BILL NUMBER: SB 205	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 16, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Beall

                        FEBRUARY 11, 2015

   An act to  amend Section 459.5 of the Penal  
add and repeal Section 7599.3 of the Government  Code, relating
to crime.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 205, as amended, Beall.  Shoplifting.  
Proposition 47: evaluation study. 
   Existing law, enacted by Proposition 47, as approved by the voters
at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, 
defines shoplifting and makes violation of that provision a
misdemeanor, except that persons with specified prior convictions may
be charged with a felony to be served in county jail  
requires misdemeanors instead of felony sentences for certain
nonserious, nonviolent crimes, like petty theft and drug possession
 .  Proposition 47 also creates the Safe Neighborhoods and
Schools Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, that is funded by
savings that accrue to the state from the implementation of the 
 proposition. Existing law requires, in part, 65% of the moneys
deposited in the fund to be disbursed to the Board of State and
Community Corrections to administer a grant program to fund public
agencies that support mental health treatment, substance abuse
treatment, and diversion programs for people in the criminal justice
system and 25% of the moneys deposited in the fund be disbursed to
the State Department of Education to administer a grant program to
public agencies aimed at improving outcomes for public school pupils,
as specified.  Proposition 47 provides that its provisions may
be amended by a statute that is consistent with and furthers its
intent and that is passed by a 2/3 vote of each house of the
Legislature and is signed by the Governor. Proposition 47 also
provides that the Legislature may, by majority vote, amend, add, or
repeal provisions to further reduce the penalties for offenses it
addresses. 
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to these
provisions.  
   This bill would require the Department of Finance to select a
public or private university through a competitive process to conduct
a 4 year evaluation assessing the process, outcomes, and costs of
Proposition 47, including the number and characteristics of
participants served by programs funded with grant moneys from the
Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund. The bill would require the
selected university to report to the Legislature, no later than
January 1, 2017, and annually by that date for the following 3 years.
The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2021. 

   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 7599.3 is added to the 
 Government Code   , to read:  
   7599.3.  (a) The Department of Finance shall select a public or
private university through a competitive process to conduct a four
year evaluation assessing the process, outcomes, and costs of
Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhood and Schools Act. The selected
university shall submit a report to the Legislature, no later than
January 1, 2017, and annually by that date for the following three
years. The report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the
following:
   (1) A study of the implementation of the proposition and its
impact on incarceration costs, recidivism and overall crime, prison
and jail construction, and welfare costs.
   (2) The adequacy of funds appropriated for these purposes.
   (3) The number and characteristics of participants served by
programs funded with grant moneys pursuant to paragraphs (1) and (3)
of subdivision (a) of Section 7599.2. Because it may not be feasible
to collect this data from all 58 counties, this component of the
report may be limited to a small number of representative counties,
to be selected with input from relevant stakeholders serving as a
research oversight board.
   (b) The report to be submitted pursuant to this section shall be
submitted in compliance with Section 9795.
   (c) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2021, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2021, deletes or extends
that date.  
  SECTION 1.    Section 459.5 of the Penal Code is
amended to read:
   459.5.  (a) Notwithstanding Section 459, shoplifting is defined as
entering a commercial establishment with intent to commit larceny
while that establishment is open during regular business hours, where
the value of the property that is taken or intended to be taken does
not exceed nine hundred fifty dollars ($950). Any other entry into a
commercial establishment with intent to commit larceny is burglary.
Shoplifting shall be punished as a misdemeanor, except that a person
with one or more prior convictions for an offense specified in clause
(iv) of subparagraph (C) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of
Section 667 or for an offense requiring registration pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 290 may be punished pursuant to
subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
   (b) An act of shoplifting, as defined in subdivision (a), shall be
charged as shoplifting. A person who is charged with shoplifting
shall not also be charged with burglary or theft of the same
property.