Bill Would Force Manson to Pay Part of T-Shirt Royalties to State

A bill to require state prison inmates receiving outside income from movies, books or other royalties to pay as much as 50% of the money for their incarceration costs has been introduced in the Assembly.

The legislation (AB 2579) stems from the recent sale of T-shirts endorsed by mass murderer Charles Manson that is expected to earn him up to $60,000 this year.

One T-shirt design has a picture of Manson behind bars on the front and the words “Charlie Don’t Surf” on the back.

Assemblyman Dean Andal (R-Stockton) said: “It is inconceivable that this man may make $60,000 in royalties from his perverse cult following but not pay a penny to defray the costs of his confinement.”

The average yearly cost is $22,000 to keep a criminal behind bars, where Manson has been for 23 years, Andal said.

In a related action, Sen. Charles M. Calderon (D-Whittier) has introduced legislation (SB 1330) to require criminals who earn outside income based on the notoriety of their crimes to place the money in a trust fund to reimburse their victims.

ASSEMBLY

Floor Action

* South Africa: Passed and sent to the Senate on a 70-0 vote a bill (AB 2448) by Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco) to lift the ban on investment of state pension funds in businesses that operate in South Africa.

* Farm Labor: Rejected on a 25-42 vote a bill (AB 90) by Assemblyman Phillip Isenberg (D-Sacramento) to make farmers liable for violations of state farm labor laws even if they use farm labor contractors as middlemen.

* Death Penalty: Rejected on a 23-40 vote a bill (AB 1455) by Assemblyman Phillip Isenberg (D-Sacramento) to prohibit imposition of the death penalty on any person who is mentally retarded.

Bills Introduced

* Price Gouging: AB 36X by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) would make it a misdemeanor for merchants to engage in price gouging as a result of disasters.

* Conjugal Visits: AB 35X by Assemblyman Dean Andal (R-Stockton) would prohibit conjugal visits for murderers and other violent and sex crime offenders in state prisons.

* Hate Violence: AB 2543 by Assemblywoman Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) would require the State Board of Education to develop and adopt guidelines aimed at reducing hate violence acts committed on kindergarten through high school public school campuses.

* Illegal Immigrants: AJR 57 by Tom Umberg (D-Garden Grove) requests the President and Congress to designate California as a pilot state for tamper-proof identification cards for employment.

* Television Violence: AJR 58 by Assemblywoman Diane Martinez (D-Rosemead) requests the Federal Communications Commission to regulate the amount of violence seen by children on television as a condition for license renewal.

SENATE

Committee Action

* Workers’ Compensation: The Rules Committee approved a resolution (SCR 29) by Sen. Steve Peace (D-Bonita) to create a Joint Committee on Workers’ Compensation to report to the Legislature at the end of each session with findings and recommendations. A 5-0 vote sent the resolution to the floor.

Bill Introductions

* Carjacking Penalty: SB 1311 by Sen. Robert Presley (D-Riverside) would allow the death penalty for murders committed during carjackings or drive-by shootings.