BILL ANALYSIS AB 1800 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 14, 2010 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 1800 (Ma and Hagman) - As Amended: March 16, 2010 Policy Committee: Public SafetyVote: 5-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No SUMMARY This bill increases the penalty for unlawfully claiming ownership or taking possession of a residential dwelling, for the purpose of renting that dwelling to another, from a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in the county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000, to a felony, punishable by 16 months, two or three years in state prison. FISCAL EFFECT 1)Unknown annual GF increase in state prison costs. For every 10 persons convicted of this proposed felony offense, who would not otherwise be sentenced to state prison, the annual cost would be about $450,000, based on current per capita inmate costs. (This estimate does not include potential three-strike implications.) (A situation in which a person is defrauded of more than $400 may currently be charged as grand theft, punishable as an alternative felony/misdemeanor. So in cases in which a victim suffers a loss of more than $400, the offense may already be charged as a felony. This bill, however, would also create a felony penalty for cases in which no financial loss is incurred, but a dwelling is unlawfully occupied or possessed with the intent of renting it to another.) 2)By creating a new felony, this bill also creates potential two and three-strikes sentencing situations, which result in a doubling of terms for second strikes, and life terms for third strikes. Any person with one or more serious or violent felonies priors, who is convicted of a felony under this bill, AB 1800 Page 2 would face either a doubled term for the intended unlawful rental of a residential dwelling, or a life term for the offense. For example, if one person per year received a life term for this offense, in 5 years the annual state incarceration cost would be about $225,000. In 15 years, the annual cost would be about $675,000. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . The author contends recent and current economic conditions have contributed to an increase in "housing-related crimes" that merit stiffer penalties. According to the authors, "Under current law, individuals posing as landlords are only guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of no more than $1000 and/or 6 months of jail time. Under Penal Code 602.9, a thief could walk away with a slap on the wrist, and leave a family homeless. "With the State's record foreclosures and economic downturn, more and more scammers are taking advantage of innocent people during these difficult times. AB 1800 will simply enhance the current misdemeanor crime of posing as a landlord to a felony." 2)Opposition. According to the ACLU, "Current law makes the unlawful rental of residential property a misdemeanor. Current law also permits felony charges if the defendant obtains rent exceeding $400. We perceive little justification to making all these cases felonies. Imposing new or stiffer felony penalties for this or any other crime simply exacerbates the current prison overcrowding crisis. It also implicates the Three Strikes Law. The current penalties for these acts are sufficient to punish the individuals for those offenses." 3)Impact on State Budget, Prison Overcrowding and Federal Court Ruling to Reduce the Inmate Population . Federal courts have ruled that inmate overcrowding is a primary factor in what the courts have determined to be unconstitutional levels of prison medical care. This year the court ordered California to reduce its inmate population by about 40,000 inmates to achieve an overcrowding level of 137.5% of capacity. The current state budget deficit projection is about $20 billion. Last year the Legislature considered measures designed to reduce the inmate population by about 37,000 and $1.2 billion in 2010-11. The AB 1800 Page 3 result of those deliberations is currently a projected savings of about $780 million in 2010-11 and a population reduction of about 14,000, including parole reforms, inmate program reductions, and increased sentence credits. The governor's budget proposes an additional reduction of about $1.1 billion for 2010-11, including a population reduction of about 13,000. 4)Suggested Amendment . The author may wish to consider doubling the current misdemeanor penalty from six months to one year, which would not impact the state prison system or the GF. Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081