BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1310|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1310
Author: Lara (D)
Amended: As introduced
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/1/14
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Knight, Liu, Mitchell, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: De Le�n
SUBJECT : Misdemeanors: maximum sentence
SOURCE : California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
Californians for Safety and Justice
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
DIGEST : This bill provides that an offense punishable by up
to one year in county jail is punishable by a period not to
exceed 364 days.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Provides that except in cases where a different punishment is
prescribed, the punishment for a felony is 16 months, two or
three years in state prison, unless as specified.
2.Provides that except where a different punishment is
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prescribed every offense declared to be a misdemeanor is
punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding
six months or by a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both.
This bill provides that every offense which is prescribed by any
law of the state to be punishable by imprisonment in a county
jail up to or not exceeding one year shall be punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed 364
days.
Comments
According to the author's office:
Legal immigrants have always been subject to deportation,
if they commit specified crimes determined by federal
statute. In 1996 Congress enacted the Illegal Immigration
Reform and Immigration Responsibility Act, which expanded
the list of crimes that a legal immigrant can be deported
for to include an aggravated felony. Under immigration
law, an aggravated felony is a term of art that can apply
to crimes that are neither aggravated or a felony.
Under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, aggravated
felonies fall into two categories: specific crimes that
federal law has determined trigger deportation and crimes
that are deportable if the defendant receives a 365-day
sentence, regardless of the time served. The time imposed
by the court, irrespective of whether the time is suspended
or not, is considered part of the sentence. As a result, a
legal immigrant convicted of a crime and sentenced to 365
days with 362 days suspended, who served only three days in
jail, would have a one year sentence as defined under
federal law and face deportation.
Prior to 1996, legal immigrants had the opportunity to
challenge their deportation before a judge. Currently,
those deported have no legal way to reenter the U.S., even
if they were legal residents and have an American spouse.
Washington, Nevada, and Illinois have all passed
legislation to address this problem.
As a result of the one year sentence deportation policy,
thousands of families are torn apart every year due to
minor crimes, such as writing a bad check. Those deported
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often leave behind families and children who depend on them
for support. From 2010 through 2012 the U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement deported 204,000 immigrant parents
from the U.S., which accounted for 23% of the total number
of deportations during that time period. Many of those
deported for minor offenses are longtime legal permanent
residents of California, with deep connections to their
families and communities.
SB 1310 will reduce the maximum possible misdemeanor
sentence from one year to 364 days, so that deportation
eligibility will not be triggered for a legal immigrant who
commits a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for one
year.
This bill will not affect immigration enforcement and
people who are in California unlawfully or have committed
serious crimes will still face deportation. This bill will
preserve judicial discretion and ensure legal residents who
have committed minor crimes are not automatically subject
to deportation and separated from their families.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 4/1/14)
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (co-source)
Californians for Safety and Justice (co-source)
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (co-source)
Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (co-source)
Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (co-source)
American Civil Liberties Union
Asian Americans Advancing Justice
California Applicants' Attorneys Association
California Catholic Conference
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
California Immigrant Policy Center
California Partnership
California Public Defenders Association
Californians United for a Responsible Budget
Center for Juvenile and Criminal Justice
Children's Defense Fund-California
Educators for Fair Consideration
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Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Services, Immigrant Rights & Education Network
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Friends Committee on Legislation
states, by limiting the maximum sentence for all misdemeanors to
364 days, SB 1310 will protect the 27% of California's
population who are immigrants (the vast majority of who are
either naturalized or living here under some form of legal
status) from having deportation proceedings triggered for a
misdemeanor conviction. This will keep countless families from
being torn apart by deportation.
JG:e 4/1/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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