BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
SB 644 (Cannella) - Firearms: felons in possession.
Amended: May 13, 2013 Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: May 23, 2013 Consultant: Jolie Onodera
SUSPENSE FILE.
Bill Summary: SB 644 would provide that a subsequent conviction
for the felony offense of possession of a firearm by a person
previously convicted of a felony would be punishable by
imprisonment in state prison for a term of four, five, or six
years.
Fiscal Impact: Unknown increase in annual state incarceration
costs, potentially in the millions of dollars (General Fund).
For every 100 subsequent convictions for possession of a firearm
by a felon previously convicted of the same offense, costs of
$2.8 million to $6 million (General Fund) ), compounding to $8.4
million to $18 million for overlapping sentences, assuming the
middle term of the triad increase from two years to five years.
Background: Under existing law (Penal Code § 29800(a)(1)), any
person in a specified class who possesses or controls a firearm
is guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in state
prison for 16 months, two years, or three years. The following
classes of persons are prohibited from possessing a firearm:
1) A person previously convicted of any felony under the
laws of California, the United States, or any state or
country.
2) A person convicted of a misdemeanor that involves the
violent use of a firearm, including assault with a firearm
and brandishing a firearm in the presence of a police
officer.
3) A person addicted to narcotics.
Proposed Law: This bill would provide that subsequent
convictions for the felony offense of possessing or controlling
a firearm for persons described in 1) above would be punishable
by imprisonment in state prison for four, five, or six years.
This bill would also make technical, non-substantive changes to
SB 644 (Cannella)
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this provision of law.
Staff Comments: By increasing the prison sentencing triad for
subsequent convictions of this offense, the provisions of this
bill could result in increased annual state prison costs for
incarceration. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(CDCR) has reported that calendar year 2012 data reflects 1,835
persons committed to state prison with a principal controlling
offense for PC § 29800(a)(1), and 1,184 commitments to state
prison with PC § 29800(a)(1) as a subordinate offense. In total,
there were 3,019 convictions for this offense in 2012. Data
limitations do not allow a way to isolate how many of the total
cases were isolated to those convicted of a felony versus those
attributable to the other two elements. It is also unknown how
many of the 3,019 commitments potentially represent subsequent
convictions for this specified offense. But for every 100
persons for which it is a repeat offense, annual costs would be
in the range of $2.8 million to $6 million (General),
compounding to $8.4 million to $18 million for overlapping
sentences, assuming the middle term of the triad increase from
two years to five years.
California's prison system continues to operate under federal
oversight as it addresses the issues of prison overcrowding and
constitutionally adequate health and mental health care in its
33 facilities. On April 11, 2013, the three-judge panel denied
the state's motion to vacate/modify the inmate population cap
and ordered the state to provide a list of proposed population
reduction measures within 21 days of the order, on May 2, 2013.
To the extent this measure exacerbates prison overcrowding due
to lengthier prison terms, this bill creates future cost
pressure (General Fund) to potentially utilize additional
contract beds, out-of-state facilities, or capital outlay in
order to comply with the court-ordered population limit.