BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 165| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: SB 165 Author: Monning (D) Amended: 4/14/15 Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/7/15 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Leno, Liu, McGuire, Monning, Stone SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8 SUBJECT: Production or cultivation of a controlled substance: civil penalties SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill adds additional crimes or violations to an existing Fish and Game Code statute which authorizes civil fines for certain natural resource-related violations in connection with the production or cultivation of a controlled substance. ANALYSIS: Existing law generally authorizes civil penalties for certain natural resource-related law violations which are committed in connection with the production or cultivation of a controlled substance either while trespassing on other public or private land, or committed on land that the person owns, leases, or otherwise uses or occupies with the consent of the landowner. (Fish and Game Code § 12025) These provisions describe a process for issuing and serving complaints, conducting hearings, and obtaining a review of a final order. (Id.) SB 165 Page 2 This bill adds several additional, similar violations, involving criminal dumping of waste or hazardous substances; criminal destruction of vegetation; unlawful timber operations; and unlawfully taking or possessing any animal, as specified to these provisions. NOTE: See the Senate Public Safety Committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified4/27/15) California College and University Police Chiefs Association California District Attorneys Association California Police Chiefs Association California Fish and Game Wardens Association California Peace Officers' Association Rural County Representatives of California OPPOSITION: (Verified4/27/15) None received ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The author states in part: While the current fine structure for these marijuana grow operations provides some new options in environmental enforcement, it is limited in its reach. Currently, District Attorneys or DFW [Department of Fish and Wildlife] can only assess a civil fine in instances where a grower has substantially diverted a SB 165 Page 3 stream or has polluted it with petroleum or other deleterious substances. SB 165 will expand the number and type of environmental crimes for which a civil fine may be levied against a person who cultivates a controlled substance. Civil fines will be able to be brought against growers that engage in: habitat destruction through land conversion and timber operations without the proper permits or a Timber Harvest Plan; the unlawful take or possession of wildlife; the illegal dumping of trash and hazardous materials; waste disposal in a commercial scale; and the removing plant life or vegetation without consent. Prepared by:Alison Anderson / PUB. S. / 4/28/15 15:31:12 **** END ****