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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Fourth Legislature, First Regular Session
abducting child from state agency
Purpose
Establishes the offense of abduction of a child from a state agency.
Background
Currently, a person commits custodial interference if the person takes, entices or keeps a child or incompetent person who is entrusted by authority of law to the custody of another person or institution from lawful custody and knows or has reason to know that the person has no legal right to do so. A person who commits the crime of custodial interference is guilty of a class 6 felony if committed by the child's parent or agent of the child's parent, except that the penalty is raised to a class 4 felony if the child is taken out of Arizona. If the child is voluntarily returned without physical injury by the parent or agent of the parent within 48 hours after the offense has been committed, custodial interference is a class 1 misdemeanor (A.R.S. § 13-1302).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Stipulates that a person commits abduction of a child from a state agency if the person knows or has reason to know that a child is entrusted by authority of the law to the custody of a state agency and does any of the following:
a) takes, entices or keeps the child from the lawful custody of a state agency; or
b) intentionally fails or refuses to immediately return or impedes the immediate return of a child to the lawful custody of a state agency, including at the expiration of visitation or access.
2. Classifies the offense of abduction of a child from a state agency as:
a) a class 3 felony if the child is taken, enticed or kept from the lawful custody of a state agency and is taken outside of Arizona;
b) a class 4 felony if the child is taken, enticed or kept from the lawful custody of a state agency but the child remains in Arizona at all times; and
c) a class 6 felony if the person voluntarily returns the child without physical injury no later than 48 hours after the person takes, entices or keeps the child from the lawful custody of a state agency.
3. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 19, 2019
JA/AB/kja