BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1176 Page 1 GOVERNOR'S VETO AB 1176 (Cooper, et al.) As Enrolled July 1, 2016 2/3 vote. Urgency -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: | | (June 3, |SENATE: |34-1 | (June 30, 2016) | | | |2015) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- (vote not relevant) -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: | 77-0 |(June 30, | | | | | | |2016) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: TRANS. SUMMARY: Calls for a special election to amend Proposition 47 and make the theft of a firearm grand theft in all cases and punishable by a state prison term. The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill, AB 1176 Page 2 and instead: 1)Declare that the theft of a firearm is grand theft in all cases, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three years. 2)State that every person who buys or receives a stolen firearm is guilty of an alternate felony/misdemeanor offense punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for a period of not more than one year, or by imprisonment in the county jail pursuant to realignment. 3)Call for a special election to be held on November 8, 2016, for voter approval of these provisions. 4)Require consolidation of the special election with the statewide general election to be held on that date. 5)Require the consolidated election be held and conducted in all respects as if there were only one election, and only one form of ballot shall be used. 6)Waive specified Election Code requirements to submit these provisions to the voters on the November 8, 2016 election. EXISTING LAW: 1)Divides theft into two degrees, petty theft and grand theft. (Penal Code Section (PC) 486.) 2)Defines grand theft as when the money, labor, or real or personal property taken is of a value exceeding $950 dollars, except as specified. (PC 487.) AB 1176 Page 3 3)States that notwithstanding any provision of law defining grand theft, obtaining any property by theft where the value of the money, labor, real or personal property taken does not exceed $950 shall be considered petty theft and shall be punished as a misdemeanor, except in the case where a person has prior serious, violent, or sex convictions, in which case the offense is punished as a felony by imprisonment in the county jail pursuant to realignment. (PC 490.2(a).) 4)Prohibits carrying a concealed firearm upon the person or in a vehicle, and punishes that crime as a felony under certain circumstances, including if the person is an ex-felon or a gang member, or if the firearm was stolen. (PC 25400.) 5)Prohibits carrying a loaded firearm on the person or in a vehicle while in any public place or on any public street and punishes that crime as a felony under certain circumstances, including if the person is an ex-felon or a gang member, or if the firearm was stolen. (PC 25850.) 6)Prohibits any person previously convicted of a felony from owning, purchasing, receiving, possessing, or having in his or her custody a firearm, and punishes that offense as a felony. (PC 29800(a)(1).) AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill created the Advanced Low-Carbon Diesel Fuels Access Program, administered by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission (Commission) to fund advanced low-carbon diesel fueling infrastructure projects in disadvantaged communities FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: AB 1176 Page 4 1)Ballot costs: One-time costs in the range of $414,000 to $552,000 (General Fund) to the Secretary of State (SOS) for printing and mailing costs to place the measure on the ballot in the next statewide election. 2)State prisons: To the extent the voters approve the amendments to the Proposition, significant increase in state incarceration costs potentially in the millions of dollars (General Fund) annually for a) felony convictions for theft of a firearm, b) felony convictions for receipt of a stolen firearm for persons with a current or prior serious or violent felony conviction, and c) potential future violations of the lifetime firearms ban imposed for these felony convictions that otherwise may have been charged as misdemeanors. Separate from the initiative, potential increase in felony violations of the 10-year firearms ban under the expanded list of misdemeanor offenses. To the extent the 10-year prohibition is applied retroactively could significantly increase the potential fiscal impact to the state. Staff notes commitments to state prison for both a) theft of a firearm and b) receipt of stolen property as a principal offense decreased by about 70% after passage of Proposition 47. To the extent some defendants continue to be committed to prison for other felony convictions, while not resulting in new commitments, this bill could result in longer prison sentences for these cases. 3)County jails: To the extent the voters approve the amendments to the Proposition, potentially major increase in non-reimbursable local costs (Local Funds) for felony jail sentences for receipt of stolen property violations that previously would have been subject to misdemeanor penalties, offset in minor part due to fewer jail terms for petty theft of a firearm that would be subject to a state prison term. Separate from the initiative, potentially significant AB 1176 Page 5 increases or decreases in local costs (Local Funds) resulting from violations of the 10-year firearms ban (See Staff Comments). To the extent the 10-year firearms ban is applied retroactively would significantly increase the potential fiscal impact to counties. To the extent local agencies incur a net increase in overall costs, funding could be required from the State (Proposition 30 General Fund). 4)Reduction in Proposition 47 savings: Potential reduction in future funds allocated to the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund (SNSF) to the extent raising the criminal penalties for the specified firearm offenses results in a reduction in future calculated savings under Proposition 47 by the Department of Finance. 5)Department of Justice (DOJ): Potentially significant increase in DOJ administration and enforcement costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars (Special Fund*) due to increases to the Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) list resulting from the expanded application of the firearms prohibition. It is unclear how the DOJ would determine the convictions for receipt of stolen property that are specific to firearms (should the voters choose not to approve amendments to the initiative that would make the offense a wobbler), given that level of detail is not currently available with regard to arrests/convictions under existing law. *Dealers Record of Sale Special Account (DROS) - Staff notes the DROS is structurally imbalanced, with less than a $1 million reserve balance projected by year-end Fiscal Year 2016-17. As a result, an appropriation from another fund source, potentially the General Fund, may be required to support the activities resulting from this bill. COMMENTS: According to the author, "Current law makes the theft AB 1176 Page 6 of a firearm a misdemeanor if it is valued under $950. Handguns, shotguns, rifles and AR-15 types of weapons are easy to find for sale for under the $950 at most retail gun stores. When these guns are stolen they are often sold or traded at below market value on the street. Many times these stolen guns are found to have been used in other crimes such as robberies and shootings. AB 1176 will serve as a deterrent and apply the proper criminal consequences to those who steal and transfer any type of firearm." This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the Assembly-approved version of this bill was deleted. This bill, as amended in the Senate, is inconsistent with Assembly actions and the provisions of this bill, as amended in the Senate, have not been heard in an Assembly policy committee. GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE: I am returning Assembly Bill 1176 without my signature. This bill proposes to add an initiative that is nearly identical to one which will already appear on the November 2016 ballot. While I appreciate the authors' intent in striving to enhance public safety, I feel that the objective is better attained by having the measure appear before the voters only once. Analysis Prepared by: Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0003610 AB 1176 Page 7