BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 849
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GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB
849 (Bonilla)
As Enrolled September 4, 2015
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |74-0 |(May 22, 2015) |SENATE: |40-0 |(September 1, |
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|ASSEMBLY: |80-0 |(September 2, | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY: Makes it a public offense to recklessly cause an
explosion that results in great bodily injury to any person,
damage to a structure where a person is present, or damage to an
inhabited dwelling, as specified.
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The Senate amendments:
1)Make recklessly causing an explosion that results in great
bodily injury to another person a felony punishable by two,
four, or six years in a county jail, or by a misdemeanor
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one
year.
2)Provide that recklessly causing an explosion that causes
damage 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 is a felony punishable by 16 months, two,
or three years in a county jail, or a misdemeanor punishable
by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year.
3)State that recklessly causing an explosion that causes damage
in the amount of $2,000 or more, but less than $20,000, to any
structure in which a person was present at the time of the
offense or to an inhabited dwelling is a misdemeanor
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one
year.
4)Provide that the court may not impose a great bodily injury
enhancement if great bodily injury is an element of the
underlying crime and the basis for the enhancement.
5)State that the amount of the damage caused by the defendant's
conduct is determined by the market cost of repair or
replacement of the place where the offense occurred.
6)Define "inhabited" to mean currently being used for dwelling
purposes whether occupied or not occupied.
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7)Define "explosion" the sudden conversion of potential energy,
either chemical or mechanical, into kinetic energy with the
production and release of gasses under pressure, or the
release of gas under pressure, which results in these high
pressure gasses doing mechanical work such as moving,
changing, or shattering nearby materials.
8)Make a misdemeanor charge of recklessly causing an explosion
subject to a civil compromise, as specified.
9)Prohibit punishment for both recklessly causing an explosion
and reckless fire setting if the offenses arise from the same
conduct.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides that a person is guilty of unlawfully causing a fire
when he or she recklessly sets fire to or causes to be burned
any structure, forestland, or property.
a) 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 not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by
both imprisonment and a fine.
b) Unlawfully causing a fire that causes an inhabited
structure or 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 not to exceed
one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.
c) Unlawfully causing a fire of a structure or forestland
is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison
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for 16 months, two, or three years, or by imprisonment in
the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by
both imprisonment and a fine.
d) Unlawfully causing a fire of property is a misdemeanor.
2)Provides that any person convicted of reckless fire setting
shall be punished by a one, two, or three year enhancement for
each of the following circumstances found to be true:
a) The defendant was previously convicted of felony arson;
b) A peace officer, firefighter, or other emergency
personnel suffered great bodily injury;
c) The defendant proximately caused great bodily injury to
more than one victim in a single incident; or,
d) The defendants proximately caused multiple structures to
burn.
3)States that the following terms have the following meanings:
a) "Structure" means any building, or commercial or public
tent, bridge, tunnel, o power plant;
b) "Forest land" means any brush covered land, cut over
land, forest, grasslands, or woods;
c) "Property" means real property or personal property,
other than a structure or forest land;
d) "Inhabited" means being used for dwelling purposes
whether occupied or not. "Inhabited structure" and
"inhabited property" do not include real property on which
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an inhabited structure or an inhabited property is located;
e) "Maliciously" imports a wish to vex, defraud, annoy, or
injure another person, or an intent to do a wrongful act,
established either by proof or presumption of law,
f) "Recklessly" means a person is aware of and consciously
disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that his or
her act will set fire to, burn, or cause to burn a
structure, forest land, or property. The risk shall be of
such nature and degree that disregard thereof constitutes a
gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a
reasonable person would observe in the situation. A person
who creates such a risk but is unaware thereof solely by
reason of voluntary intoxication also acts recklessly with
respect thereto.
4)Provides that any person, firm, or corporation who, except as
specified, within this state, possesses any destructive
device, other than fixed ammunition of a caliber greater than
0.60 caliber is guilty of a public offense. A person, firm,
or corporation convicted of this offense shall be punished
imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed one
year, or in the state prison, or by a fine not to exceed
$10,000, or by both.
5)States that any person who recklessly or maliciously has in
possession any destructive device or any explosive in any of
the following places is guilty of a felony punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years:
a) On a public street or highway;
b) In or near any theater, hall, school, college, church,
hotel, or other public building,
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c) In or near any private habitation;
d) In, on, or near any aircraft, railway passenger train,
car, cable road, cable car, or vessel engaged in carrying
passengers for hire; and,
e) In, on, or near any other public place ordinarily passed
by human beings.
6)Provides that any person that possesses any substance,
material, or combination of substances or materials with the
intent any destructive device or any explosive without first
obtaining a valid permit that destructive device or explosive,
is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail for two, three, or four years.
7)States that every person that does any of the following is
guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail for two, four, or six years:
a) Carries any destructive device or any explosive on any
vessel, aircraft, car, or other vehicle that transports
passengers for hire;
b) While on board any vessel, aircraft, car, or other
vehicle that transports passengers for hire places or
carries any destructive device or explosive in any hand
baggage, roll, or other container; and;
c) Places any destructive device or any explosive in any
baggage that is alter checked with any common carrier.
8)States except as provided, any person, firm or corporation
who, within this state, sells, offers for sale, or knowingly
transports any destructive device, other than fixed ammunition
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of a caliber greater than 0.60 caliber, is guilty of a felony
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or
four years.
9)Provides that every person that possess, explodes, or ignites,
or attempts to possess, explode, or ignite any destructive
device or any explosive with the intent to injure, intimidate,
or terrify any person, or with intent to wrongfully injure or
destroy any property is guilty of a felony punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for three, five, or seven years.
10)Provides that every person that explodes, or ignites, or
attempts to explode, or ignite any destructive device or any
explosive with the intent to murder is guilty of a felony
punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for life with
the possibility of parole.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill made it a felony for any
person to extract tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or any other
cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana and
cause an explosion resulting in great bodily injury, or damage
to structures, property, or forest land:
1)Provided that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract
THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction,
from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an
explosion that results in great bodily injury shall be
punished by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or
six years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not
exceeding one year, by a fine not to exceed $10, 000, or both
a fine and imprisonment.
2)Provided that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract
THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction,
from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an
explosion that results in damage to an inhabited structure or
inhabited property shall be punished by imprisonment in a
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county jail for two, three, or four years, or by imprisonment
in a county jail for a term not to exceed one year, by a fine
not to exceed $10,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment.
3)Provided that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract
THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction,
from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an
explosion that results in damage to forest land shall be
punished by imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, two,
or three years, be punished by imprisonment in a county jail
for a term not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed
$10,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment.
4)Any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC 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
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to
exceed six months, by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or by both
a fine and imprisonment. For purposes of this paragraph
unlawfully causing an explosion that damages property does not
include an explosion that damages his or her own personal
property unless there is injury to another person or to
another person's structure, forest land, or property.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee:
1)State prisons: Potentially significant increase in state
prison costs in the 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) Section 1170(h),
the entire sentence of which would be served in state prison.
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2)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.
COMMENTS: 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."
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
I am returning the following nine bills without my signature:
Assembly Bill 144
Assembly Bill 849
Senate Bill 168
Senate Bill 170
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Senate Bill 271
Senate Bill 333
Senate Bill 347
Senate Bill 716
Senate Bill 722
Each of these bills creates a new crime - usually by finding a
novel way to characterize and criminalize conduct that is
already proscribed. This multiplication and particularization of
criminal behavior creates increasing complexity without
commensurate benefit.
Over the last several decades, California's criminal code has
grown to more than 5,000 separate provisions, covering almost
every conceivable form of human misbehavior. During the same
period, our jail and prison populations have exploded.
Before we keep going down this road, I think we should pause and
reflect on how our system of criminal justice could be made more
human, more just and more cost-effective.
Analysis Prepared by:
Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
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