An act to add Section 636.6 to the Penal Code, relating to crimes.
Summary
SB 701 adds Section 636.6 to the Penal Code to create new California offenses involving signal jammers, defined as devices that intentionally block, jam, or interfere with authorized radio or wireless communications. The bill makes it an infraction to manufacture, import, market, purchase, sell, or operate a signal jammer without FCC authorization, with a $500 fine for a first offense and misdemeanor penalties for repeat violations. It also makes it a misdemeanor to use a signal jammer in connection with another misdemeanor or felony.
The bill further creates a more serious offense for willfully or maliciously using a signal jammer to block state or local public safety communications when the user knows or should know the conduct is likely to cause death or great bodily injury and such harm occurs. A conviction under the new section requires forfeiture of the device. The law expressly excludes authorized use by state or local law enforcement and defines both “signal jammer” and “public safety communications” for enforcement purposes.
Impact
SB 701 expands the Penal Code by adding a new section that criminalizes the possession, sale, operation, and criminal use of signal jammers, while preserving lawful FCC-authorized and law-enforcement uses. It creates a tiered penalty structure ranging from infractions to misdemeanors and, in the most serious public-safety interference cases, a misdemeanor-or-felony offense. The bill also mandates forfeiture of the jammer upon conviction and states that no state reimbursement is required for local enforcement costs because the measure creates or changes criminal penalties.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported throughout the legislative process, with unanimous or near-unanimous votes at each recorded stage and no recorded opposition in the provided vote history. It advanced through committee, suspense, and floor votes without any recorded nays, suggesting strong consensus around the need to deter interference with communications systems, especially public safety communications. The chaptering of the bill indicates it was ultimately enacted into law.
Contention
No specific committee transcript or floor debate is provided, so there is no recorded substantive opposition in the supplied materials. The main policy issue implicit in the bill is the balance between public safety and regulation of communications devices: the measure targets commercial activity and use of jammers broadly, but carves out FCC-authorized and law-enforcement uses. Any potential contention would likely center on the breadth of the prohibition, the criminalization of purchase and possession-related conduct, and the severity of penalties when jammers are used in connection with other crimes or in ways that endanger emergency communications.
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