False reports and harassment.

(1) Existing law makes certain publications and communications, including certain communications in a legislative proceeding, judicial proceeding, any other official proceeding authorized by law, or in the initiation or course of any other proceeding authorized by law and reviewable pursuant to a writ of mandate, privileged, and therefore protected from civil action, subject to certain exceptions. These exceptions include any communication made in a judicial proceeding knowingly concealing the existence of an insurance policy or policies. This bill would additionally create an exception to the privilege provisions for any communication between a person and a law enforcement agency in which the person knowingly or recklessly makes a false report that another person has committed, or is in the act of committing, a criminal act or is engaged in an activity requiring law enforcement intervention. (2) Existing law, the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976, provides that all persons within the jurisdiction of this state have the right to be free from any violence, or intimidation by threat of violence, committed against their persons or property because of political affiliation, or on account of position in a labor dispute, or sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status, or because another person perceives them to have one or more of those characteristics. Existing law provides civil remedies for violations of those provisions. This bill would provide that intimidation by threat of violence includes knowingly or recklessly making or threatening to make a false claim or report to a peace officer or law enforcement agency alleging that another person has engaged in unlawful activity or in an activity that requires law enforcement intervention. (3) Existing law makes it an infraction for a person to knowingly allow the use of or use the 911 emergency system for any reason other than because of an emergency. A violation of this prohibition is punishable by a warning for a first violation and specified, graduated fines for subsequent violations, including a fine of up to $250 for a 4th or subsequent violation. This bill would increase the penalty for a violation of that provision if a person knowingly allows the use of or uses the 911 emergency system for the purpose of harassing another. The bill would make a first violation of that prohibition an infraction punishable by a $250 fine or a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in a county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both that imprisonment and fine. The bill would make a 2nd or subsequent violation a misdemeanor punishable by up to 6 months in a county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both that imprisonment and fine. The bill would also provide that if a person knowingly allows the use of or uses the 911 emergency system for the purpose of harassing a person and that act is a hate crime or other, specified crime committed against another person on the basis of the other person's actual or perceived characteristics, including race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation, the crime would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in a county jail, a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $2,000, or both that imprisonment and fine. By increasing the penalty for certain crimes to make them punishable by imprisonment in a county jail, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (4) 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 would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.