BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 456
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 8, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 456
(Block) - As Amended June 19, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable:
No
SUMMARY:
This bill enacts a new alternate felony-misdemeanor crime for a
threat to discharge a firearm on the grounds of a school or when
a school event is taking place, punishable by up to one year in
SB 456
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county jail, or prison if the individual has a prior qualifying
felony.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Likely minor GF costs for increased state prison commitments
for persons with a current or prior violent felony conviction
who are convicted for a felony under the provisions of this
bill. The universe of these individuals is expected to be
very small. Assuming the annual contracted bed rate of $29,000
per inmate, the annual General Fund costs would be $29,000 per
each additional year served under such conviction.
2)Moderate nonreimbursable local costs for incarceration for
misdemeanor convictions, or felony convictions of individuals
without a current or prior violent felony.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "Senate Bill 456 addresses
oral, written, or electronically delivered threats of gun
violence on school property - including elementary schools,
community colleges, public and private universities, and
locations where school functions are taking place. Threats of
gun violence are costly to schools and law enforcement, and
result in lost learning time for our students. These threats
also create anxiety and fear for students, school staff, and
parents. SB 456 will provide an important tool for law
enforcement to deter future threats of gun violence in our
schools."
2)Background. Under current law, any person who willfully
threatens to commit a crime which will result in death or
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great bodily injury to another person, with the specific
intent that the statement, made verbally, in writing, or by
means of an electronic communication device, is to be taken as
a threat, even if there is no intent of actually carrying it
out, which, on its face and under the circumstances in which
it is made, is so unequivocal, unconditional, immediate, and
specific as to convey to the person threatened, a gravity of
purpose and an immediate prospect of execution of the threat,
and thereby causes that person reasonably to be in sustained
fear for his or her own safety or for his or her immediate
family's safety, shall be punished by imprisonment in the
county jail not to exceed one year, or by imprisonment in the
state prison.
This bill creates the specific crime of criminal threats when
the threat is to discharge a firearm on the campus of a school
or where a school-sponsored event is taking place. This bill
incorporates all of the elements from the general criminal
threats statute with the exception of the requirement that the
person threatened must be in sustained fear for his or her own
safety. The sponsor of this bill has expressed that this
element does not fit well into instances of threats of
shootings at schools because often times these threats do not
specify who the target is. Rather, the threat typically
applies to all students or staff at the school.
3)Argument in Support: According to the San Diego County
District Attorney's Office, "SB 456 criminalizes the making of
a threat to commit a school shooting, whether directed to a
specific individual, or whether posted on social media for an
invited or general viewing population.
4)Argument in Opposition: According to Public Counsel, "SB 456
is unnecessary and ultimately will not help the safety or
long-term well-being of our students or our state. Students
who make these threats aimed at a school or other youth -
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whether by electronic means or otherwise - can be subjected to
discipline, including suspension or expulsion."
"Criminalizing students in addition to punishing them at
school will cause significant and long-lasting harms to our
young people and hurt their ability to develop into productive
adults. Research shows being stopped or arrested actually
increases the chances that a youth will engage in delinquency.
Further, a first-time arrest doubles the chances that a
student will drop out of high school, and a first-time court
appearance quadruples those chances. Studies have also shown
that involvement with the juvenile justice system can limit a
young person's ability to obtain future employment or attend
college."
5)Related Legislation: SB 110 (Fuller), also on today's agenda,
makes it an alternate felony-misdemeanor offense for any
person to willfully threaten unlawful violence that will
result in death or great bodily injury to occur on the grounds
of a school, as defined, where the threat creates a disruption
at the school.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081
SB 456
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