BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 144| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 144 Author: Mathis (R), et al. Amended: 6/1/15 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/9/15 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 8/27/15 AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/14/15 (Consent) - See last page for vote SUBJECT: DumpingDumping. SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill increases the penalty for illegal dumping of waste matter in non-commercial quantities on private property for fourth and subsequent convictions to a misdemeanor, as specified, and would revise how fines are assessed during the period the waste matter remains unabated. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)States that it is unlawful to dump or cause to be dumped waste matter in or upon a public or private highway or road, including any portion of the right-of-way thereof, or in or AB 144 Page 2 upon private property into or upon which the public is admitted by easement or license, or upon private property without the consent of the owner, or in or upon a public park or other public property other than property designated or set aside for that purpose by the governing board or body having charge of that property. (Penal Code, § 374.3 (a).) 2)Provides it is unlawful to place, deposit, or dump, or cause to be placed, deposited, or dumped, rocks, concrete, asphalt, or dirt in or upon a private highway or road, including any portion of the right-of-way of the private highway or road, or private property, without the consent of the owner or a contractor under contract with the owner for the materials, or in or upon a public park or other public property, without the consent of the state or local agency having jurisdiction over the highway, road, or property. (Penal Code, § 374.3 (b).) 3)States that a person violating dumping provisions is guilty of an infraction. Each day that waste placed, deposited, or dumped in violation the law is a separate violation. (Penal Code § 374.3 (c).) 4)Provides these provisions do not restrict a private owner in the use of his or her own private property, unless the placing, depositing, or dumping of the waste matter on the property creates a public health and safety hazard, a public nuisance, or a fire hazard, as determined by a local health department, local fire department or district providing fire protection services, or the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, in which case this section applies. (Penal Code, § 374.3 (d).) 5)Specifies a person convicted of dumping shall be punished by a mandatory fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) upon a first conviction, by a mandatory fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) nor more than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) upon a second conviction, and by a mandatory fine of not less than seven hundred fifty dollars ($750) nor more than three thousand dollars ($3,000) upon a third or subsequent conviction. If the court finds that the waste matter placed, deposited, or dumped was used tires, the fine prescribed in this subdivision shall be doubled. (Penal Code § 374.3 (e).) AB 144 Page 3 6)Provides that the court may require, in addition to any fine imposed upon a conviction, that, as a condition of probation and in addition to any other condition of probation, a person convicted under this section remove, or pay the cost of removing, any waste matter which the convicted person dumped or caused to be dumped upon public or private property. (Penal Code § 374.3(f).) 7)Except when the court requires the convicted person to remove waste matter which he or she is responsible for dumping as a condition of probation, the court may, in addition to the fine imposed upon a conviction, require as a condition of probation, in addition to any other condition of probation, that a person convicted of a violation of this section pick up waste matter at a time and place within the jurisdiction of the court for not less than 12 hours. (Penal Code § 374.3 (g).) 8)States that a person who places, deposits, or dumps, or causes to be placed, deposited, or dumped, waste matter in violation of this section in commercial quantities shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than six months and by a fine. The fine is mandatory and shall amount to not less than one thousand dollars ($1,000) nor more than three thousand dollars ($3,000) upon a first conviction, not less than three thousand dollars ($3,000) nor more than six thousand dollars ($6,000) upon a second conviction, and not less than six thousand dollars ($6,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) upon a third or subsequent conviction. (Penal Code § 374.3(h)(1)) 9)Defines "commercial quantities" means an amount of waste matter generated in the course of a trade, business, profession, or occupation, or an amount equal to or in excess of one cubic yard. This subdivision does not apply to the dumping of household waste at a person's residence. (Penal Code § 374.3(h)(2)) This bill: 1) Increases the penalty for a fourth and subsequent convictions for illegal dumping in non-commercial quantities on private property without the consent of the AB 144 Page 4 owner from an infraction to a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in a county jail and a fine of not less than $750 nor more than $3,000. 2) Provides that a separate fine in the same amount as initially imposed shall accrue for each day that waste placed, deposited, or dumped remains unabated, but no additional conviction for the purposes of punishment shall arise for the same act. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: Yes AB 144 Page 5 According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Local jails: Potential minor future increase in non-reimbursable local costs (General Fund*) for enforcement and incarceration to the extent the new misdemeanor results in additional short-term jail sentences. Accrued fines vs. separate violations: Unknown, potential decrease in fine and state penalty revenues, potentially in excess of $50,000 (General Fund), to the extent the same fine as initially imposed accrues each day the waste matter remains unabated versus the imposition of separate violations under existing law, which would require cumulatively higher assessed fines for the first three days the waste matter remains unabated and a higher assessed fine for the remainder of the period. SUPPORT: (Verified 8/28/15) None received OPPOSITION: (Verified 8/28/15) None received ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/14/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, AB 144 Page 6 Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Linder, Medina Prepared by:Mary Kennedy / PUB. S. / 8/31/15 12:47:41 **** END ****