BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 543|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 543
Author: Block (D), et al.
Amended: 4/10/13
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/2/13
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Knight, Liu, Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/13
AYES: De León, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Petty theft: enhancements for prior convictions
SOURCE : San Diego District Attorney
DIGEST : This bill specifies a conviction for theft,
embezzlement, forgery, fraud, or identity theft against an elder
or dependent adult as a prior qualifying offense in the crime of
petty theft with a specified prior conviction.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides that every person who is convicted of petty theft in
the current case, and who has previously been convicted on
three or more occasions of petty theft, grand theft, auto
theft, burglary, carjacking, robbery, or receiving stolen
property, is guilty of an alternate misdemeanor, punishable
by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding one year, or
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in the state prison.
2. Provides that a person who is required to register as a sex
offender, or who has a prior serious or violent felony
conviction, or who has been previously sentenced under the
Three Strikes Law, remains subject to imprisonment in the
state prison if convicted of petty theft with a single prior
qualifying offense.
3. Defines a "dependent adult" as any person who is between the
ages of 18 and 64, who has physical or mental limitations
which restrict his or her ability to carry out normal
activities or to protect his/her rights, including, but not
limited to, persons who have physical or developmental
disabilities or whose physical or mental abilities have
diminished because of age.
4. Defines "elder" as any person who is 65 years of age or
older.
5. Establishes fines and other punishment for theft,
embezzlement, forgery, fraud, and identity theft against an
elder or dependent adult, as specified.
This bill provides that theft, embezzlement, forgery, fraud, and
identity theft, as specified, from an elderly person or
dependent adult is a prior qualifying conviction for purposes of
the crime of petty theft with a prior theft conviction, as
follows:
1. A person convicted three or more times of petty theft, grand
theft, auto theft, elder financial abuse, burglary,
carjacking, robbery, or receiving stolen property, is guilty
of an alternate misdemeanor, and subject to imprisonment in a
county jail for up to one year for a misdemeanor, or in a
county jail for a felony for 16 months, or two or three
years.
2. A person required to register as a sex offender, or with a
prior serious or violent felony conviction, who has been
convicted and imprisoned for the commission of any of the
aforementioned offenses, including elder or dependent adult
financial abuse and who is subsequently convicted of petty
theft, is subject to imprisonment in a county jail for one
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year for a misdemeanor or in a state prison for 16 months, or
two or three years for a felony with one prior qualifying
offense.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Potential increase in annual local incarceration costs
(Local/Local Revenue Fund) for additional county jail
sentences to the extent additional convictions of petty theft
with a prior conviction are charged utilizing a conviction for
elder financial abuse as a qualifying prior offense.
Potential increase in state prison costs of $150,000 to
$300,000 (General Fund) per year for increased state prison
commitments to the extent additional convictions for petty
theft with a prior for persons required to register as sex
offenders or with serious or violent prior convictions utilize
a conviction for elder financial abuse as a qualifying prior
offense.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/13)
San Diego District Attorney (source)
California District Attorneys Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
California Welfare Directors Association
County of San Diego
Crime Victims Alliance
Elder Theft & Advocacy
Senior Community Centers
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, under
existing law, if someone is convicted three or more times of
petty theft, grand theft, auto theft, burglary, carjacking, or
robbery and then later commits petty theft, that subsequent
petty theft crime may be punished as a felony. This bill makes
it clear that theft from an elder is a qualifying prior offense
effectively removing any ambiguity in the law and ensuring
everyone is properly charged with the crime they have committed.
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It also ensures that elder theft is treated with the same
seriousness as any other form of theft.
JG:d 5/23/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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