BILL NUMBER: AB 849	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


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  or an
explosion  when he  or she  recklessly sets fire
 to or burns or   to, burns,  causes to be
burned,  or causes an explosion within or on  any structure,
forest land or property.
   (a) Unlawfully causing a fire  or an explosion  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
 such   that  imprisonment and fine.
   (b) Unlawfully causing a fire  or an explosion  that
causes an inhabited structure or inhabited property  , or its
contents,  to burn  or to be damaged by an explosion 
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  such 
 that  imprisonment and fine.
   (c) Unlawfully causing a fire  of   to, or an
explosion on or of  a structure or  on  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  such
  that  imprisonment and fine.
   (d) Unlawfully causing a fire  of   to, or an
explosion on,  property is a misdemeanor. For purposes of this
paragraph, unlawfully causing a fire  of   to,
or an explosion on,  property does not include one 
burning or   burning,  causing to be burned  ,
or causing an explosion on  his  or her  own personal
property unless there is injury to another person or to another
person's structure, forest land or property.
   (e)  In the case of any   If a  person
 is  convicted of violating this section while  he or
she is  confined in a state prison, prison road camp, prison
forestry camp, or other prison camp or prison farm, or while  he
or she is  confined in a county jail while serving a term of
imprisonment for a felony or misdemeanor conviction,  any
  the  sentence imposed  for a violation of
this section shall be consecutive to the sentence for which the
person was  then  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
 or be damaged by an explosion  in  any 
 a  single violation of Section 452.
   (b) The additional term specified in subdivision (a)  of
Section 452.1  shall not be imposed unless the existence of
 any   a  fact required under this section
 shall be   is  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.