BILL ANALYSIS �
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 930
Author: Berryhill (R), et al.
Amended: 3/28/14
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 3/25/14
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, De Le�n, Knight, Liu, Mitchell,
Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/14
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SUBJECT : Arson
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill reenacts the statutory provision defining
aggravated arson to January 1, 2019, and increases the requisite
amount of property damage and other losses to $7 million.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
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1. Provides that any person who willfully, maliciously, or
deliberately, with premeditation and with intent to cause
injury or to cause damage to property under circumstances
likely to produce injury or to cause damage to one or more
structures or inhabited dwellings, sets fire to, burns, or
causes to be burned any residence or structure is guilty of
aggravated arson, punishable by 10-years-to-life in the state
prison if one or more of the following aggravating factors
exist:
A. The defendant was previously convicted of arson on
one or more occasions within the past 10 years; or
B. The fire caused damage to, or the destruction of,
five or more inhabited structures.
2. Provides that the provision defining aggravated arson as
including arson that caused damages in excess of $6.5 million
- including the cost of fire suppression - shall sunset on
January 1, 2014.
3. Includes legislative intent, stated in 2004 and 2009, that
the aggravated arson law be reviewed within five years to
determine the effect of inflation on the monetary threshold
for the crime. A sunset clause was added to the statute in
each of those years.
4. Provides that a person convicted of arson, aggravated arson,
and attempted arson must register with local law enforcement.
The duty to register is a lifetime requirement except for a
person convicted before 1995.
This bill reenacts the monetary threshold damage provision of
the aggravated arson statute until January 1, 2019, and adjusts
the threshold amount from $6.5 million to $7 million.
Comments
According to the author:
Aggravated arsons are those which are intended to cause
great bodily injury or damage to structures, which cause
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more than $6.5 million, or were committed by a recidivist
arsonist. In 2009, the Legislature unanimously approved
extending the "cost of fire suppression" when calculating
the total property damage caused by arson until 2014. The
statute for the ability to use the "cost of fire
suppression" in calculating the total amount of property
damage in meeting the $6,500,000 threshold for the crime of
"aggravated arson" was not extended when it was set to
sunset in January 1, 2014.
Due to California's geography, climate, and urban
expansion, this state has a long history of problems with
wildfires. Intentional fires can wreak havoc on
communities. Wildland fires can have large fire
suppression costs (24 fires have had fire suppression costs
over $6.5 million since 2010), and these costs should be
considered when prosecuting aggravated arson cases.
Law enforcement and prosecutors have been prudent, but
effective, when using this statute to prosecute a
defendant, protecting the communities and natural resources
of California. Without legislative action, law enforcement
authorities will lose an important tool in bringing
arsonists to justice.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, potentially
significant future annual General Fund costs to the extent the
reenacted aggravated arson provision results in longer prison
terms than otherwise would have occurred under the existing
arson statutes. The additional state costs will not be incurred
until after the base term of the arson sentence would have been
served, the enhancement, or both.
Three offenders have been sentenced to life terms with the
possibility of parole under the aggravated arson provision over
the past four years, with two convictions most recently in 2013.
By extending the sunset of this provision and adjusting the
threshold amount, if one person every other year during the
reenactment period (five years) receives an aggravated arson
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sentence for excess damages, the annual cost in 20 years,
assuming a maximum term of 14 years under existing arson
statutes, will exceed $90,000.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/23/14)
California District Attorneys Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Firefighters Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
JG:d 5/23/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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