BILL NUMBER: AB 849 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 4, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bonilla
FEBRUARY 26, 2015
An act to amend Sections 452 and 452.1 of
add Section 452.5 to the Penal Code, relating to crime.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 849, as amended, Bonilla. Unlawfully causing a fire:
explosion. Unlawful cannabinoid extraction: explosion.
Existing law provides that the possession for sale, the
cultivation of, and the processing of, marijuana are felonies.
This bill would provide that a person who extracts, or attempts to
extract, Tetrahydrocannabinol or other cannabinoids by means of
solvent extraction from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks, and
causes an explosion that damages property would be guilty of a
misdemeanor, as specified. The bill would provide that if the
explosion damages a structure or forest land the offense would be
punishable by a misdemeanor or felony with specified penalties. The
bill would provide for increased misdemeanor and felony penalties if
the explosion damages an inhabited structure or causes great bodily
injury. By creating new crimes, this 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.
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 452.5 is added to the
Penal Code , to read:
452.5. (a) A person who extracts, or attempts to extract,
Tetrahydrocannabinol or other cannabinoids by means of solvent
extraction from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks, and causes an
explosion that causes great bodily injury shall be punished by
imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, by
imprisonment for two, four, or six years, pursuant to subdivision (h)
of Section 1170 of the Penal Code, by a fine not exceeding ten
thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both imprisonment and that fine.
(b) A person who extracts, or attempts to extract,
Tetrahydrocannabinol or other cannabinoids by means of solvent
extraction from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks, and causes an
explosion that damages an inhabited structure or inhabited property
shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than
one year, by imprisonment for two, three, or four years, pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code, by a fine not
exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both imprisonment and
that fine.
(c) A person who extracts, or attempts to extract,
Tetrahydrocannabinol or other cannabinoids by means of solvent
extraction from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks, and causes an
explosion that damages a structure or forest land shall be punished
by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than six months, by
imprisonment for 16 months, or two or three years, pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code, by a fine not
exceeding ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both imprisonment and
that fine.
(d) A person who extracts, or attempts to extract,
Tetrahydrocannabinol or other cannabinoids by means of solvent
extraction from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks, and causes an
explosion that results in damage to property is guilty of a
misdemeanor, provided however, that this subdivision shall not apply
in the instance when the explosion damages only the person's own
personal property, unless there is injury to another person, or
another person's structure, forest land, or property.
SEC. 2. 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.
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, 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 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 that imprisonment and fine.
(c) Unlawfully causing a fire 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 that imprisonment and fine.
(d) Unlawfully causing a fire to, or an explosion on, property is
a misdemeanor. For purposes of this paragraph, unlawfully causing a
fire to, or an explosion on, property does not include one 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) 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, the sentence imposed for a
violation of this section shall be consecutive to the sentence for
which the person was 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 a single violation of Section 452.
(b) The additional term specified in subdivision (a) shall not be
imposed unless the existence of a fact required under this section 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.