BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 1010 (Mitchell) - Cocaine base: penalties.
Amended: March 17, 2014 Policy Vote: Public Safety 4-2
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: May 12, 2014 Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill does not meet the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 1010 would 1) reduce the penalty for possession
for sale of cocaine base to be the same as that for powder
cocaine, 2) revise asset forfeiture guidelines for possession
for sale of cocaine base to mirror that of powder cocaine, and,
3) revise the guidelines for probation eligibility for both the
possession for sale of powder cocaine and cocaine base.
Fiscal Impact:
Potential future significant cost savings in the low
millions of dollars (General Fund) to CDCR assuming shorter
prison sentences and/or fewer prison commitments due to
expanded probation eligibility provisions for about 150
inmates committed to state prison annually.
Potential future significant cost savings in the millions
of dollars (Local) to local agencies for reduced county jail
terms for several hundred offenders under the reduced
sentencing triad and expanded probation eligibility
provisions, offset to a degree by increased costs for a
larger felony probation population. DOJ conviction data
indicates on average over 750 convictions for possession for
sale of cocaine base since 2012.
Potential increase in court costs (General Fund*) for
additional revocation hearings associated with the larger
population of felony probationers.
Unknown, potential minor loss of state and local revenues
from asset forfeiture proceeds of vehicles seized from
cocaine base offenses.
*Trial Court Trust Fund
Background: Existing law provides for disparate sentencing,
probation, and asset forfeiture guidelines for the possession
for sale of cocaine base (crack) and powder cocaine, as follows:
SB 1010 (Mitchell)
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Simple possession (for personal use) of cocaine or
cocaine base: Felony, with a jail term of 16 months, 2
years or 3 years. (HSC � 11350)
Possession for sale of cocaine: Felony jail term of 2, 3
or 4 years. (HSC � 11351)
Possession for sale of cocaine base: Felony jail term of
3, 4 or 5 years. (HSC � 11351.5)
Sale or distribution of cocaine or cocaine base: Felony
jail term of 3, 4 or 5 years. (HSC � 11352)
Probation can only be granted to a person convicted of
specified crimes if unusual circumstances exist: this
restriction applies to any case involving 14.25 grams or
more of cocaine base, or 57 grams or more of a substance
containing at least 5 grams of cocaine base. By comparison,
the restriction applies to any case involving 28.5 grams or
more of cocaine, or 57 grams or more of a substance
containing cocaine.
Asset forfeiture provisions are triggered where the
amount of cocaine base involved in the offense weighs at
least 14.25 grams, or where the amount of cocaine weighs at
least 28.5 grams.
Proposed Law: This bill would enact the California Fair
Sentencing Act, as follows:
Reduces the incarceration penalty for possession for
sale or distribution of cocaine base (crack) to a felony
jail term of 2, 3 or 4 years (to match the penalty for
possession for sale of powder cocaine) from the existing
felony jail term penalty of 3, 4, or 5 years.
Provides probation cannot be granted to a person
convicted of possession for sale of 28.5 grams or more of
cocaine base (increase over 14.25 grams), or 57 grams or
more of a substance containing at least 5 grams of cocaine
base, if the court finds unusual circumstances
demonstrating that probation promotes justice.
Provides probation cannot be granted to a person
convicted of possession for sale of cocaine of 57 grams or
more of a substance containing at least 5 grams of cocaine
(currently no minimum amount of cocaine required).
Authorizes seizure and forfeiture of a vehicle, boat or
airplane used as an instrumentality of drug commerce
involving cocaine base weighing 28.5 grams or more
(increase over 14.25 grams), or 57 grams or more of a
substance containing cocaine base.
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Includes legislative findings that powder cocaine and
cocaine base are two different forms of the same drug, each
producing the same effects when ingested and that imposing
higher penalties and greater forfeitures on persons
convicted of crimes involving cocaine base is unjustified.
Staff Comments: By revising the sentencing, asset forfeiture,
and probation guidelines for the possession for sale of cocaine
base to match those provisions of law for powder cocaine, this
bill could potentially result in significant ongoing cost
savings to both the state prison system and county jails.
The fiscal impact of revising the sentencing provisions is
unclear, however, because the impact will be determined by the
behavior and decisions of individual judges in sentencing
hearings. This bill poses potentially significant annual General
Fund and local savings for reduced state prison and local jail
terms to the extent the sentences imposed are less than those
currently being imposed for the crime of possession for sale of
cocaine base.
CDCR data since 2012 (prior to 2011 Realignment, the figure was
three times greater) indicates there are about 150 commitments
to state prison for possession for sale of crack cocaine.
Although this crime has been realigned to the counties, under PC
1170(h), if an offender has a prior conviction for a serious or
violent felony, the sentence for the new felony must be served
in state prison. By reducing the sentencing triad, a six month
to one year reduction in prison terms would result in cost
savings of $750,000 to $1.5 million (General Fund) for inmates
serving sentences in state prison due to a prior conviction for
a serious or violent felony. To the extent the expanded
probation eligibility requirements result in fewer commitments
to state prison, CDCR could experience even greater savings.
While it is unknown how many individuals are serving sentences
in county jail for the possession for sale of cocaine base, DOJ
statistics indicate on average approximately 750 convictions for
this offense in 2012 and 2013. The potential ongoing cost
savings to local agencies for reduced county jail terms due to
the reduced sentencing triad and expanded eligibility for
probation would be dependent on the volume of cases in which a
reduced sentence is imposed and/or for which felony probation is
granted in lieu of a jail term. Savings of about $5 million for
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250 offenders based on a six-month sentence reduction would be
offset in part by increased probation supervision costs
resulting from the expanded eligibility provisions of this bill.
As a result of the potentially larger population of felony
probationers, the courts could also experience additional costs
for additional revocation hearings.
Under existing law, the proceeds of the sale of seized vehicles
used to facilitate the possession for sale of cocaine base are
generally divided between state and local agencies. By
increasing the volume of cocaine base from 14.25 grams to 28.5
grams (1/2 ounce to 1 ounce) that must be involved in the
offense in order to be eligible for asset forfeiture, the
provisions of this bill could result in a loss of state and
local revenues due to reduced asset forfeitures, however, the
fiscal impact is estimated to be minor.