booked or fingerprinted by the arresting agency before 99 — 18 — AB 2943
line 1 the ne xt court appearance, and that the defendant pro vide the line 2 verification at the ne xt court appearance unless both parties line 3 stipulate that booking or fingerprinting is not necessary. line 4 (h) A peace officer shall use the written notice to appear line 5 procedure set forth in this section for any misdemeanor offense in line 6 which the officer has arrested a person without a warrant pursuant line 7 to Section 836 or in which the officer has taken custody of a person line 8 pursuant to Section 847.
line 9 (i) When a person is arrested by a peace officer for a line 10 misdemeanor, that person shall be released according to the line 11 procedures set forth by this chapter unless one of the following is line 12 a reason for nonrelease, in which case the arresting officer may line 13 release the person, e xcept as pro vided in subdi vision (a), or the line 14 arresting officer shall indicate, on a form to be established by the line 15 officer’s emplo ying la w enforcement agenc y, which of the line 16 following was a reason for the nonrelease:
line 17 (1) The person arrested was so intoxicated that they could have line 18 been a danger to themselves or to others.
line 19 (2) The person arrested required medical examination or medical line 20 care or was otherwise unable to care for their own safety. line 21 (3) The person w as arrested under one or more of the line 22 circumstances listed in Sections 40302 and 40303 of the Vehicle line 23 Code.
line 24 (4) There were one or more outstanding arrest warrants for the line 25 person.
line 26 (5) The person could not pro vide satisf actory e vidence of line 27 personal identification.
line 28 (6) The prosecution of the of fense or of fenses for which the line 29 person was arrested, or the prosecution of an y other of fense or line 30 offenses, would be jeopardized by immediate release of the person line 31 arrested.
line 32 (7) There was a reasonable likelihood that the offense or offenses line 33 would continue or resume, or that the safety of persons or property line 34 would be imminently endangered by release of the person arrested. line 35 (8) The person arrested demanded to be tak en before a line 36 magistrate or refused to sign the notice to appear. line 37 (9) There is reason to believe that the person would not appear line 38 at the time and place specified in the notice. The basis for this line 39 determination shall be specifically stated.
line 40 (10) (A) The person was subject to Section 1270.1. 99 AB 2943 — 19 —
line 1 (B) The form shall be filed with the arresting agenc y as soon line 2 as practicable and shall be made a vailable to an y party ha ving line 3 custody of the arrested person, subsequent to the arresting officer, line 4 and to any person authorized by law to release the arrested person line 5 from custody before trial.
line 6 (j) (1) Once the arresting officer has prepared the written notice line 7 to appear and has delivered a copy to the person arrested, the officer line 8 shall deliver the remaining original and all copies as provided by line 9 subdivision (e).
line 10 (2) A person, including the arresting officer and an y member line 11 of the officer’s department or agenc y, or any peace officer, who line 12 alters, conceals, modifies, nullifies, or destro ys, or causes to be line 13 altered, concealed, modified, nullified, or destroyed, the face side line 14 of the remaining original or any copy of a citation that was retained line 15 by the officer, for any reason, before it is filed with the magistrate line 16 or with a person authorized by the magistrate to recei ve deposit line 17 of bail, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
line 18 (3) If, after an arrested person has signed and recei ved a copy line 19 of a notice to appear, the arresting officer determines that, in the line 20 interest of justice, the citation or notice should be dismissed, the line 21 arresting agency may recommend, in writing, to the magistrate line 22 that the charges be dismissed. The recommendation shall cite the line 23 reasons for the recommendation and shall be filed with the court. line 24 (4) If the magistrate makes a finding that there are grounds for line 25 dismissal, the finding shall be entered in the record and the charges line 26 dismissed.
line 27 (5) A personal relationship with any officer, public official, or line 28 law enforcement agency shall not be grounds for dismissal. line 29 (k) (1) A person contesting a charge by claiming under penalty line 30 of perjury not to be the person issued the notice to appear may line 31 choose to submit a right thumbprint, or a left thumbprint if the line 32 person has a missing or disfigured right thumb, to the issuing court line 33 through the person’s local law enforcement agency for comparison line 34 with the one placed on the notice to appear . A local la w line 35 enforcement agency providing this service may charge the requester line 36 no more than the actual costs. The issuing court may refer the line 37 thumbprint submitted and the notice to appear to the prosecuting line 38 attorney for comparison of the thumbprints. When there is no line 39 thumbprint or fingerprint on the notice to appear , or when the line 40 comparison of thumbprints is inconclusi ve, the court shall refer 99 — 20 — AB 2943
line 1 the notice to appear, or a copy thereof, back to the issuing agency line 2 for further investigation, unless the court finds that referral is not line 3 in the interest of justice.
line 4 (2) Upon initiation of the investigation or comparison process line 5 by referral of the court, the court shall continue the case and the line 6 speedy trial period shall be tolled for 45 days. line 7 (3) Upon receipt of the issuing agenc y’s or prosecuting line 8 attorney’s response, the court may mak e a finding of f actual line 9 innocence pursuant to Section 530.6 if the court determines that line 10 there is insufficient e vidence that the person cited is the person line 11 charged and shall immediately notify the Department of Motor line 12 Vehicles of its determination. If the Department of Motor Vehicles line 13 determines the citation or citations in question formed the basis line 14 of a suspension or revocation of the person’s driving privilege, the line 15 department shall immediately set aside the action. line 16 (4) If the prosecuting attorney or issuing agency fails to respond line 17 to a court referral within 45 days, the court shall mak e a finding line 18 of factual innocence pursuant to Section 530.6, unless the court line 19 finds that a finding of f actual innocence is not in the interest of line 20 justice.
line 21 (5) The citation or notice to appear may be held by the line 22 prosecuting attorne y or issuing agenc y for future adjudication line 23 should the arrestee who recei ved the citation or notice to appear line 24 be found.
line 25 (l) For purposes of this section, the term “arresting agenc y” line 26 includes any other agency designated by the arresting agenc y to line 27 provide booking or fingerprinting services.
line 28 (m) This section shall become operative January 1, 2026. 2031. line 29 SEC. 8. Section 1203g is added to the Penal Code, to read:
line 30 1203g. (a) Notwithstanding Section 1203a, for a violation of line 31 shoplifting, as defined in Section 459.5, or petty theft, as described line 32 in Section 488 or 490.2, the court may suspend the imposition or line 33 execution of the sentence and mak e and enforce the terms of line 34 probation for a period not to exceed two years. line 35 (b) If a court imposes a term of probation that e xceeds the line 36 maximum period of time specified in subdi vision (a) of Section line 37 1203a, the court, as a condition of probation, shall consider line 38 referring the defendant to a collaborati ve court or rehabilitation line 39 program that is relevant to the underlying factor or factors that led line 40 to the commission of the offense. If the court finds that referral to 99 AB 2943 — 21 —
line 1 a collaborative court or rehabilitation program is not an appropriate line 2 condition of probation, it must state the reasons for its finding on line 3 the record.
line 4 (c) Upon successful completion of the rehabilitation program, line 5 as determined by the program provider, or successful participation line 6 in the collaborative court, as determined by the collaborative court, line 7 the court shall discharge the defendant from probation. line 8 (d) Participation in a collaborati ve court or a rehabilitation line 9 program by the defendant shall not e xceed the maximum period line 10 of time of probation specified in subdi vision (a), except with the line 11 consent of the defendant.
line 12 SEC. 9. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to line 13 Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution for certain line 14 costs that may be incurred by a local agenc y or school district line 15 because, in that regard, this act creates a new crime or infraction, line 16 eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime line 17 or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the line 18 Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the line 19 meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California line 20 Constitution.
line 21 However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that line 22 this act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement line 23 to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made line 24 pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division line 25 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
O
99 — 22 — AB 2943