Plain English Breakdown
The official text does not define exactly which crimes count as 'specified crimes relating to rape,' leaving some uncertainty about the full scope of the elected officials provision.
Crimes: Scrivner Act
This law changes rules about lewd acts against children under 14 when drugs or alcohol are involved, sets a deadline for charging elected officials with certain rape crimes involving minors, and limits who can get mental health treatment instead of trial.
What This Bill Does
- Removes the need to prove specific intent if a person commits lewd acts on a child under 14 while using mind- or mood-altering substances.
- Requires the Department of Justice to file criminal charges against an elected official within 30 days after investigating specified crimes relating to rape involving minor victims, if the case is appropriate for prosecution.
- Makes defendants ineligible for pretrial mental health diversion if evidence shows they committed sex offenses prohibited from receiving diversion, even if prosecutors do not formally charge those specific crimes.
- Requires prosecutors to explain on record why certain serious charges are not filed and whether they spoke with the victim about the decision.
Who It Names or Affects
- People accused of committing lewd acts against children under age 14
- Elected officials investigated for specified crimes relating to rape involving minors
- Defendants seeking pretrial diversion programs for mental health treatment
- Prosecutors and the Department of Justice
Terms To Know
- Lewd or lascivious act
- A sexual crime committed against a child under age 14.
- Pretrial diversion
- A program that allows some defendants to get mental health treatment instead of going through the normal trial process.
- Mind- or mood-altering substance
- Drugs or alcohol that change how a person thinks, feels, or acts.
Limits and Unknowns
- The bill does not state when it will officially take effect.
- Reimbursement for local costs depends on whether the Commission on State Mandates finds required expenses in this law.
- The text refers to 'specified crimes relating to rape' but does not list every specific crime included.