BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1800
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 14, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1800 (Ma and Hagman) - As Amended: March 16, 2010
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 5-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill increases the penalty for unlawfully claiming
ownership or taking possession of a residential dwelling, for
the purpose of renting that dwelling to another, from a
misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in the county jail
and/or a fine of up to $1,000, to a felony, punishable by 16
months, two or three years in state prison.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Unknown annual GF increase in state prison costs. For every 10
persons convicted of this proposed felony offense, who would
not otherwise be sentenced to state prison, the annual cost
would be about $450,000, based on current per capita inmate
costs. (This estimate does not include potential three-strike
implications.)
(A situation in which a person is defrauded of more than $400
may currently be charged as grand theft, punishable as an
alternative felony/misdemeanor. So in cases in which a victim
suffers a loss of more than $400, the offense may already be
charged as a felony. This bill, however, would also create a
felony penalty for cases in which no financial loss is
incurred, but a dwelling is unlawfully occupied or possessed
with the intent of renting it to another.)
2)By creating a new felony, this bill also creates potential two
and three-strikes sentencing situations, which result in a
doubling of terms for second strikes, and life terms for third
strikes. Any person with one or more serious or violent
felonies priors, who is convicted of a felony under this bill,
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would face either a doubled term for the intended unlawful
rental of a residential dwelling, or a life term for the
offense. For example, if one person per year received a life
term for this offense, in 5 years the annual state
incarceration cost would be about $225,000. In 15 years, the
annual cost would be about $675,000.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author contends recent and current economic
conditions have contributed to an increase in "housing-related
crimes" that merit stiffer penalties.
According to the authors, "Under current law, individuals
posing as landlords are only guilty of a misdemeanor,
punishable by a fine of no more than $1000 and/or 6 months of
jail time. Under Penal Code 602.9, a thief could walk away
with a slap on the wrist, and leave a family homeless.
"With the State's record foreclosures and economic downturn,
more and more scammers are taking advantage of innocent people
during these difficult times. AB 1800 will simply enhance the
current misdemeanor crime of posing as a landlord to a
felony."
2)Opposition. According to the ACLU, "Current law makes the
unlawful rental of residential property a misdemeanor. Current
law also permits felony charges if the defendant obtains rent
exceeding $400. We perceive little justification to making all
these cases felonies. Imposing new or stiffer felony penalties
for this or any other crime simply exacerbates the current
prison overcrowding crisis. It also implicates the Three
Strikes Law. The current penalties for these acts are
sufficient to punish the individuals for those offenses."
3)Impact on State Budget, Prison Overcrowding and Federal Court
Ruling to Reduce the Inmate Population . Federal courts have
ruled that inmate overcrowding is a primary factor in what the
courts have determined to be unconstitutional levels of prison
medical care. This year the court ordered California to reduce
its inmate population by about 40,000 inmates to achieve an
overcrowding level of 137.5% of capacity. The current state
budget deficit projection is about $20 billion. Last year the
Legislature considered measures designed to reduce the inmate
population by about 37,000 and $1.2 billion in 2010-11. The
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result of those deliberations is currently a projected savings
of about $780 million in 2010-11 and a population reduction of
about 14,000, including parole reforms, inmate program
reductions, and increased sentence credits. The governor's
budget proposes an additional reduction of about $1.1 billion
for 2010-11, including a population reduction of about 13,000.
4)Suggested Amendment . The author may wish to consider doubling
the current misdemeanor penalty from six months to one year,
which would not impact the state prison system or the GF.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081