BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 849
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
849 (Bonilla) - As Amended May 4, 2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Public Safety |Vote:|7 - 0 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill makes it a felony, punished by imprisonment in a
county jail and/or a fine not to exceed $10,000, for any person
to extract tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or any other cannabinoids,
AB 849
Page 2
by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana and cause an
explosion resulting in great bodily injury, or damage to
structures, property, or forest land.
FISCAL EFFECT:
Moderate nonreimbursable local costs for incarceration, offset
to a degree by fee revenue.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "We have seen a worrying
increase in the number of honey oil related butane explosions.
In my own district, one explosion knocked a neighboring house
off its foundation. Unfortunately, currently law does not
provide an adequate means of addressing these butane related
explosions. If a person manufacturing honey oil using butane
causes an explosion, but that same explosion does not cause
fire damage to the structure, the only remedy available to law
enforcement is to charge vandalism. This is hardly an
appropriate charge for such a dangerous act. AB 849 remedies
this situation by ensuring that all honey oil related butane
explosions can be charged to appropriately reflect their
gravity."
2)Background. The increasing popularity of Butane Honey Oil
(BHO), which is a form of concentrated cannabis, and the large
profits that can be made from its manufacture, has resulted in
a significant public safety issue from the damage caused when
BHO labs explode. BHO is manufactured through a chemical
extraction process in which the THC from unused parts of a
marijuana plant is extracted by using butane. Butane is
highly combustible and in the "off gassing" stage of the BHO
manufacturing process, often explodes when a careless
AB 849
Page 3
manufacturer ignites a spark or flame. Because butane gas is
odorless and colorless it can build up in a home or apartment
without the occupants or neighbors being aware of the danger.
Throughout the state, there have been 32 BHO explosions in the
last year. In the majority of these cases, the exploding
butane gas ignites and there is significant structural damage
caused by the resulting fire. When this occurs, the district
attorney normally files a charge of recklessly causing a fire.
However, current law requires there to be a fire and damage
to a structure, and the damage must be the result of the fire.
Although most of the labs that explode do result in a fire, a
problematic scenario has arisen when either the damage from
the fire was to personal property or the damage to the
structure was caused by the explosion and not the fire.
Damage to a structure caused by an explosion is not currently
covered. Also, if the harm is done to the perpetrator's own
property, vandalism cannot be charged either as one cannot
vandalize his or her own property.
3)Argument in Support: The California Professional Firefighters
state, "AB 849 provides that defendants be held liable for
damage caused when a drug lab explodes, whether it is caused
by a resulting fire or the explosion itself. This bill
insures that butane hash oil lab explosions are addressed in
the same manner as other drug lab explosions.
"Drug labs provide serious, inherent risks on a myriad of
fronts, particularly the high risk for explosion and hazardous
material release. Such risks compromise the health and safety
of neighbors, as well as the health and safety of our members
who are the first to respond to an emergency situation
involving such labs. This bill provides our states
communities with an effective means of holding a responsible
party accountable for the damage to properties and personal
belongings resulting from explosions of this kind.
AB 849
Page 4
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081