BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 951 (Torres) - Statute of limitations: conspiracy.
Amended: March 28, 2014 Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: May 5, 2014 Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 951 would specifically provide that prosecution
for conspiracy to commit a felony shall be commenced within the
time required for the commencement of prosecution for the
underlying crime.
Fiscal Impact:
Future state costs potentially in the millions of dollars
(General Fund) for new commitments to state prison that
otherwise would not have occurred in the absence of the
extension of the statute of limitations for conspiracy to be
linked to that of the underlying offense.
Potentially major future costs to local jurisdictions for new
felony commitments to local jails that otherwise would not
have occurred due to the expiration of the current statute of
limitations for conspiracy.
Potentially significant ongoing increase in state court costs
(General Fund*) to the extent the tolling and extension of the
statute of limitations for prosecution for conspiracy to
commit specified offenses results in additional criminal
actions.
*Trial Court Trust Fund
Background: Existing law generally provides that prosecution for
a felony offense shall be commenced within three years after the
commission of the offense (PC � 801). Existing law, however,
provides for varying statutes of limitations for specified
offenses, ranging from prosecution to be commenced within four
years after the discovery of the offense (PC � 801.5), to within
10 years for specified sex offenses (PC � 801.1(b)), to no
statute of limitations for the prosecution for an offense
punishable by death or by imprisonment in the state prison for
life or for life without the possibility of parole, or for the
embezzlement of public money (PC � 799).
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Under existing law, the sentence for conspiracy depends on the
type of conspiracy but generally a person who conspires to
commit a felony is subject to the same punishment as the
prescribed for the felony (PC � 182). In the case of People v.
Milstein (2012) 211 Cal.App.4th 1158, it was stated that,
"California courts consistently have recognized that conspiracy
is a separate and distinct crime from the offense that is the
object of the conspiracy, as is governed by a separate and
distinct statute of limitations?As this Court observed in
Prevost (60 Cal.App.4th at p. 1402), legislative silence in view
of the case law?is instructive. It informs us that there is no
reason to depart from the legal precedent which provides that
criminal conspiracy has a three-year statute of limitations,
irrespective of the underlying offense."
This bill is intended to abrogate People v. Milstein, and
provide that the statute of limitations for prosecution of the
crime of conspiracy is likewise linked to the statute of
limitations for prosecution of the underlying felony.
Proposed Law: This bill specifically provides that prosecution
for conspiracy to commit a felony pursuant to PC �182 shall be
commenced within the time required for the commencement of
prosecution for the underlying crime.
This bill also includes the following Legislative intent
language: "It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
act to abrogate People v. Milstein (2012) 211 Cal.App.4th 1158
to the extent that it holds that prosecution for the crime of
conspiracy to commit a felony must commence within three years.
This measure is not intended to undermine the proposition that
the period of limitation for conspiracy commences to run with
the last overt act committed in furtherance of the conspiracy."
Related Legislation: SB 950 (Torres) 2014 would toll the statute
of limitations for commencing criminal actions until the
discovery of the offense of 1) offering or giving a bribe to a
public official or public employee, or, 2) asking, receiving, or
agreeing to receive a bribe by a public official or public
employee. This bill is pending on the Suspense File of this
Committee.
SB 952 (Torres) 2014 would prohibit an individual from aiding or
abetting a public officer or person in violating existing
governmental conflict of interest codes and extend existing
penalties to also apply to the individual who willfully aids or
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abets, as specified. This bill is pending on the Suspense File
of this Committee.
Staff Comments: By extending the statute of limitations for the
crime of conspiracy from three years after the commission of the
offense to match that of the underlying crime, this bill could
result in substantial increases in the number of prosecutions,
and consequently, convictions and commitments to state prison
and county jail, for conspiracy to commit a felony offense that
otherwise would have been time-barred by the three-year limit
under existing law. In addition to the extension of time for
those cases in which the existing three-year period for
prosecution of conspiracy had not run, the provisions of this
bill could potentially revive those cases in which the statute
of limitations has already expired, potentially resulting in a
substantial number of new prosecutions and subsequent
convictions. As an example, prosecutions for conspiracy to
commit murder, for which the three-year window may have passed
years ago, could now be reopened for prosecution, as there is no
statute of limitations for crimes punishable by death or life
without the possibility of parole.
Arrest data from the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicates over
20,000 arrests annually over the past five years (2009-2013)
under the felony conspiracy statutes (PC � 182), with less than
four percent of annual arrests leading to convictions. It is
unknown what percentage of annual arrests have been time-barred
from prosecution under existing law, but for every one percent
of arrests for conspiracy potentially impacted by this bill, an
additional 200 prosecutions could proceed, resulting in
additional workload and costs on the courts.
Existing law provides that the punishment for a conspiracy
depends on the type of conspiracy but generally a person who
conspires to commit a felony shall be subject to the same
punishment as the prescribed for the felony (PC � 182). The
magnitude of new costs for commitments to state prison and local
jails would be dependent on the underlying crimes and the
sentencing terms attached to those offenses. While costs in any
one year may not be significant, the cumulative effect over time
of overlapping sentences could be substantial. An additional
five commitments to state prison annually over 10 years would
result in annual costs of over $1.5 million (General Fund).
Recommended amendments: To narrow the scope of this bill and
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reduce costs, staff recommends the following amendment:
This section shall only apply to felonies that were committed on
or after January 1, 2015, or for which the statute of
limitations that was in effect prior to January 1, 2015, has not
run as of January 1, 2015.