(a) (1) A defendant is guilty of intentional transmission of an infectious or communicable disease if all of the following apply: (A) The defendant knows that he or she or a third party is afflicted with an infectious or communicable disease. (B) The defendant acts with the specific intent to transmit or cause an afflicted third party to transmit that disease to another person. (C) The defendant or the afflicted third party engages in conduct that poses a substantial risk of transmission to that person. (D) The defendant or the third party transmits the infectious or communicable disease to the other person. (E) If exposure occurs through interaction with the defendant and not a third party, the person exposed to the disease during voluntary interaction with the defendant did not know that the defendant was afflicted with the disease. A personâs interaction with the defendant is not involuntary solely on the basis of his or her lack of knowledge that the defendant was afflicted with the disease. (2) A defendant is guilty of willful exposure to an infectious or communicable disease if a health officer, or the health officerâs designee, acting under circumstances that make securing a quarantine or health officer order infeasible, has instructed the defendant not to engage in particularized conduct that poses a substantial risk of transmission of an infectious or communicable disease, and the defendant engages in that conduct within 96 hours of the instruction. A health officer, or the health officerâs designee, may issue a maximum of two instructions to a defendant that may result in a violation of this paragraph. (b) The defendant does not act with the intent required pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) if the defendant takes, or attempts to take, practical means to prevent transmission. (c) Failure to take practical means to prevent transmission alone is insufficient to prove the intent required pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a). (d) Becoming pregnant while infected with an infectious or communicable disease, continuing a pregnancy while infected with an infectious or communicable disease, or declining treatment for an infectious or communicable disease during pregnancy does not constitute a crime for purposes of this section. (e) For purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (1) âConduct that poses a substantial risk of transmissionâ means an activity that has a reasonable probability of disease transmission as proven by competent medical or epidemiological evidence. Conduct posing a low or negligible risk of transmission as proven by competent medical or epidemiological evidence does not meet the definition of conduct posing a substantial risk of transmission. (2) âInfectious or communicable diseaseâ means a disease that spreads from person to person, directly or indirectly, that has significant public health implications. (3) âPractical means to prevent transmissionâ means a method, device, behavior, or activity demonstrated scientifically to measurably limit or reduce the risk of transmission of an infectious or communicable disease, including, but not limited to, the use of a condom, barrier protection or prophylactic device, or good faith compliance with a medical treatment regimen for the infectious or communicable disease prescribed by a health officer or physician. (f) This section does not preclude a defendant from asserting any common law defense. (g) (1) A violation of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) or paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than six months. (2) A person who attempts to intentionally transmit an infectious or communicable disease by engaging in the conduct described in subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (E) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than 90
‹ Prev All California sections Next ›
Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.