Pen. Code, § 270a · Chapter 2. Abandonment and Neglect of Children
Pen. Code, § 270a
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
Every individual who has sufficient ability to provide for his or her spouse’s support, or who is able to earn the means of such spouse’s support, who willfully abandons and leaves his or her spouse in a destitute condition, or who refuses or neglects to provide such spouse with necessary food, clothing, shelter, or medical attendance, unless by such spouse’s conduct the individual was justified in abandoning such spouse, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 1976, Ch. 1170.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=270a.
- Text hash
- sha256 2ead5f971baebbe5ce1a008b8177ea54b6f18651985443d1cc5c5ebb7a7aefdd
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
Cited by 8 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Pen. Code, § 270a. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Evidence Code
Penal Code
Welfare and Institutions Code
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.