BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1242
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB
1242 (Lara)
As Amended June 16, 2016
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 31-8
------------------------------------------------------------------
|Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
|Public Safety |5-0 |Jones-Sawyer, Lopez, | |
| | |Low, Quirk, Santiago | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Retroactively applies the provision of law defining
one year as 364 days for the purposes of sentencing.
Specifically, this bill:
1)States that the reduced sentence applies to all convictions
entered before the effective date, even final judgments.
2)Provides that a person previously sentenced to one year in
SB 1242
Page 2
county jail may file a motion in the trial court requesting to
be resentenced to a period not to exceed 364 days.
EXISTING STATE LAW:
1)Defines a felony as a crime that is punishable with death, by
imprisonment in the state prison, or notwithstanding any other
provision of law, by imprisonment in a county jail under Penal
Code section 1170(h), (realignment).
2)States that every other crime or public offense is a
misdemeanor except those offenses classified as infractions.
3)States that every offense which is prescribed by any law of
the state to be punishable by imprisonment in the county jail
up to or not exceeding one year shall be punishable by
imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed 364
days.
4)Provides that, except where a different punishment is
prescribed, every offense declared to be a misdemeanor is
punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding
six months or by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or by both.
5)Provides that no part of the Penal Code is retroactive, unless
expressly so declared.
EXISTING FEDERAL LAW:
1)Lists several categories of crimes which render a non-citizen
removable from the United States, including: crimes of moral
turpitude; aggravated felony convictions; domestic violence
convictions; firearm convictions, and drug convictions.
SB 1242
Page 3
2)Lists several categories of crimes which will render a
non-citizen inadmissible to the United States, including:
crimes of moral turpitude; drug convictions; and prostitution
convictions.
3)Provides for enhanced penalties for a non-citizen who reenters
the country illegally after being removed due to a conviction
for an aggravated felony.
4)Renders an asylum applicant statutorily ineligible for
political asylum if convicted of an aggravated felony.
1)Defines an "aggravated felony" as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "Two years ago SB 1310
[(Lara), Chapter 174, Statutes of 2014] (Lara, 2014) aligned the
definition of a misdemeanor between state and federal law.
While SB 1310 aligned state and federal law on a prospective
basis, it did not help those who were convicted of a misdemeanor
prior to 2015. Thousands of legal residents are currently
living in California with the threat of deportation looming for
minor crimes. Many of those people have families and businesses
in the state and few ties to their country of origin. SB 1242
will provide on a retroactive basis that all misdemeanors are
punishable for no more than 364 days and ensure that legal
residents are not deported due to previous discrepancies between
state and federal law."
SB 1242
Page 4
Analysis Prepared by:
Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN:
0003461