California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 849

Introduced by Assembly Member Bonilla

February 26, 2015

An act to amend Sections 452 and 452.1 of the Penal Code, relating to crime.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 849, as introduced, Bonilla. Unlawfully causing a fire: explosion.

Existing law provides that a person is guilty of the crime of unlawfully causing a fire when he or she recklessly sets fire to or burns, or causes to be burned, a structure, forest land, or property. Unlawfully causing a fire that causes great bodily injury or causes an inhabited structure or inhabited property to burn, or unlawfully causing a fire of a structure or forest land is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison or a county jail, as specified, and a fine, or both the fine and imprisonment. Unlawfully causing a fire of property is a misdemeanor, except as specified. Existing law also imposes sentence enhancements for those crimes, if specified circumstances apply, such as if emergency personnel suffer great bodily injury as a result of the offense.

This bill would revise those provisions to specify that they also apply to unlawfully causing an explosion. The bill would also provide that unlawfully causing a fire or an explosion that causes the contents of an inhabited structure or an inhabited property to burn or be damaged by an explosion is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 2, 3, or 4 years, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine, or by both that imprisonment and fine. By expanding the scope of existing crimes and creating new crimes, the 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: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 452 of the Penal Code is amended to
read:

452.  

A person is guilty of unlawfully causing a fire begin insert or an
explosion end insert when he begin insert or she end insert recklessly sets fire begin delete to or burns or end delete begin insert to,
burns, end insert causes to be burned, begin insert or causes an explosion within or on end insert
any structure, forest land or property.

(a) Unlawfully causing a fire begin insert or an explosion end insert that causes great
bodily injury is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state
prison for two, four or six years, or by imprisonment in the county
jail for not more than one year, or by a fine, or by both begin delete such end delete begin insert that end insert
imprisonment and fine.

(b) Unlawfully causing a fire begin insert or an explosion end insert that causes an
inhabited structure or inhabited property begin insert , or its contents, end insert to burn
begin insert or to be damaged by an explosion end insert is a felony punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison for two, three or four years, or by
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by
a fine, or by both begin delete such end delete begin insert that end insert imprisonment and fine.

(c) Unlawfully causing a fire begin delete of end delete begin insert to, or an explosion on or of end insert a
structure or begin insert on end insert forest land is a felony punishable by imprisonment
in the state prison for 16 months, two or three years, or by
imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or
by a fine, or by both begin delete such end delete begin insert that end insert imprisonment and fine.

(d) Unlawfully causing a fire begin delete of end delete begin insert to, or an explosion on, end insert property
is a misdemeanor. For purposes of this paragraph, unlawfully
causing a fire begin delete of end delete begin insert to, or an explosion on, end insert property does not include
one begin delete burning or end delete begin insert burning, end insert causing to be burned begin insert , or causing an
explosion on end insert his begin insert or her end insert own personal property unless there is injury
to another person or to another person’s structure, forest land or
property.

(e)  begin delete In the case of any end delete begin insert If a end insert person begin insert is end insert convicted of violating this
section while begin insert he or she is end insert confined in a state prison, prison road
camp, prison forestry camp, or other prison camp or prison farm,
or while begin insert he or she is end insert confined in a county jail while serving a term
of imprisonment for a felony or misdemeanor conviction, begin delete any end delete begin insert the end insert
sentence imposed begin insert for a violation of this section end insert shall be consecutive
to the sentence for which the person was begin delete then end delete confined.

SEC. 2.  

Section 452.1 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

452.1.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, any person who is
convicted of a felony violation of Section 452 shall be punished
by a one-, two-, or three-year enhancement for each of the
following circumstances that is found to be true:

(1) The defendant has been previously convicted of a felony
violation of Section 451 or 452.

(2) A firefighter, peace officer, or other emergency personnel
suffered great bodily injury as a result of the offense. The additional
term provided by this subdivision shall be imposed whenever
applicable, including any instance in which there is a violation of
subdivision (a) of Section 452.

(3) The defendant proximately caused great bodily injury to
more than one victim in any single violation of Section 452. The
additional term provided by this subdivision shall be imposed
whenever applicable, including any instance in which there is a
violation of subdivision (a) of Section 452.

(4) The defendant proximately caused multiple structures to
burn begin insert or be damaged by an explosion end insert in begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert single violation of
Section 452.

(b) The additional term specified in subdivision (a) begin delete of Section
452.1 end delete shall not be imposed unless the existence of begin delete any end delete begin insert a end insert fact
required under this section begin delete shall be end delete begin insert is end insert alleged in the accusatory
pleading and either admitted by the defendant in open court or
found to be true by the trier of fact.

SEC. 3.  

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.