BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1325| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1325 Author: John A. Pérez (D) Amended: 3/21/13 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/11/13 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Knight, Liu, Steinberg ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Vandalism: punishment SOURCE : Author DIGEST : This bill extends from 240 days to one year the period of time for a person convicted of vandalism or affixing graffiti to complete his/her court-imposed community service. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1. Provides that every person who maliciously defaces real or personal property with graffiti or other inscribed material is guilty of vandalism, which is punishable as an alternate felony/misdemeanor. 2. States that if the amount of damage is $400 or more, vandalism is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or by 16 months, two, or three years in a CONTINUED AB 1325 Page 2 county jail or by a fine of not more than $10,000, if the amount of damage is $10,000 or more, by a fine of not more than $50,000 or by both that fine and imprisonment. 3. States that if the amount of damage is less than $400, vandalism is punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year; or by a fine of not more than $1,000; or by both that fine and imprisonment. 4. Defines "graffiti or other inscribed material" as including any unauthorized inscription, word, figure, mark, or design that is written, marked, etched, scratched, drawn, or painted on real or personal property. 5. Provides that the court may order any person convicted of vandalism and ordered to perform community service or graffiti removal to undergo counseling. 6. Provides that every person who is convicted of vandalism may be ordered by the court as a condition of probation to perform community service not to exceed 300 hours over a period not to exceed 240 days during a time other than his/her hours of school attendance or employment. This bill provides instead that the community service must be performed within one year. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 6/12/13) AFSCME, AFL-CIO California Attorneys for Criminal Justice California Public Defenders Association ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Attorneys for Criminal Justice state: Existing law makes every person that defaces with graffiti or other materials, real or personal property of another, guilty of vandalism. The crime of vandalism is punishable by fine imprisonment, or both. The court is authorized to impose CONTINUED AB 1325 Page 3 community services hours, as a condition of probation not to exceed 300 hours to be completed in no more than 240 days. This bill attempts to provide more flexibility and a longer time frame for those guilty of vandalism to complete the community service hours. The proposed changes AB 1325 introduces will help those guilty of vandalism complete their court-mandated community service hours. The 280 days currently allowed is an arbitrary amount of time with no reasoning for its length. Extending this window to one year would allow those persons to balance school, employment, and other responsibilities with their duty to complete their community service hours. Moreover, on some occasions, the court may order the defendant to maintain a specified property graffiti-free for one year. For these reasons, we support AB 1325. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/9/13 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, 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, Gordon, Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mitchell, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Torres, Wagner, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Donnelly, Holden, Logue, Waldron, Vacancy JG:k 6/12/13 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED