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Ordinance No.
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5 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 15-2.1 OF CHAPTER 15, "OFFENSES-
6 MISCELLANEOUS," OF THE BUTTE COUNTY CODE, DEFINING TERMS, CREATING
7 OFFENSES FOR MINORS, PARENTS AND GUARDIANS OF MINORS, AND BUSINESS
8 ESTABLISHMENTS VIOLATING CURFEW REGULATIONS, PROVIDING DEFENSES, AND
9 PROVIDING FOR ENFORCEMENT AND PENALTIES, AND REPEALING SECTIONS
10 15-2.2, 15-2.3, 15-3, 15-4 AND 15-5 OF SAID CHAPTER 15
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13 The Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte ordains as follows:
14 Section 1. Findings.
15 The Board of Supervisors hereby makes the following findings:
16 (a) There has been an increase in juvenile violence, juvenile gang
17 activity, and crime by persons under the age of 18 in the County of Butte.
18 (b) Persons under the age of 18 are particularly susceptible by
19 their lack of maturity and experience to participate in unlawful and gang--
20 related activities and to be victims of older perpetrators of crime.
21 (c} The County of Butte has an obligation to provide for the
22 protection of minors from each other and from other persons, for the
23 enforcement of parental control over and responsibility for children, for
24 the protection of the general public, and for the reduction of the
25 incidence of juvenile criminal activities.
26 (d} A curfew for those under the age of 18 will be in the interest
27 of public health, safety, and general welfare and will help to attain the
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1 foregoing objectives and to diminish the undesirable impact of such
2 conduct on the citizens of the County of Butte.
3 Section 2. That Section 15-2.1 of the Butte County Code is amended to
4 read as follows:
5 "section 15-2.1. Curfew Hours For Minors.
6 (a) Definitions. In this section:
7 (1) CURFEW HOURS means:
8 (A} 11:00 p.m. on any Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
g or Thursday until 6:00 a.m. of the fallowing day; and
10 (B) 12:01 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. on any Friday or Saturday.
11 (2} EMERGENCY means an unforeseen combination of circumstances
Z2 or the resulting state that calls for immediate action.
13 The term includes, but is not limited to, a fire, a
14 natural disaster, or automobile accident, or any situation
15 requiring immediate action to prevent serious bodily
16 injury or loss of life.
17 (3) ESTABLISHMENT means any privately-awned place of business
18 operated for a profit to which the public is invited,
1g including but not limited to any place of amusement or
20 entertainment.
21 (4) GUARDIAN means:
22 (A} a person who, under court order, is the guardian of
23 the person of a minor; or
24 (B} a public or private agency with whom a minor has been
25 placed by a court.
26 (5} MINOR means any person under 1$ years of age,
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1 (6) OPERATOR means any individual, firm, association,
2 partnership, or corporation operating, managing, or
3 conducting any establishment. The term includes the
4 members or partners of an association or partnership and
5 the officers of a corporation.
& (7) PARENT means a person who is:
7 (A) a natural parent, adoptive parent, or step-parent of
8 another person;
9 (B) at least 18 years of age and authorized by a parent
10 or guardian to have the care and custody of a minor.
11 (8} PUBLIC PLACE means any place to which the public or a
12 substantial group of the public has access and includes,
13 but is not limited to, streets, highways and the common
14 areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office
15 buildings, transport facilities, and shops.
16 {9) REMAIN means to:
17 (A) Iinger or stay; or
18 (B) fail to leave premises when requested to do so by a
19 police officer or the owner, operator, or other
2p person in control of the premises.
21 (10) SERIOUS BODILY INJURY means that as defined within
22 California Penal Coda Section 243 (f}(5}.
23 (b) Dffenses.
24 (1) A minor commits an offense if he or she remains in any
25 public place or on the premises of any establishment
26 within the county during curfew hours.
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1 m {2} a parent or guardian of a minor commits an offense if he
2 or she knowingly permits, or by insufficient control
3 allows, the minor to remain in any public place or on the
4 premises of any establishment within the county during
5 curfew hours.
6 {3) The owner, operator, ar any employee of an establishment
7 commits an offense if he or she knowingly allows a minor
8 to remain upon the premises of the establishment during
9 curfew hours.
10 (c) Defenses.
11 (1} It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b) that
12 the minor was:
13 (A) accompanied by the minor's parent or guardian;
14 (B) on an errand at the direction of the minor's parent
15 or guardian, without any detour or stop;
16 {C) in a motor vehicle involved in interstate travel;
17 (D} engaged in an employment activity, or going to or
18 returning home from an employment activity, without
lg any detour or stop;
20 (E) involved in an emergency;
21 {F) on the sidewalk abutting the minor's residence or
22 abutting the residence of a next door neighbor if the
23 neighbor did not complain to the sheriff's department
24 about the minor's presence;
25 {G) attending an official school, religious, or other
26 recreational activity supervised by adults and
27 sponsored by any governmental agency in the County of
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1 Butte, a civic organization or other similar entity
2 that takes responsibility for the minor, or going or
3 returning home from, without any detour or stop, an
4 official school, religious, or other recreational
5 activity supervised by adults and sponsored by the
6 County of Butte, a civic organization, or another
7 similar entity that takes responsibility far the
8 minor;
9 (H) exercising First Amendment rights protected by the
10 United states Constitution, such as the free exercise
11 of religion, freedom of speech, and right of
12 assembly; or
13 (I) married or had been married or had disabilities of
14 minority removed in accordance with Part 6 of
15 Division 11 of the California Family Code, commencing
16 with Section 7000.
17 (2) It is a defense to prosecution under Subsection (b)(3) that the
18 owner, operator, or employee of an establishment promptly
19 notified the police department that a minor was present on the
20 premises of the establishment during curfew hours and refused
21 to leave.
22 (d} Enforcement.
23 (1) Before taking any enforcement action under this section, a law
24 enforcement officer shall ask the apparent offenders age and
25 reason for being in the public place. The officer shall not
26 issue a citation or make an arrest under this section unless
27 the officer reasonably believes that an offense has occurred
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1 and that, based on any response and other circumstances, no
2 defense in Subsection (c) is present.
3 (e} Penalties.
4 (1} A person who violates a provision of this chapter is guilty of
5 a separate offense for each day or part of a day during which
6 the violation is committed, continued, ar permitted. Each
7 offense, upon conviction, is punishable by a fine not to exceed
8 $500.
9 Section 3.
10 That Sections 2 and 3 of Ordinance No. 78i and Section 2 of Ordinance
11 598, codified in Butte County Code sections 15-2.2, 15-2.3, 15-3, 15-4 and
12 15-5, are repealed.
13 Section 4.
14 That Chapter 15 of the Butte County Code, as amended, shall remain
15 in full force and effect, save and except as amended by this ordinance.
15 Section 5. Severabilit .
17 Tf any part of this ordinance shall be held void by a court of
18 competent jurisdiction, such part shall be deemed severable, and the
19 invalidity thereof shall not affect the remaining parts of this ordinance.
20 Section 6. Effective Date and Publication.
21 This ordinance shall be and is hereby declared to be in full force
22 and effect from and after thirty (30) days after the date of its passage,
23 and before the expiration fifteen (15) days after its passage, this
24 Ordinance shall be published once with the names of the members of the
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25 Board of Supervisors voting for and against it in the Record , a
26 newspaper published in the County of Butte, State of California.
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1 PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Baard of Supervisors of the Caunty of
2 Butte, State of California, on the 26th day of 3uly , 1994,
3 by the following vote:
4 AYES ; Supervisors Meyex, Houx, '~homas and Chair McLaughla.n
5 NOES : None
6 ABSENT: Supervisor Dolan
7 NOT VOT ING : None
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ED MCLAUGHLIN, Chai of the
g Butte County Board f Supervisors
10 ATTEST:
11 JOHN S. BLACKLO , County Administrative
Offic r and Cle k of the Board
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By
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(curfcw.or~
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