California Assembly Bill AB925 Latest Draft

 BILL NUMBER: AB 925AMENDED BILL TEXT AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 11, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2015 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015 INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Low FEBRUARY 26, 2015 An act to amend Section 632.7  of   of, and to add Sectio   n 632.8 to,  the Penal Code, relating to crimes. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 925, as amended, Low. Intentional recording of telephonic communication. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not to exceed $2,500, by imprisonment in county jail for not more than one year or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment, to intercept or receive and intentionally record, or assist in the interception or receipt and intentional recording of, a communication transmitted between 2 telephonic devices, without the consent of all parties to the communication. Existing law exempts from these provisions a public communications utility when the acts are for the construction, maintenance, or operation of the services of the public utility or are pursuant to the tariffs of the public utility, and also exempts telephonic communication systems used exclusively within a correctional facility, as specified. This bill would additionally exempt from that prohibition  a nonconfidential   the first 20 seconds of a telephonic  communication between a person or business and a current or former customer, or a person reasonably believed to be a current or former  customer, regarding their business relationship, including communications regarding billing, provisioning, maintaining, or operating the product or service provided by the person or business.   customer. The bill would also require the Department of Justice to annually report to the Legislature the number of people charged under these provisions.  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 632.7 of the Penal Code is amended to read: 632.7. (a) Every person who, without the consent of all parties to a communication, intercepts or receives and intentionally records, or assists in the interception or reception and intentional recordation of, a communication transmitted between two cellular radio telephones, a cellular radio telephone and a landline telephone, two cordless telephones, a cordless telephone and a landline telephone, or a cordless telephone and a cellular radio telephone, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500), or by 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 been convicted previously of a violation of this section or of Section 631, 632, 632.5, 632.6, or 636, the person shall be punished by a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or in the state prison, or by both that fine and imprisonment. (b) This section shall not apply to any of the following: (1) A public utility engaged in the business of providing communications services and facilities, or to the officers, employees, or agents thereof, when the acts otherwise prohibited are for the purpose of construction, maintenance, conduct, or operation of the services and facilities of the public utility. (2) The use of any instrument, equipment, facility, or service furnished and used pursuant to the tariffs of the public utility. (3) A telephonic communication system used for communication exclusively within a state, county, city and county, or city correctional facility.  (4) A nonconfidential communication between a person or business and a current or former customer of the person or business, or a person reasonably believed to be a current or former customer, regarding their business relationship, including, but not limited to, communications regarding billing, provisioning, maintaining, or operating the product or service provided by the person or business.   (4) The initial 20 seconds of a telephonic communication between a business and a current or former customer, or a person reasonably believed to be a current or former customer.  (c) As used in this section, each of the following terms have the following meaning: (1) "Cellular radio telephone" means a wireless telephone authorized by the Federal Communications Commission to operate in the frequency bandwidth reserved for cellular radio telephones. (2) "Cordless telephone" means a two-way, low power communication system consisting of two parts, a "base" unit which connects to the public switched telephone network and a handset or "remote" unit, that are connected by a radio link and authorized by the Federal Communications Commission to operate in the frequency bandwidths reserved for cordless telephones. (3) "Communication" includes, but is not limited to, communications transmitted by voice, data, or image, including facsimile.  SEC. 2.   Section 632.8 is added to the   Penal Code   , to read:   632.8. (a) On January 1, 2017, and annually thereafter, the Department of Justice shall report to the Legislature the number of people charged with a crime under Section 632.7 during the preceding year. (b) The report to the Legislature pursuant to this section shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.