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Cal. PEN § 146c

This is the official text of Cal. PEN § 146c, part of California’s Penal Code — defines crimes and sets criminal procedure in California.

Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.

Official statutory text

Every person who designates any nongovernmental organization by any name, including, but not limited to any name that incorporates the term “peace officer,” “police,” or “law enforcement,” that would reasonably be understood to imply that the organization is composed of law enforcement personnel, when, in fact, less than 80 percent of the voting members of the organization are law enforcement personnel or firefighters, active or retired, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Every person who solicits another to become a member of any organization so named, of which less than 80 percent of the voting members are law enforcement personnel or firefighters, or to make a contribution thereto or subscribe to or advertise in a publication of the organization, or who sells or gives to another any badge, pin, membership card, or other article indicating membership in the organization, knowing that less than 80 percent of the voting members are law enforcement personnel or firefighters, active or retired, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

As used in this section, “law enforcement personnel” includes those mentioned in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, plus any other officers in any segment of law enforcement who are employed by the state or any of its political subdivisions.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.