BILL NUMBER: AB 996	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Donnelly

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2011

   An act to amend Section 186.22 of the Penal Code, relating to
crime.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 996, as introduced, Donnelly. Criminal gangs and drug cartels.
   Existing law, as amended by Proposition 21 of the March 7, 2000,
primary election, the Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act
of 1998, provides that any person who participates in any criminal
street gang with knowledge that its members engage in a pattern of
criminal street gang activity and who promotes felonious criminal
conduct shall be punished, as specified. Existing law defines a
pattern of criminal gang activity as the commission of, attempted
commission of, conspiracy to commit, or solicitation of, sustained
juvenile petition for, or conviction of 2 or more listed offenses, as
specified. Existing law places specified enhancements on persons
convicted of a felony committed in association with any criminal
street gang, as specified. The act authorizes the Legislature to
amend these provisions with a 2/3 vote of each house concurring.
   This bill would provide that if the finder of fact makes a finding
that the defendant was, at the time the defendant committed a crime,
a member of, affiliated with, or associated with a criminal street
gang or a drug cartel, as defined, the court shall, after making a
determination of the punishment that would otherwise be imposed,
automatically double all fines, restitutions, and terms of
imprisonment otherwise applicable to the defendant. Because this bill
would change the punishment for conviction of a crime in association
with a criminal street gang, it would amend Proposition 21 and
therefore require a 2/3 vote of the membership of each house.
   Because this bill would change the punishment for a crime, this
bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 186.22 of the Penal Code, as amended by Section
2 of Chapter 256 of the Statutes of 2010, is amended to read:
   186.22.  (a) Any person who actively participates in any criminal
street gang with knowledge that its members engage in or have engaged
in a pattern of criminal gang activity, and who willfully promotes,
furthers, or assists in any felonious criminal conduct by members of
that gang, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for a
period not to exceed one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison
for 16 months, or two or three years.
   (b) (1) Except as provided in paragraphs (4) and (5), any person
who is convicted of a felony committed for the benefit of, at the
direction of, or in association with any criminal street gang, with
the specific intent to promote, further, or assist in any criminal
conduct by gang members, shall, upon conviction of that felony, in
addition and consecutive to the punishment prescribed for the felony
or attempted felony of which he or she has been convicted, be
punished as follows:
   (A) Except as provided in subparagraphs (B) and (C), the person
shall be punished by an additional term of two, three, or four years
at the court's discretion.
   (B) If the felony is a serious felony, as defined in subdivision
(c) of Section 1192.7, the person shall be punished by an additional
term of five years.
   (C) If the felony is a violent felony, as defined in subdivision
(c) of Section 667.5, the person shall be punished by an additional
term of 10 years.
   (2) If the underlying felony described in paragraph (1) is
committed on the grounds of, or within 1,000 feet of, a public or
private elementary, vocational, junior high, or high school, during
hours in which the facility is open for classes or school-related
programs or when minors are using the facility, that fact shall be a
circumstance in aggravation of the crime in imposing a term under
paragraph (1).
   (3) The court shall order the imposition of the middle term of the
sentence enhancement, unless there are circumstances in aggravation
or mitigation. The court shall state the reasons for its choice of
sentencing enhancements on the record at the time of the sentencing.
   (4) Any person who is convicted of a felony enumerated in this
paragraph committed for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in
association with any criminal street gang, with the specific intent
to promote, further, or assist in any criminal conduct by gang
members, shall, upon conviction of that felony, be sentenced to an
indeterminate term of life imprisonment with a minimum term of the
indeterminate sentence calculated as the greater of:
   (A) The term determined by the court pursuant to Section 1170 for
the underlying conviction, including any enhancement applicable under
Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 1170) of Title 7 of Part 2, or
any period prescribed by Section 3046, if the felony is any of the
offenses enumerated in subparagraph (B) or (C) of this paragraph.
   (B) Imprisonment in the state prison for 15 years, if the felony
is a home invasion robbery, in violation of subparagraph (A) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 213; carjacking, as
defined in Section 215; a felony violation of Section 246; or a
violation of Section 12022.55.
   (C) Imprisonment in the state prison for seven years, if the
felony is extortion, as defined in Section 519; or threats to victims
and witnesses, as defined in Section 136.1.
   (5) Except as provided in paragraph (4), any person who violates
this subdivision in the commission of a felony punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison for life shall not be paroled until
a minimum of 15 calendar years have been served.
   (c) If the court grants probation or suspends the execution of
sentence imposed upon the defendant for a violation of subdivision
(a), or in cases involving a true finding of the enhancement
enumerated in subdivision (b), the court shall require that the
defendant serve a minimum of 180 days in a county jail as a condition
thereof.
   (d) Any person who is convicted of a public offense punishable as
a felony or a misdemeanor, which is committed for the benefit of, at
the direction of, or in association with any criminal street gang,
with the specific intent to promote, further, or assist in any
criminal conduct by gang members, shall be punished by imprisonment
in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by imprisonment in the
state prison for one, two, or three years, provided that any person
sentenced to imprisonment in the county jail shall be imprisoned for
a period not to exceed one year, but not less than 180 days, and
shall not be eligible for release upon completion of sentence,
parole, or any other basis, until he or she has served 180 days. If
the court grants probation or suspends the execution of sentence
imposed upon the defendant, it shall require as a condition thereof
that the defendant serve 180 days in a county jail.
   (e) As used in this chapter, "pattern of criminal gang activity"
means the commission of, attempted commission of, conspiracy to
commit, or solicitation of, sustained juvenile petition for, or
conviction of two or more of the following offenses, provided at
least one of these offenses occurred after the effective date of this
chapter and the last of those offenses occurred within three years
after a prior offense, and the offenses were committed on separate
occasions, or by two or more persons:
   (1) Assault with a deadly weapon or by means of force likely to
produce great bodily injury, as defined in Section 245.
   (2) Robbery, as defined in Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 211)
of Title 8  of Part 1  .
   (3) Unlawful homicide or manslaughter, as defined in Chapter 1
(commencing with Section 187) of Title 8  of Part 1 
.
   (4) The sale, possession for sale, transportation, manufacture,
offer for sale, or offer to manufacture controlled substances as
defined in Sections 11054, 11055, 11056, 11057, and 11058 of the
Health and Safety Code.
   (5) Shooting at an inhabited dwelling or occupied motor vehicle,
as defined in Section 246.
   (6) Discharging or permitting the discharge of a firearm from a
motor vehicle, as defined in subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section
 12034   26100  .
   (7) Arson, as defined in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 450)
of Title 13.
   (8) The intimidation of witnesses and victims, as defined in
Section 136.1.
   (9) Grand theft, as defined in subdivision (a) or (c) of Section
487.
   (10) Grand theft of any firearm, vehicle, trailer, or vessel.
   (11) Burglary, as defined in Section 459.
   (12) Rape, as defined in Section 261.
   (13) Looting, as defined in Section 463.
   (14) Money laundering, as defined in Section 186.10.
   (15) Kidnapping, as defined in Section 207.
   (16) Mayhem, as defined in Section 203.
   (17) Aggravated mayhem, as defined in Section 205.
   (18) Torture, as defined in Section 206.
   (19) Felony extortion, as defined in Sections 518 and 520.
   (20) Felony vandalism, as defined in paragraph (1) of subdivision
(b) of Section 594.
   (21) Carjacking, as defined in Section 215.
   (22) The sale, delivery, or transfer of a firearm, in violation of
 Section 12072   Article 1 (commencing with
Section 27500) of Chapter 4 of Division 6 of Title 4   of
Part 6  .
   (23) Possession of a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of
being concealed upon the person in violation of  paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a) of Section 12101   Section 29610
 .
   (24) Threats to commit crimes resulting in death or great bodily
injury, as defined in Section 422.
   (25) Theft and unlawful taking or driving of a vehicle, as defined
in Section 10851 of the Vehicle Code.
   (26) Felony theft of an access card or account information, as
defined in Section 484e.
   (27) Counterfeiting, designing, using, or attempting to use an
access card, as defined in Section 484f.
   (28) Felony fraudulent use of an access card or account
information, as defined in Section 484g.
   (29) Unlawful use of personal identifying information to obtain
credit, goods, services, or medical information, as defined in
Section 530.5.
   (30)  Wrongfully obtaining Department of Motor Vehicles
documentation, as defined in Section 529.7.
   (31) Prohibited possession of a firearm in violation of 
Section 12021   Chapter 2 (commencing with Section
29800) of Division 9 of Title 4 of   Part 6 .
   (32) Carrying a concealed firearm in violation of Section 
12025   25400  .
   (33) Carrying a loaded firearm in violation of Section 
12031   25850 .
   (f) As used in this chapter, "criminal street gang" means any
ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons,
whether formal or informal, having as one of its primary activities
the commission of one or more of the criminal acts enumerated in
paragraphs (1) to (25), inclusive, or (31) to (33), inclusive, of
subdivision (e), having a common name or common identifying sign or
symbol, and whose members individually or collectively engage in or
have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity.
   (g) Notwithstanding any other law, the court may strike the
additional punishment for the enhancements provided in this section
or refuse to impose the minimum jail sentence for misdemeanors in an
unusual case where the interests of justice would best be served, if
the court specifies on the record and enters into the minutes the
circumstances indicating that the interests of justice would best be
served by that disposition.
   (h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for each person
committed to the Division of Juvenile Facilities for a conviction
pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) of this section, the offense shall
be deemed one for which the state shall pay the rate of 100 percent
of the per capita institutional cost of the Division of Juvenile
Facilities, pursuant to Section 912.5 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code.
   (i) In order to secure a conviction or sustain a juvenile
petition, pursuant to subdivision (a) it is not necessary for the
prosecution to prove that the person devotes all, or a substantial
part, of his or her time or efforts to the criminal street gang, nor
is it necessary to prove that the person is a member of the criminal
street gang. Active participation in the criminal street gang is all
that is required.
   (j) A pattern of gang activity may be shown by the commission of
one or more of the offenses enumerated in paragraphs (26) to (30),
inclusive, of subdivision (e), and the commission of one or more of
the offenses enumerated in paragraphs (1) to (25), inclusive, or (31)
to (33), inclusive, of subdivision (e). A pattern of gang activity
cannot be established solely by proof of commission of offenses
enumerated in paragraphs (26) to (30), inclusive, of subdivision (e),
alone. 
   (k) This section shall become operative on January 1, 2012.
 
   (k) For purposes of this section, "drug cartel" means any criminal
organization developed with the primary purpose of promoting and
controlling drug trafficking operations and shall include, but not be
limited to, all of the following:  
   (1) The Medellin Cartel.  
   (2) The Cali Cartel.  
   (3) The Norte del Valle Cartel.  
   (4) The North Coast Cartel.  
   (5) The Beltran-Leyva Cartel.  
   (6) The La Familia Cartel.  
   (7) The Gulf Cartel.  
   (8) The Juarez Cartel.  
   (9) The Sinaloa Cartel.  
   (10) The Tijuana Cartel.  
   (11) The Los Zetas Cartel.  
   (l) Notwithstanding any other law, if the finder of fact makes a
finding that the defendant was, at the time the defendant committed a
crime, a member of, affiliated with, or associated with a criminal
street gang or a drug cartel, as defined in subdivision (k), the
court shall, after making a determination of the punishment that
would otherwise be imposed, automatically double all fines and terms
of imprisonment otherwise applicable to the defendant and all
penalties imposed pursuant to Section 1202.4. 
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.