BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 870
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 29, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                    AB 870 (Huber) - As Amended:  April 13, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              Public  
          SafetyVote:  7-0

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

           SUMMARY  

          This bill adds razor blades and box cutters to the list of  
          weapons that may not be possessed on the grounds of any public  
          or private K-12 school and makes a violation punishable by up to  
          one year in county jail. 

           FISCAL EFFECT
           
          Nonreimbursable local law enforcement and incarceration costs. 

          In 2007 and 2008 combined, four persons were committed to state  
          prison for the felony offense of bringing prohibited weapons  
          onto K-12 grounds. While misdemeanor convictions are likely to  
          be considerably greater than this figure, local costs should not  
          be significant. 

           COMMENTS

          1)Rationale  . The author and proponents (law enforcement  
            entities) contend this bill closes a loophole regarding  
            prohibitions on the possession of weapons on school campuses  
            by specifically adding razor blades and box cutters to the  
            list of prohibited weapons.

            According to the L.A. District Attorney's Office, "Currently,  
            Penal Code section 626.10(a) bans possession of a 'razor with  
            an unguarded blade.' As noted in one recent court opinion,  
            this same phrase appears in five other statutes but is not  
            statutorily defined [In re Do Kyung K. (2001) 88 Cal.App.4th  
            583, 590]. Faced with the question of whether possession of a  
            single razor blade on school grounds violated Penal Code  








                                                                  AB 870
                                                                  Page  2

            section 626.10(a), the court construed the phrase 'razor with  
            an unguarded blade' to mean that an unguarded blade is a  
            component, rather than the entirety, of the razor (Id. at  
            593). Thus, the court concluded that possession of a single  
            razor blade did not violate the statute (Id. at 594).

            "In 2004, the court revisited the definition of 'razor with an  
            unguarded blade' when faced with the question of whether  
            possession of a box cutter on school grounds violated Penal  
            Code Section 626.10(a) [In re Michael R. (2004) 120 Cal.App.  
            4th 1203, 1205]. Michael R. had a box cutter with a  
            single-edged blade in his pocket. The blade retracted into the  
            handle of the instrument but did not lock into place. The  
            trial court sustained the petition, explaining that all razors  
            are capable of being guarded in some fashion and it would  
            defeat the purpose of the statute to say a box cutter didn't  
            qualify as a prohibited weapon. The Court of Appeals, however,  
            disagreed. It ruled that the box cutter did not qualify as a  
            razor, as defined by In re Do Kyung K. but was not prohibited  
            by Penal Code Section 626.10(a)."

           2)Current law  provides that possession of a dirk, dagger, ice  
            pick, a knife having a blade longer than two and one-half  
            inches, a folding knife with a blade that locks into place, a  
            razor with an unguarded blade, a taser, a stun gun as defined,  
            an instrument that expels a metallic projectile such as a BB  
            or pellet, through the force of air pressure, CO2 pressure, or  
            spring action, or a spot marker gun on K-12 school grounds is  
            a wobbler, punishable by up to 1 year in county jail, or 16  
            months, 2, or 3 years in state prison.  


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