BILLS SIGNED INTO STATE LAW

Stiffer punishment: Alcohol purchases for underage drinkers targeted;
so is animal cruelty.

SACRAMENTO -- Several state bills signed into law Monday will do everything
from creating tougher penalties for adults who buy alcohol for minors to
encouraging counseling for people convicted of torturing animals.

The new laws take effect Jan. 1.

Under a bill sponsored by Assemblyman Fred Keeley, D-Santa Cruz, and signed
by Gov. Pete Wilson, adults will end up in county jail for at least six
months if they buy alcoholic beverages for minors who end up killing
themselves or others or causing major injuries. Offenders also could be
assessed a $1,000 fine.

Currently, offending adults face misdemeanor charges with penalties of up
to a $1,000 fine and 30 days in jail plus community service. There is no
minimum penalty now.

Keeley said the primary goal of Assembly Bill 1204 was to deal with what he
called the ``shoulder tap'' by minors who approach adults outside liquor
stores and ask them to buy alcoholic drinks.

Keeley said he took up the issue in response to a car accident in his
district that killed three young people. The driver, a minor, had been
drinking alcohol apparently purchased for him by an adult. The adult served
30 days in jail, and the driver is serving an eight-year sentence in state
prison, Keeley said.

Minimum sentence

``That's not what I would characterize as a strong deterrent,'' Keeley said
of the 30-day sentence. ``What my bill does that's most important is it
establishes a minimum sentence, no exceptions.''

Wilson also signed a bill Monday that requires counseling as a condition of
probation for anyone convicted of killing, maiming or abusing an animal.
Many infamous criminals started by abusing dogs and cats, bill supporters say.

``By requiring convicted animal abusers to receive counseling, we may stop
their crimes from escalating and prevent a future tragedy,'' Wilson said.

Wilson and the animal cruelty bill's author, state Sen. Jack O'Connell,
D-Santa Barbara, cited several cases in which people accused or convicted
of high-profile crimes had reportedly abused animals.

Richard Allen Davis, sentenced to death for the rape and murder of Polly
Klaas, set cats on fire and threw knives at dogs. A 15-year-old Oregon boy
accused of killing his parents and two students apparently bragged of
stuffing lighted firecrackers into cats' mouths. And Russell Eugene Weston
Jr., charged with gunning down two policemen at the U.S. Capitol,
apparently shot a dozen or more cats in his hometown the day before.

O'Connell quotes anthropologist Margaret Mead: ``One of the most dangerous
things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and get
away with it.''

Acupuncture coverage

Wilson also signed a bill that allows injured workers to have their
acupuncture treatments covered under worker's compensation.

Another signed bill prohibits individuals or businesses from using
electronic tracking devices to follow other people's cars. People or
businesses using such devices could face misdemeanor charges and also lose
their professional or business licenses.

Another new law cracks down on two scams of crooked telemarketers that
apparently have helped to make California the top state for telephone fraud.

The bill prohibits phone sellers from trying to get payments from victims
before the products are delivered. The bill also outlaws so-called recovery
rooms, whose operators promise for a fee to help victims recover money that
they previously had paid a telemarketer for a product that wasn't
delivered. The recovery operator couldn't seek any fee for helping a buyer
get money back until seven days after a product is delivered.

Violators can be charged with a misdemeanor and face a penalty of up to one
year in county jail.

The bill was strongly supported by the American Association of Retired
Persons and the California Congress of Seniors. More than half of the
victims of phone scams are over age 50, and 14 percent are over 75,
according to the AARP.

1997 - 1998 Mercury Center.

Checked-by: Pat Dolan