BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          Date of Hearing:   July 8, 2015


                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS


                                 Jimmy Gomez, Chair


          SB 333  
          (Galgiani) - As Amended May 6, 2015


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          Urgency:  No  State Mandated Local Program:  YesReimbursable:   
          No


          SUMMARY:


          This bill makes the possession of specified controlled  
          substances (gamma hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), ketamine or  
          flunitrazepam, also known as Rohypnol), with the intent to  








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          commit sexual assault, as defined, a felony punishable in the  
          state prison for 16 months or two or three years.


          FISCAL EFFECT:


          Potentially moderate ongoing out-year costs in excess of  
          $150,000 (GF) for increased state prison commitments.  According  
          to the California Department of Corrections (CDCR), the  
          contracted out-of-state annual bed rate is $29,000.  In 2013-14,  
          there were 22 state prison commitments for rape convictions  
          where the victim was prevented from resisting by an intoxicating  
          substance, and an unknown number were prevented.   If intent to  
          commit sexual assault, with any of the three substances listed  
          were proven for three individuals per year, the cost to CDCR  
          would be $87,000 (GF) the first year, $174,000 (GF) the second  
          year, etc. for this new crime. 


          COMMENTS:


          1)Purpose.  According to the author, "During my time in the  
            State Legislature, this body has been dedicated to spreading  
            awareness and preventing sexual assault. When a ballot measure  
            such as Proposition 47 is placed in front of voters, the  
            potential for unintended consequences arise. I firmly believe  
            that voters in California did not intend to weaken sexual  
            assault statutes by passing Prop 47. The malicious intent  
            behind possessing and using 'date rape' drugs on another  
            individual is a heinous act deserving of a serious  
            consequence."


          2)Background.  On November 4, 2014, California voters approved  
            Proposition 47, also known as the Safe Neighborhoods and  
            Schools Act, which reduced penalties for certain offenders  
            convicted of nonserious and nonviolent property and drug  








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            crimes. Proposition 47 also allows inmates serving sentences  
            for crimes affected by the reduced penalties to apply to be  
            resentenced. 


            Current law provides that the possession of specified  
            controlled substances including ketamine, flunitrazepam, and  
            GHB, unless upon the prescription of a physician, dentist,  
            podiatrist, or veterinarian licensed to practice in this  
            state, is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in a  
            county jail, except for a person who has one or more prior  
            convictions for a specified violent felony or has been  
            convicted of a prior offense requiring the person to register  
            as a sex offender, then the penalty is a felony.


            Also under current law, every person guilty of administering  
            to another any chloroform, ether, laudanum, or any controlled  
            substance, anesthetic, or intoxicating agent, with intent  
            thereby to enable or assist himself or herself or any other  
            person to commit a felony, is guilty of a felony punishable by  
            imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or two or  
            three years. Current law also states that rape is an act of  
            sexual intercourse accomplished where a person is prevented  
            from resisting by any intoxicating or anesthetic substance, or  
            any controlled substance, and this condition was known, or  
            reasonably should have been known, by the accused.


          3)"Club Drugs."  Ketamine, GHB, and flunitrazepam are commonly  
            designated as "club drugs" due to their association with  
            raves, nightclubs, concerts, and parties. Other drugs included  
            in this designation are MDMA (ecstasy), methamphetamine, and  
            cocaine.  Club drugs became popular in the 1990s and tend to  
            be used by youth and young adults to heighten mood, increase  
            extraversion and physical energy, and intensify the senses. 
            Although a person may be surreptitiously drugged with  
            Rohypnol, GHB, or ketamine in order to incapacitate that  
            person, it is much more common for a person to consume these  








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            drugs voluntarily for their intoxicating effects.  

            This bill targets persons who possess these drugs for  
            predatory purposes, rather than those who merely possess these  
            drugs for personal use. This will ensure that victims of these  
            crimes who may have consumed these drugs voluntarily prior to  
            being assaulted will not have to fear prosecution of a felony  
            when deciding whether to report the incident.  

          4)Related Legislation. AB 46 (Lackey), held on this committee's  
            Suspense file, is nearly identical to this bill.  

          5)Prior Legislation:  

             a)   SB 649 (Leno), of the 2013-2014 Legislative Session,  
               would have made the simple possession for personal use of  
               cocaine, cocaine base, heroin, opium, and other specified  
               narcotics, opiates and hallucinogens listed in the  
               controlled substance schedule an alternate  
               felony/misdemeanor, rather than a straight felony.  SB 649  
               was vetoed.  In his message, the Governor cited the  
               realignment legislation as the proper vehicle to examine  
               the current sentencing structure.

             b)   SB 1506 (Leno), of the 2011-2012 Legislative Session,  
               would have made the unlawful possession of specified  
               controlled substances a misdemeanor.  SB 1506 failed  
               passage on the Senate floor.

             c)   SB 1067 (Horton), of the 2003-2004 Legislative session,  
               would have excluded the drugs GHB, rohypnol, and ketamine  
               from coverage by the term "nonviolent drug possession  
               offense" thereby making possession of these drugs  
               ineligible for probation and drug treatment under  
               Proposition 36, approved by the voters on November 7, 2000.  
                SB 1067 failed passage in Assembly Public Safety.











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          Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916)  
          319-2081