BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1128
Author: Salas (D)
Amended: 7/9/13 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 7/2/13
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Knight, Liu, Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/12/13
AYES: De León, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Padilla
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-1, 5/29/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Alcoholic beverages: underage drinking
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill increases to a wobbler the penalty for
knowingly selling, purchasing for, furnishing or giving alcohol
to a person under 21 who drinks the alcohol and then proximately
causes death or bodily injury to himself/herself or another.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.States that every person who sells, furnishes, gives, or
causes to be sold, furnished, or given away, any alcoholic
beverage to any person under the age of 21 years is guilty of
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a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail
not exceeding six month, by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or by
both a fine and imprisonment.
2.States that any person who violates the law by purchasing any
alcoholic beverage for, or furnishing, giving, or giving away
any alcoholic beverage to, a person under the age of 21 years,
and the person under the age of 21 years thereafter consumes
the alcohol and thereby proximately causes great bodily injury
(GBI) or death to himself, herself, or any other person is
guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by not less than six
months, or not more than one year in a county jail.
3.Provides that any on-sale licensee who knowingly permits a
person under the age of 21 years to consume any alcoholic
beverage in the on-sale premises, whether or not the licensee
has knowledge that the person is under the age of 21 years, is
guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the
county jail not exceeding six month, by a fine not to exceed
$1,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment.
4.Provides that except as provided by law, any person who
violates existing law by furnishing an alcoholic beverage, or
causing an alcoholic beverage to be furnished to a minor shall
be punished 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 hours when the
person is not employed and is not attending school.
5.Provides that any person who violates the misdemeanor, as
specified, shall be punished by either six months to one year
in county jail and/or a fine of $1,000 plus penalty
assessments.
6.Provides that every person convicted of a felony for a
violation of specified alcoholic beverage regulatory
provisions for which another offense is not provided shall be
punished by a fine of not more than $10,000, imprisonment in a
county jail for not more than one year, imprisonment for 16
months, two or three years in county jail, or by both a fine
and imprisonment.
This bill:
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1.Provides that any person who violates the law by knowingly
selling to, purchasing any alcoholic beverage for, or
furnishing, giving, or giving away any alcoholic beverage to a
person under 21 years of age and the person consumes the
alcohol and thereby proximately causes great bodily injury or
death to himself, herself, or another is guilty of either a
misdemeanor or, if the person knew that the person was under
21 years of age, a felony.
2.Provides that a licensee or an employee, agent or
representative of a licensee shall not be subject to a felony
prosecution, as specified, for the sale, furnishing, giving,
or giving away of any alcoholic beverage to a person under 21
years of age unless the licensee or an employee agent or
representative of the licensee had actual prior knowledge the
person to whom the alcoholic beverage was sold, furnished, or
given away was under 21 years of age.
Prior Legislation
AB 1657 (Runner, 2007) would have made the act of providing an
alcoholic beverage to a person who the provider knew, or
reasonably should have known, was under the age of 21 years, and
the person under the age of 21 years thereafter consumes the
alcohol and thereby proximately causes GBI or death to himself,
herself, or any other person, and the provider knew, or
reasonably should have known, of that danger, punishable as
either a misdemeanor or a felony, as specified. This bill
failed in the Senate Committee on Public Safety.
AB 2967 (Runner, 2006) and AB 454 (Runner, 2005) were similar
measures that also failed in the Senate Committee on Public
Safety.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Potential minor increase in state incarceration costs, likely
less than $50,000 (General Fund) annually, for increased state
prison commitments to the extent felony convictions under this
bill sentenced occur for individuals convicted of a prior
serious or violent felony.
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Ongoing non-reimbursable local enforcement and incarceration
costs offset to a degree by fine revenue.
While the impact of this bill independently on local jails is
likely to be minor, the cumulative effect of new or expanded
crimes impacting jail overcrowding could create General Fund
cost pressure on capital outlay, staffing, programming, the
courts, and other resources in the context of criminal justice
realignment.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/13/13)
Association of Narcotic Officers
Avenal Police Department
Kings County Sheriff's Office
Mothers Against Drunk Driving
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
Currently, it is a misdemeanor for persons to purchase and
provide or sell alcohol to persons under 21 whether or not
it results in bodily harm, injury, or death, to themselves
or another person.
The consumption of alcohol provided to a person less than
21 years of age, by a person 21 years or older, who causes
great bodily injury or death to himself, herself, or any
other person is a severe situation. Prosecutors do not
have the flexibility to try offenders under charges
suitable for an intensified negative consequence of their
action.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-1, 5/29/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel
Pérez, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
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Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada,
John A. Pérez
NOES: Donnelly
NO VOTE RECORDED: Allen, Holden, Muratsuchi, Quirk, Vacancy
JG:nl 8/13/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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