BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 640
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 6, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                    AB 640 (Huber) - As Amended:  April 21, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              Public  
          SafetyVote:  7-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              No

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires that any person convicted of the sale of  
          methamphetamine, who is granted probation, shall be confined in  
          a county jail for at least 120 days, as a condition of  
          probation, unless the court finds it is in the interest of  
          justice not to impose that sentence.

           FISCAL EFFECT

           Unknown, potentially moderate nonreimbursable local  
          incarceration costs, potentially in the low millions of dollars  
          statewide, for 120 days of mandatory minimum jail time.   

          (For order of magnitude purposes, about 3,000 persons were  
          committed to state prison for methamphetamine sales in 2007 and  
          2008 combined.) 

           COMMENTS
           
           1)Rationale.  Current law specifies that any person convicted of  
            the sale of cocaine or heroin, who is eligible for probation,  
            and is granted probation must, as a condition of probation, be  
            confined in a county jail for at least 180 days, except the  
            court may, in the interest of justice, waive the minimum term.  
            This bill requires that persons convicted of the sale of  
            methamphetamine serve at least 120 days in the county jail.  
            The 60-day differential maintains the distinction between  
            methamphetamine, as a Schedule II controlled substance, the  
            sale of which is punishable by 2, 3, or 4 years in state  
            prison, and cocaine and heroin, as Schedule I substances, the  
            sales of which are punishable by 3, 4, or 5 years in state  








                                                                  AB 640
                                                                  Page  2

            prison.    

           2)Opposition  . California Attorneys for Criminal Justice oppose  
            the diminution of judicial discretion.  "?it is important to  
            allow judges to have broad discretion under the law to  
            determine an appropriate sentence in any given case, as they  
            can factor such things as the nature of the offense and the  
            background and character of each individual defendant.  To  
            create a presumptive minimum jail term as set forth in AB 640  
            will only serve to needlessly fetter such judicial discretion  
            and to further erode the trust we bestow on our independent  
            judiciary."

           3)Prior Legislation  :  AB 441 (Parra), 2007, was similar to AB  
            640, and was held in Senate Public Safety.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081