BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session AB 849 (Bonilla) - Crimes: causing an explosion ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: July 16, 2015 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 7 - 0 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: August 17, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Bill Summary: AB 849 would provide that a person who recklessly causes an explosion is guilty of an alternate felony-misdemeanor, as specified. Fiscal Impact: State prisons : Potentially significant increase in state prison costs in excess of hundreds of thousands of dollars (General Fund) annually to the extent the new felony of recklessly causing an explosion that causes great bodily injury qualifies as a current conviction for a serious or violent felony for purposes of sentencing under Penal Code (PC) § 1170(h), the entire sentence of which would be served in state prison. Additionally, to the extent a charge under existing provisions of law, including but not limited to unlawfully causing a fire pursuant to PC § 452, could be brought in addition to the new offenses created could result in lengthier prison sentences. AB 849 (Bonilla) Page 1 of ? County jails : Potential ongoing increase in non-reimbursable local enforcement and incarceration costs (Local Fund) for new felony and misdemeanor convictions resulting in local jail terms. Background: Existing law provides that a person is guilty of unlawfully causing a fire when he or she recklessly sets fire to or burns or causes to be burned, any structure, forest land or property. Specifically: Unlawfully causing a fire 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 imprisonment and fine. Unlawfully causing a fire that causes an inhabited structure or inhabited property to burn 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 imprisonment and fine. Unlawfully causing a fire of a structure or 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 imprisonment and fine. Unlawfully causing a fire of property is a misdemeanor as long as the property does not include one burning or causing to be burned his or her own personal property, unless there is injury to another person or to another person's structure, forest land or property. (PC § 452.) Under current law, if an explosion, and not a fire, causes great bodily injury in the commission of the offense, a felony conviction for recklessly causing a fire resulting in great bodily injury cannot be obtained under PC § 452. Additionally, if damage caused by fire is to personal property, felony vandalism is not chargeable. This bill seeks to address these issues. Proposed Law: This bill would provide that a person who recklessly causes an explosion is guilty of a public offense, as follows: AB 849 (Bonilla) Page 2 of ? If the explosion causes great bodily injury to another person, the offense is a felony punishable in county jail for two, four, or six years (or in state prison if a prior or current conviction for a serious or violent felony exists), or a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year. If the explosion causes damages in the amount of $20,000 or more to any structure in which a person was present at the time of the offense or to an inhabited dwelling, the offense is a felony punishable in county jail for 16 months, two or three years (or in state prison if a prior or current conviction for a serious or violent felony exists), or a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year. If the explosion causes damages between $2,000 and $20,000, to any structure in which a person was present at the time of the offense or to an inhabited dwelling, the offense is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year. Provides that the court may not impose sentence and an enhancement for infliction of great bodily injury if the same injury is an element of the crime and the basis for the enhancement. Provides that the amount of damages caused by the defendant's conduct is determined by the market cost of repair or replacement in the place where the offense occurred. Defines "inhabited" as currently being used for dwelling purposes, whether occupied or not occupied. Provides that a misdemeanor charged under this section is subject to a civil compromise, as specified. AB 849 (Bonilla) Page 3 of ? Provides that this section does not prohibit prosecution under any other law. Related Legislation: SB 305 (Bates) 2015 would have added a state prison enhancement of two years or five years for the commission or attempted commission of manufacturing a controlled substance by chemical extraction or synthesis, as those crimes relate to concentrated cannabis, if a child under 16 years of age was present or suffered great bodily injury. This bill was held on the Suspense File of this Committee. SB 212 (Mendoza) 2015 would authorize a court to apply a specified factor in aggravation in cases when sentencing a defendant for manufacturing methamphetamine or concentrated cannabis based on the distance from the scene of the offense to an occupied residence or any structure in which persons are present at the time of the offense. This bill has been ordered to engrossing and enrolling. Staff Comments: By creating new felony and misdemeanor crimes, this bill could result in additional costs to both state prisons and local jails. Any local costs are not estimated to be eligible for state reimbursement pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution, which specifies that any costs incurred by a local agency due to the creation of a new crime are not reimbursable. The new felony offense created in this measure of recklessly causing an explosion that causes great bodily injury specifies punishment pursuant to PC § 1170(h) for a term of two, four, or six years. Under PC § 1170(h), a sentence for a felony conviction is to be served in county jail unless the defendant has a prior or current felony conviction for a serious or violent felony, as specified, or is required to register as a sex offender. As any felony in which the defendant inflicts great bodily injury on any person other than an accomplice is considered a serious or violent felony (PC §§ 1192.7, 667.5), to the extent a AB 849 (Bonilla) Page 4 of ? felony conviction would be considered a current conviction of a serious or violent felony, the entire sentence would be served in state prison. In effect, this provision would appear to result in a comparable punishment that exists under PC § 452(a), which plainly states in statute a state prison term of two, four, or six years for recklessly causing a fire that causes great bodily injury to a person. Existing law pursuant to PC § 654 states that an act that is punishable in different ways by different provisions of law shall be punished under the provision that provides for the longest potential term of imprisonment, but in no case shall the act be punished under more than one provision. A conviction and sentence under any one bars a prosecution for the same act under any other. To the extent charges under existing provisions of law, including but not limited to recklessly causing a fire pursuant to PC § 452 or manufacturing of controlled substances pursuant to HSC § 11379.6, could be brought in addition to the charge of recklessly causing an explosion, and are allowable as separate "acts," the potential for extended prison sentences could result in significant increases in state incarceration costs. -- END --