BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1128
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB 1128 (Salas)
As Amended August 28, 2013
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |74-1 |(May 29, 2013) |SENATE: |36-0 |(September 3, |
| | | | | |2013) |
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|ASSEMBLY: |75-1 |(September 9, | | | |
| | |2013) | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: G.O.
SUMMARY : Increases the penalty for knowingly selling, purchasing
for, furnishing or giving alcohol to a person under 21 who drinks
the alcohol and then proximately causes death or bodily injury to
himself, herself, or another to a discretionary misdemeanor or
felony.
The Senate amendments :
1)Include in a provision regarding great bodily injury or death, a
person who sells any alcoholic beverage to a person under 21 years
of age and would provide that a violation of the prohibition is
also punishable as a felony subject to specified penalties where a
person knew that a person to whom an alcoholic beverage was
provided was under 21 years of age.
2)Provide for an exception from felony prosecution for a licensee or
employee, agent, or representative of a licensee, unless the
person had actual prior knowledge that the person to whom the
alcoholic beverage was provided was under 21 years of age
3)Clarify penalties for misdemeanor and felony offences for
knowingly selling, purchasing for, furnishing or giving alcohol to
a person under 21 who drinks the alcohol and then proximately
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causes death or bodily injury to himself, herself, or another.
4)Make clarifying changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that every person who sells, furnishes, gives, or causes to
be sold, furnished, or given away, any alcoholic beverage to any
person under the age of 21 years is guilty of a misdemeanor
punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding six
month, by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or by both a fine and
imprisonment.
2)States that any person who violates the law by purchasing any
alcoholic beverage for, or furnishing, giving, or giving away any
alcoholic beverage to, a person under the age of 21 years, and the
person under the age of 21 years thereafter consumes the alcohol
and thereby proximately causes great bodily injury (GBI) or death
to himself, herself, or any other person is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by not less than six months, or not more
than one year in a county jail.
3)Provides that any on-sale licensee who knowingly permits a person
under the age of 21 years to consume any alcoholic beverage in the
on-sale premises, whether or not the licensee has knowledge that
the person is under the age of 21 years, is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not
exceeding six month, by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or by both a
fine and imprisonment.
4)Provides that except as provided by law, any person who violates
existing law by furnishing an alcoholic beverage, or causing an
alcoholic beverage to be furnished to a minor shall be punished by
a fine of $1,000, no part of which shall be suspended, and the
person shall be required to perform not less than 24 hours of
community service during hours when the person is not employed and
is not attending school.
5)Provides that any person who violates the misdemeanor provision in
Business and Professions Code section 25658 (c) shall be punished
by either six months to one year in county jail and/or a fine of
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$1,000 plus penalty assessments.
6)Provides that every person convicted of a felony for a violation
of specified alcoholic beverage regulatory provisions for which
another offense is not provided shall be punished by a fine of not
more than $10,000, imprisonment in a county jail for not more than
one year, imprisonment for 16 months, two or three years in county
jail, or by both a fine and imprisonment.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill made it an alternate
felony/misdemeanor with the felony offense punishable by 16 months,
two, or three years in a county jail for any person convicted of
selling or furnishing an alcoholic beverage to a person under
21years of age, who thereafter consumes the alcohol and proximately
causes great bodily injury (GBI) or death to himself, herself, or
another person, rather than a straight misdemeanor.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee,
potential minor increase in state incarceration costs, likely less
than $50,000 (General Fund) annually, for increased state prison
commitments to the extent felony convictions under this bill
sentenced occur for individuals convicted of a prior serious or
violent felony. Ongoing non-reimbursable local enforcement and
incarceration costs offset to a degree by fine revenue. While the
impact of this bill independently on local jails is likely to be
minor, the cumulative effect of new or expanded crimes impacting
jail overcrowding could create General Fund cost pressure on capital
outlay, staffing, programming, the courts, and other resources in
the context of criminal justice realignment.
COMMENTS : This bill, as amended in the Senate is consistent with
Assembly actions.
Background : In California, to purchase, consume or possess
alcoholic beverages the age of majority is 21. Under current law, a
minor can be arrested for purchasing, consuming or possessing
alcoholic beverages, which constitutes a misdemeanor. Any person
under the age of 21 years, who attempts to purchase any alcoholic
beverage from a licensee, or the licensee's agent or employee, is
guilty of an infraction and shall be punished by a fine of not more
than $100. The penalty for a person who furnishes alcohol to a
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minor is a minimum $1,000 fine and 24 hours of community service.
If a person buys alcohol and furnishes it to a minor who consumes it
and causes great bodily injury or death to himself or others, the
furnisher faces a minimum six to 12 months in county jail and a
$1,000 fine.
Over the years, the Legislature has enacted legislation to increase
penalties on licensees, clerks and others making illegal sales of
alcohol to minors. The changes in law include a provision which
revokes a liquor license if the licensee makes three sales of
alcohol to a minor within a three-year period. Clerks that make
sales of alcohol to minors are guilty of misdemeanors and possibly
subject to $1,000 fines. There is growing sentiment that minors and
other young adults should be held more accountable in their
commission of these acts.
Furnishing or Giving Alcohol to a Person under 21 : Existing law
makes it a misdemeanor for any person who sells, furnishes, gives,
or causes to be sold, furnished, or given away, any alcoholic
beverage to any person under the age of 21 years. Any person under
the age of 21 years who purchases any alcoholic beverage, or any
person under the age of 21 years who consumes any alcoholic beverage
in any on-sale premises, is guilty of a misdemeanor.
Any person who purchases any alcoholic beverage for, or furnishes,
gives, or gives away any alcoholic beverage to, a person under the
age of 21 years, and the person under the age of 21 years thereafter
consumes the alcohol and thereby proximately causes great bodily
injury or death to himself, herself, or any other person, is guilty
of a misdemeanor.
The key issue of this bill is whether the crime of selling to,
purchasing any alcoholic beverage for, or furnishing, giving, or
giving away any alcoholic beverage to, a person under 21 years of
age, and the person under 21 years of age thereafter consumes the
alcohol and thereby proximately causes great bodily injury or death
to himself, herself, or any other person, be increased from a
misdemeanor to a wobbler.
Under this bill, a retail employee would not be subject to felony
prosecution for the sale of an alcoholic beverage to a person under
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the age of 21 years unless the retail employee knew the person was
under the age of 21 years.
Purpose of the bill : According to the author's office, this bill
has been introduced to increase the penalty for those who provide
underage drinkers with alcohol and those under-age drinkers then go
on to proximately cause great bodily injury or death to someone as a
result of their illegal intoxication. Our state must send a strong
message to irresponsible adults that their reckless and complicit
action in contributing to the dangerous intoxication of under-age
persons will not result in a minor slap on the wrist, especially
when their action leads to the death or great bodily injury of
another.
According to the author, "on August 31, 2012, a student at Fresno
State University drank to the point of death at an off campus
fraternity party. The deceased student was one of 12 underage
students who were provided alcohol by three individuals ages 22, 24,
and 28. According to Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer, two of the
individuals bought eight bottles of distilled spirits, and took a
group of pledges into the "trophy room" at the fraternity house.
Chief Dyer reported the deceased underage student was taken to
another room at some point, where "sober brothers" would keep an eye
on him. It was about 1:30 a.m. when the victim was found to be
"unresponsive." He later died in a hospital. In a press release,
Fresno D.A. Elizabeth Egan said, "sadly, the fact is that the death
was 100 percent preventable."
According to background provided by the author, a study conducted by
the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation (PIRE) cited
several issues that were included in their study of costs of
underage drinking to California such as violence, property crime and
high risk sex. Nearly $3.8 million went toward youth violence
(homicide, suicide, aggravated assault) and traffic crashes related
to youth drinking accounted for $1.1 million, according to the
study. Health issues were also represented in the findings such as
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) among teen mothers, which ended up
costing the state $152 million. Nearly 1.4 million minors consume
alcohol each year in California.
The author's office points out, in 2009, an estimated 141 traffic
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fatalities and 7,552 nonfatal traffic injuries were attributable to
driving after underage drinking. In 2009, an estimated 239
homicides; 141,500 nonfatal violent crimes such as rape, robbery,
and assault; 179,000 property crimes including burglary, larceny,
and car theft were attributable to underage drinking.
Prior legislation : AB 1658 (Sharon Runner), Chapter 743, Statutes
of 2007. Increased the fines for trying to purchase alcohol by
persons under 21 years old and manufacturing of false IDs and
licenses.
AB 1657 (Sharon Runner) of 2007. Would have it a wobbler to
purchase alcohol for, or furnish, give or give away any alcoholic
beverage to, a person the provider knew or reasonably should have
known to be under the age of 21 years, and the person under the age
of 21 consumes the alcohol and thereby proximately causes great
bodily injury or death to himself, herself or any other person and
the provider should have known of the danger. (Failed in the Senate
Public Safety Committee)
AB 2967 (Sharon Runner) of 2006. Would have made it a wobbler to
purchase alcohol for, furnish, give or give away any alcoholic
beverage to a person the provider knew or reasonably should have
known to be under the age of 21 years, and the person under the age
of 21 consumes the alcohol and thereby proximately causes great
bodily injury or death to himself, herself or any other person and
the provider should have known of the danger. (Failed in the Senate
Public Safety Committee)
AB 454 (Sharon Runner) of 2005. Would have made it a wobbler to
purchase alcohol for, furnish, give or give away any alcoholic
beverage to a person the provider knew or reasonably should have
known to be under the age of 21 years, and the person under the age
of 21 consumes the alcohol and thereby proximately causes great
bodily injury or death to himself, herself or any other person and
the provider should have known of the danger. (Failed in the Senate
Public Safety Committee)
AB 2037 (La Suer), Chapter 291, Statutes of 2004. Provides the same
liability for furnishing or giving alcohol to a person under 21
years of age as there currently is for purchasing alcohol for a
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person under 21 years of age when the person under 21 drinks the
alcohol and proximately causes injury or death.
AB 1301 (Simitian), Chapter 625, Statutes of 2003. Created a
misdemeanor for permitting a person under the age of 18 to consume
alcohol or a controlled substance at the home of the adult or legal
guardian, as specified.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :
"This bill would allow a felony to be charged if a person knowingly
provides alcohol to an underage drinker, whose alcohol consumption
thereafter causes injury or death.
"The behavior targeted by this bill is already a misdemeanor and I
am not convinced it should be made into a felony."
Analysis Prepared by : Eric Johnson / G. O. / (916) 319-2531
FN:
0002939