BILL ANALYSIS
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 870|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 870
Author: Huber (D)
Amended: 4/13/09 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/16/09
AYES: Leno, Benoit, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Wright
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 74-0, 5/14/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Dangerous weapons on school grounds
SOURCE : Los Angeles County District Attorney
DIGEST : This bill makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by
up to one year in the county jail, to bring or process a
razor blade or a box cutter, upon the grounds of, or
within, any public or private school providing instruction
in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, except as
specified.
ANALYSIS : Current law provides that any person, except
as specified, who brings or possesses any dirk, dagger, ice
pick, knife having a blade longer than two- and one-half
inches, folding knife with a locking blade, razor with an
unguarded blade, taser, or stun gun, an instrument that
expels a metallic projectile such as a BB or pellet through
CONTINUED
AB 870
Page
2
the use of air pressure, CO2 pressure or spring action, or
any spot marker gun upon the grounds of, or within, any
public or private school providing instruction in
kindergarten or grades 1 to 12, inclusive, is guilty of a
public offense, punishable by imprisonment in county jail
not to exceed one year or by imprisonment in the state
prison for up to 16 months, two or three years. (Penal
Code Section 626.10(a).)
Current law states that the above prohibitions do not apply
to any person who brings a knife, as specified, or a razor
with an unguarded blade upon the grounds of specified
schools and universities at the direction of a faculty
member or the private university, state university, or
community college, or a certificated or classified employee
of the school, for use in a school-sponsored activity or
class, or for a lawful purpose within the scope of the
person's employment. (Penal Code Section 626.10(c) through
(e).)
Current law defines "dirk" or "dagger" to mean a knife or
other instrument with or without a hand guard that is
capable of ready use as a stabbing weapon that may inflict
great bodily injury or death. (Penal Code Section
626.10(h).)
This bill provides that any person, except as provided, who
brings or possesses a razor blade or a box cutter, upon the
grounds of, or within, any public or private school
providing instruction in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to
12, inclusive, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year.
This bill provides that this prohibition will not apply to
the person who brings or possesses a razor blade or box
cutter upon the grounds of the specified schools:
1.at the direction of a certificated or classified employee
of the school for use in a school-sponsored activity or
class;
2.for a lawful purpose within the scope of the person's
employment; or
AB 870
Page
3
3.if the person has the written permission of the school
principal or his or her designee.
Box Cutters Described
A utility knife (called also a box cutter or a razor blade
knife) is a common tool used in various trades and crafts
for a variety of purposes. Such a knife generally consists
of a simple and cheap holder, typically flat, approximately
one-inch (22 mm) wide and three- to four-inches (75 to 100
mm) long, and typically made of either metal or plastic.
Some use standard razor blades, other specialized
double-ended blades as in the illustration. The user can
manually adjust how far the blade extends from the handle
so that, for example, the knife can be used to cut the tape
sealing a package without damaging the contents of the
package. When the blade becomes dull, the blade can be
quickly reversed or switched for a new one. Spare blades
are often stored in the hollow knife handle, and can be
accessed by removing a screw and opening the handle. This
type of tool is known in British English, Australian
English and New Zealand English as a Stanley knife, after
one of the first manufacturers to create this kind of
implement. The genuine Stanley knife has a cast-metal
body, and comes both in retractable versions and in fixed
blade versions which allow no depth adjustment. There have
been a number of versions of the classic retractable
Stanley No. 99. Fixed blade versions are widely used for
handcrafts. The blades for a utility knife come in both
double- and single-ended versions, and are interchangeable
with many but not all of the later copies. Specialized
blades also exist for cutting string, linoleum and other
purposes. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/boxcutters.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/19/09)
Los Angeles County District Attorney (source)
California Association of School Business Officials
California District Attorneys Association
California Peace Officers' Association
California Police Chief's Association
AB 870
Page
4
California School Employees Association
California State PTA
California State Sheriff's Association
Chief Probation Officers of California
Peace Officers Research Association of California
San Joaquin County Sheriff
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"AB 870 closes a loophole in current law regarding
prohibitions on the possession of weapons on school
campuses by specifically adding razor blades and box
cutters to the list of prohibited weapons.
"Violence in our schools has undoubtedly become all too
common of an occurrence. Several instances of attacks with
weapons in recent years have put students, teachers,
parents and school campus staff on alert for the next
tragic attack. Every school should be a safe learning
environment where no one has to worry about the threat of
violence.
"Recognizing this, current law (Penal Code Section
626.10(a) identifies the list of weapons that are
prohibited from being in someone's possession on school
campuses, which includes a "razor with an unguarded blade."
Recent court decisions interpreting what constitutes a
'razor with an unguarded blade' have found that the
possession of a single razor blade or the possession of a
box cutter is not prohibited by this statute."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Anderson, Arambula, Bill Berryhill, Tom
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Brownley,
Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuller, Furutani, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore, Hagman,
Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez,
Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Silva, Skinner,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
AB 870
Page
5
Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Beall, Fuentes, Gaines,
Saldana, Smyth
RJG:cm 6/19/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****