BILL ANALYSIS AB 2281 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 30, 2008 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mark Leno, Chair AB 2281 (Nava) - As Amended: April 15, 2008 Policy Committee: Public SafetyVote: 7-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill increases the penalty, from a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000, to a wobbler, punishable by up to one year in county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000, or 16 months, 2, or 3 years in state prison, for being present as a spectator at a dogfight, as specified. FISCAL EFFECT 1)Significant annual GF costs, potentially in excess of $1 million, for increased state prison commitments. Should two dozen spectators, out of the alleged thousands of spectators, be committed to state prison, annual costs would exceed $1 million. 2)This bill, by creating a new felony, would also create additional - and costly - third strike exposure, triggering a life term for persons with two prior violent or serious felonies, or a double term for a person with one prior serious or violent felony. If one person per year received a third strike as a result of a felony conviction under this bill, the annual cost in 10 years would exceed $400,000. 3)Significant nonreimbursable local law enforcement and incarceration costs for increased county jail commitments. COMMENT 1)Rationale . The author contends that dog fighting is a sadistic sport and that increasing the penalties for spectatorship will AB 2281 Page 2 deter attendance and thus incidence. The Humane Society of the United States contends that tens of thousands of people are involved in dog fighting and that punishing spectatorship as a misdemeanor creates "a loophole that makes it more difficult for law enforcement officials to effectively prosecute dog fighters. Typically, organized dog fights occur with several matches held one after the other. When police raid a dog fight it is extremely difficult to differentiate between spectators and participants who were going to fight their dog in the next match. This creates a loophole allowing many dog fighters to avoid prosecution, or be subject to minimal penalties." 2)Concerns . a) Should the penalty for being a spectator at a dogfight be the same as the penalty for actually training and fighting the dogs ? Is the current six-month county jail penalty inadequate? Should the penalty for spectatorship at a dogfight be greater than the penalty for spectatorship at a cockfight (six months and/or a fine of up to $1,000)? b) This bill would make spectatorship at a dogfight a third strike . c) Given current fiscal conditions and prison overcrowding, increasing the prison population for this offense may be problematic . The state is in the throes of a 2008-09 budget deficit that may exceed $15 billion. Current prison overcrowding is under review by federal courts. Plaintiffs are requesting emergency inmate releases, perhaps on a scale of tens of thousands of inmates. The governor is proposing no state prison time for short-term inmates (less than 20 months to serve) and summary parole release. The federal prison receiver is ordering the state to spend an additional $7 billion for inmate health care facilities in addition to the current $6 billion prison construction program. 3)Opposition . According to CA Attorneys for Criminal Justice (CACJ), "?. there is no sound policy basis to punish someone in the spectator status equally with the organizers and perpetrators of the crime of dog fighting. The organizers and persons engaging in raising dogs for dog fights are already AB 2281 Page 3 punishable on the felony level. The crime of being a spectator is also already punished, and is punished on a level commensurate with the individual's involvement, as a misdemeanor. To increase punishment to allow state prison sentences for this activity without any basis to show this would either deter or prevent illegal activity, we believe would be a senseless escalation of penalty." Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081