BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 498
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 10, 2012
Counsel: Milena Blake
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 498 (Alejo) - As Amended: January 4, 2012
SUMMARY : Removes the hardship exemption to the requirement
that an individual convicted of specified vandalism offenses
have his or her driver's license suspended. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Removes the discretion of the judge to allow an individual
convicted of specified offenses to retain his or her driver's
license if the court finds that a personal or family hardship
exists that requires that individual to have a driver's
license for his or her own, or a member of his or her
family's, employment, school, or medically related purposes.
2)Removes the ability of the person convicted whose ability to
obtain a driver's license was delayed by the court to petition
the court to remove the delay of privilege if there is no
further vandalism conviction in the past year.
3)Creates a "Graffiti Abatement Program Fund", the funds of
which are to be distributed to county Graffiti Abatement
programs in proportion to the number of convictions for
specified vandalism convictions within that county.
4)Requires the court to impose on all defendants convicted of
specified vandalism sections a $30 fine to be deposited in the
newly formed Graffiti Abatement Program Fund.
5)Defines "graffiti abatement program" as a program adopted by a
city, county, or city and county by resolution or ordinance
that provides for the administration and financing of graffiti
removal, community education on the prevention of graffiti,
and enforcement of graffiti laws.
EXISTING LAW:
1)States that any person who maliciously defaces with graffiti
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or other inscribed material, damages or destroys any real or
personal property not his or her own is guilty of vandalism.
�Penal Code Section 594(a).]
2)Specifies that if the amount of the vandalism is $400 or more,
the defendant shall be imprisoned in the state prison or
county jail for not more than one year, a fine of up to
$10,000 if the amount of the vandalism is not more than
$10,000, a fine of up to $50,000 is the damage is more than
$10,000, or by both fine and imprisonment. �Penal Code
Section 594(b)(1).]
3)Specifies that if the amount of the vandalism is less than
$400, and:
a) The defendant does not have a prior conviction for
vandalism, as specified, the defendant shall be punished by
imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, a fine
of up to $1,000, or both by fine and imprisonment. �Penal
Code Section 594(b)(2)(A).]
b) The defendant has a prior conviction for vandalism, as
specified, the defendant shall be punished by imprisonment
in the county jail for up to one year, a fine of up to
$5,000, or by both fine and imprisonment. �Penal Code
Section 594(b)(2)(B).]
4)Authorizes the court, when appropriate and feasible, in
addition to any other punishment imposed, to order the
defendant to clean up, repair, or replace the damaged property
his or her self, or order the defendant, if a minor, to keep
the damaged property or other specified property in the
community free of graffiti for up to one year. �Penal Code
Section 594(c).]
5)States that any person who knowingly commits any act of
vandalism to a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, building
owned and operated by a religious educational institution, or
other place primarily used as a place of worship where
religious services are regularly conducted, or a cemetery, is
guilty of a crime punishable by imprisonment in the state
prison or county jail for up to one year. �Penal Code Section
594.3(a).]
6)States that any person who knowingly commits any act of
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vandalism to a church, synagogue, mosque, temple, building
owned and operated by a religious educational institution, or
other place primarily used as a place of worship where
religious services are regularly conducted, or a cemetery that
is show to have been a hate crime and to have been committed
for the purpose of intimidating and deterring persons from
freely exercising their religious beliefs, is guilty of a
crime punishable by imprisonment in the state prison. �Penal
Code Section 594.3(b).]
7)States that any person who willfully and maliciously injects
or throws upon, or otherwise defaces, destroys or contaminates
any structure with butyric acid, or other similar noxious or
caustic substance is guilty of a public offense and is to be
punished by imprisonment in the state prison or county jail, a
fine as follows, or by both that fine and imprisonment. The
amount of the fine is determined in the following manner:
(Penal Code Section 594.4.)
a) If the amount of the damage is more than $50,000, the
fine is up to $50,000;
b) If the amount of the damage is between $5,000 and
$50,000, the fine is up to $10,000;
c) If the amount of the damages is between $950 and $5,000,
the fine is up to $5,000; or,
d) If the amount of the damages is less than $950, the fine
is up to $1,000.
8)Requires the driver's license of every person 13 years or
older convicted of specified vandalism sections be suspended
for up to two years, except where the court finds that a
personal or family hardship exists that requires the person to
have a driver's license for his or her own, or a member of his
or her family's, employment, school, or medically-related
purposes. �Vehicle Code Section 13202.6(a)(1).]
9)Specifies that if the person does not have a driver's license,
the court shall order the issuing agency to delay issuing the
license for between one to three years. If the individual has
no further vandalism convictions in the next year, the
individual can petition the court to modify the order imposing
the delay of the issuance of a driver's license. �Vehicle
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Code Section 13202.6(a)(1).]
10)States that all monetary payments, monies, and property
collected from any person who has been ordered to make
restitution shall be first applied to pay the amounts ordered
as restitution to the victim. �Cal. Const., art. I, Section
28, subd. (b), par. 13.]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Background : According to information provided by the author,
"Law enforcement believes that Vehicle Code (VC) Section
13202.6 can be better enforced if it were crossed referenced
in Penal Codes related to vandalism/graffiti. This VC section
can be more strictly enforced by striking out exemptions to
the license suspension provision. This bill would also allow
the courts to collect a $30 graffiti abatement program fine
that would be allocated to county and city graffiti abatement
programs to work on prevention measures."
2)Argument in Support : According to Santa Clara County ,
"Estimates place the annual cost of graffiti abatement in
California in the tens in millions of dollars. Local cities
and counties face enormous pressure to address the pervasive
and destructive impacts of graffiti and other forms of
vandalism. Costs often run deeper than the expense of
repairing damage to public property. For instance, graffiti
on public transit vehicles can hurt the entire community by
disrupting service when vehicles are removed from use in order
to be cleaned or repaired. Business owners must replace
windows or paint over tags that could otherwise drive away
customers. Extensive graffiti increases blight and brings
down the value of an area. Neighborhoods with graffiti
problems tend to attract crime."
3)Argument in Opposition : According to the California Attorneys
for Criminal Justice (CACJ), "There is an exception for the
driver's license suspension: the court must find that the
person has a 'personal or family hardship', or the person or
that person's family must drive due to employment, school, or
medically-related purposes.
"CACJ was directly involved in preserving and expanding these
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exceptions when the statute was amended in 2006. Education
and employment have proven to be key determinants on whether a
young person reoffends. Studies have proven that sustained
schooling and employment radically reduce recidivism rates in
California.
"Unfortunately, AB 498 (Alejo) removes these critical
exceptions, which encourage and support a young person's
efforts to do well in school and work and avoid criminal
behavior. This bill would erect additional barriers for those
young people who are trying in good faith to change their
behavior. Eliminating their ability to drive to school and/or
work simply limits their opportunities to improve their lives.
AB 498 goes so far as to delete an incentive for young people
who remain law abiding, namely the options to petition the
court for a modification of the driver's license delay order,
which is a crucial incentive for youths to not reoffend."
4)Previous Legislation : AB 2923 (Calderon), Chapter 434,
Statutes of 2006, increased the period of suspension of a
driver's license for specified vandalism convictions to up to
two years, and increased the delay in issuance for an
individual does not yet have his or her driver's license from
one year to between one and three years.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
County of Santa Clara
Opposition
Books Not Bars
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
Analysis Prepared by : Milena Blake / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744