BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    







                      SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
                             Senator Mark Leno, Chair                A
                             2009-2010 Regular Session               B

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          AB 2471(J. Perez)                                          1
          As Amended April 27, 2010 
          Hearing date:  June 22, 2010
          Vehicle Code
          MK:dl

                 VEHICLES: IDENTIFICATION CARDS AND DRIVER'S LICENSES  

                                       HISTORY


          Source:  Author

          Prior Legislation: AB 811(J Perez) - Vetoed 2010
                       AB 1658 (Runner) - Chapter 743, Stats. 2007
                       AB 2967 (Runner) - failed Senate Public Safety,  
          2006
                       AB 454 (Runner) - failed Senate Pubic Safety, 2005
                       SB 508 (McClintock) - failed Senate Public Safety,  
          2005
                       AB 2113 (Bogh) - held Assembly Appropriations, 2002
                                  AB 2037 (La Suer) - Chapter 291, Stats.  
          2004
                                  AB 1301 (Simitian) - Chapter 625, Stats.  
          2003
                        

          Support: California Fraternal Order of Police; Long Beach Police  
                   Officers Association; Los Angeles County Professional  
                   Peace Officers Association; Santa Ana Police Officers  
                   Association; Los Angeles District Attorney's  
                   Association; Los Angeles County Sheriff





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                                                          AB 2471 (J.Perez)
                                                                      PageB

          Opposition:Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety

          Assembly Floor Vote:  Ayes 77 - Noes 0


                                         KEY ISSUE
           
          SHOULD THE MISDEMEANOR PENALTIES FOR MANUFACTURING A FAKE DRIVER'S  
          LICENSE OR CALIFORNIA I.D. CARD BE CHANGED TO BE EITHER A FINE OF  
          $250-$1,000 PLUS PENALTY ASSESSMENTS AND 24 HOURS COMMUNITY SERVICE  
          OR UP TO $1,000 FINE, PLUS PENALTY ASSESSMENTS, AND UP TO ONE YEAR  
          IN COUNTY JAIL?


                                       PURPOSE

          The purpose of this bill is to change the penalties for  
          manufacturing a fake California driver's license or I.D. car and  
          to clarify that it is illegal to manufacture or sell a card that  
          "purports to confer the same privileges a" a license or card  
          issued by DMV.
          
           Existing law  provides that no person shall manufacture or sell  
          an identification document of a size and form substantially  
          similar to the identification cards issued by the Department of  
          Motor Vehicles (DMV). (Vehicle Code  13004.1)

            Existing law  provides that no person shall manufacture or sell  
          an identification document of a size and form substantially  
          similar to the drivers' licenses issued by the DMV.  A violation  
          is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine $1,000, no part of which  
          shall be suspended, and the person shall be required to perform  
          not less than 24 hours of community service.  (Vehicle Code   
          14610.1.)

           This bill  provides that a person shall also not manufacture or  
          sell a document that "purports to confer the same privileges as"  
          a DMV issued driver's license or identification card.

           This bill  provides instead that the punishment for Vehicle Code  




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                                                          AB 2471 (J.Perez)
                                                                      PageC

          Sections 13004.1 and 14610.1 shall be as follows:

                 The court shall impose a fine of not less than $250 and  
               not more than $1,000 plus penalty assessments and 24 hours  
               of community service, to be served when the person is not  
               employed or is not attending school, no part of which can  
               be waived.
                 In lieu of the above penalties, the court in its  
               discretion may impose a jail term of up to one year and a  
               fine of up to $1,000 plus penalty assessments.  

           This bill  provides that in exercising its discretion to sentence  
          a person to jail, the court shall consider the extent of the  
          defendant's commercial motivation for the offense. 

           This bill  provides that prosecution under one of these sections  
          shall not preclude prosecution under any other applicable  
          provision of law.

                                          
              RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION IMPLICATIONS
          
          The severe prison overcrowding problem California has  
          experienced for the last several years has not been solved.  In  
          December of 2006 plaintiffs in two federal lawsuits against the  
          Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation sought a  
          court-ordered limit on the prison population pursuant to the  
          federal Prison Litigation Reform Act.  On January 12, 2010, a  
          federal three-judge panel issued an order requiring the state to  
          reduce its inmate population to 137.5 percent of design capacity  
          -- a reduction of roughly 40,000 inmates -- within two years.   
          In a prior, related 184-page Opinion and Order dated August 4,  
          2009, that court stated in part:

               "California's correctional system is in a tailspin,"  
               the state's independent oversight agency has reported.  
               . . .  (Jan. 2007 Little Hoover Commission Report,  
               "Solving California's Corrections Crisis: Time Is  
               Running Out").  Tough-on-crime politics have increased  
               the population of California's prisons dramatically  




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                                                          AB 2471 (J.Perez)
                                                                      PageD

               while making necessary reforms impossible. . . .  As a  
               result, the state's prisons have become places "of  
               extreme peril to the safety of persons" they house, .  
               . .  (Governor Schwarzenegger's Oct. 4, 2006 Prison  
               Overcrowding State of Emergency Declaration), while  
               contributing little to the safety of California's  
               residents, . . . .   California "spends more on  
               corrections than most countries in the world," but the  
               state "reaps fewer public safety benefits." . . .  .   
               Although California's existing prison system serves  
               neither the public nor the inmates well, the state has  
               for years been unable or unwilling to implement the  
               reforms necessary to reverse its continuing  
               deterioration.  (Some citations omitted.)

               . . .

               The massive 750% increase in the California prison  
               population since the mid-1970s is the result of  
               political decisions made over three decades, including  
               the shift to inflexible determinate sentencing and the  
               passage of harsh mandatory minimum and three-strikes  
               laws, as well as the state's counterproductive parole  
               system.  Unfortunately, as California's prison  
               population has grown, California's political  
               decision-makers have failed to provide the resources  
               and facilities required to meet the additional need  
               for space and for other necessities of prison  
               existence.  Likewise, although state-appointed experts  
               have repeatedly provided numerous methods by which the  
               state could safely reduce its prison population, their  
               recommendations have been ignored, underfunded, or  
               postponed indefinitely.  The convergence of  
               tough-on-crime policies and an unwillingness to expend  
               the necessary funds to support the population growth  
               has brought California's prisons to the breaking  
               point.  The state of emergency declared by Governor  
               Schwarzenegger almost three years ago continues to  
               this day, California's prisons remain severely  
               overcrowded, and inmates in the California prison  




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                                                          AB 2471 (J.Perez)
                                                                      PageE

               system continue to languish without constitutionally  
               adequate medical and mental health care.<1>

          The court stayed implementation of its January 12, 2010 ruling  
          pending the state's appeal of the decision to the U.S. Supreme  
          Court.  On Monday, June 14, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed  
          to hear the state's appeal in this case.    

           This bill  does not appear to aggravate the prison overcrowding  
          crisis described above.

                                      COMMENTS

          1.  Need for This Bill  

          According to the author:





















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          ---------------------------
          <1>   Three Judge Court Opinion and Order, Coleman v.  
          Schwarzenegger, Plata v. Schwarzenegger, in the United States  
          District Courts for the Eastern District of California and the  
          Northern District of California United States District Court  
          composed of three judges pursuant to Section 2284, Title 28  
          United States Code (August 4, 2009).










              This bill is needed in response to incidents involving  
              constituents that have been approached by businesses  
              selling official looking identification cards purported  
              to confer the same rights and privileges as government  
              issued driver's licenses (DL) and identification cards  
              (ID).  

              While existing statute speaks to the criminality of  
              selling and manufacturing identification cards that look  
              similar in size, color, etc, to cards issued by the  
              Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), current law does not  
              specify that it is also illegal to imply that the cards  
              "confer the same privileges" as licenses and  
              identification cards issued by DMV.   AB 2471 addresses  
              this deficiency in state law. 

          2.   Purports to Confer the Same Privileges  

          Existing law makes it illegal to manufacture or sell an  
          identification card or driver's license substantially similar to  
          those issued by DMV.  This bill clarifies that it is also  
          illegal to sale an identification card or driver's license which  
          purports to confer the same privileges as the cards or licenses  
          issued by DMV.

          3.   Changes to Penalties for Selling Identification Cards or  
          Driver's Licenses  

          Existing law provides that the penalties for manufacturing or  
          selling an identification card or driver's license that is  
          substantially similar to those issued by DMV is a misdemeanor  
          punishable by a fine of $1,000, no part of which shall be  
          suspended, and the person shall be required to perform not less  
          than 24 hours of community service during the hours when the  
          person is not employed and is not attending school.  The law  
          provides that no part of the fine or community service shall be  
          suspended or waived.

          This bill provides that the fine shall be between $250 and  




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                                                          AB 2471 (J.Perez)
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          $1,000 plus the 24 hours of community service and in lieu of  
          those penalties the court in its discretion may instead impose a  
          jail term of up to one year and a fine up to $1,000.  The bill  
          specifies that in exercising its discretion the court shall  
          consider the extent of the defendant's commercial motivation for  
          the offense.

          According to the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office:

              AB 2471 will provide prosecutors with a tool to combat  
              this deceptive and fraudulent practice that targets  
              innocent parties who believe they are obtaining  
              government authorized documents.


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