BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1176


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          (Without Reference to File)





          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS


          AB  
          1176 (Cooper)


          As Amended  June 30, 2016


          Majority vote


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          |ASSEMBLY:  |      |(June 3, 2015) |SENATE: | 33-1 |(June 30, 2016)  |
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               (vote not relevant)




          Original Committee Reference:  PUB. S.


          SUMMARY:  Calls for a special election to amend Proposition 47  
          and make the theft of a firearm grand theft in all cases and  
          punishable by a state prison term.  


          The Senate amendments delete the Assembly version of this bill,  
          and instead:


          1)Declare that the theft of a firearm is grand theft in all  








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            cases, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16  
            months, or two, or three years.
          2)State that every person who buys or receives a stolen firearm  
            is guilty of an alternate felony/misdemeanor offense  
            punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for a period of  
            not more than one year, or by imprisonment in the county jail  
            pursuant to realignment.


          3)Call for a special election to be held on November 8, 2016,  
            for voter approval of these provisions.


          4)Require consolidation of the special election with the  
            statewide general election to be held on that date. 


          5)Require the consolidated election be held and conducted in all  
            respects as if there were only one election, and only one form  
            of ballot shall be used.


          6)Waive specified Election Code requirements to submit these  
            provisions to the voters on the November 8, 2016 election.


          EXISTING LAW:  


          1)Divides theft into two degrees, petty theft and grand theft.   
            (Penal Code Section (PC) 486.)
          2)Defines grand theft as when the money, labor, or real or  
            personal property taken is of a value exceeding $950 dollars,  
            except as specified.  (PC 487.)


          3)States that notwithstanding any provision of law defining  
            grand theft, obtaining any property by theft where the value  
            of the money, labor, real or personal property taken does not  
            exceed $950 shall be considered petty theft and shall be  
            punished as a misdemeanor, except in the case where a person  
            has prior serious, violent, or sex convictions, in which case  








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            the offense is punished as a felony by imprisonment in the  
            county jail pursuant to realignment.  (PC 490.2(a)).


          4)Prohibits carrying a concealed firearm upon the person or in a  
            vehicle, and punishes that crime as a felony under certain  
            circumstances, including if the person is an ex-felon or a  
            gang member, or if the firearm was stolen.  (PC 25400.)


          5)Prohibits carrying a loaded firearm on the person or in a  
            vehicle while in any public place or on any public street and  
            punishes that crime as a felony under certain circumstances,  
            including if the person is an ex-felon or a gang member, or if  
            the firearm was stolen. (PC 25850.)


          6)Prohibits any person previously convicted of a felony from  
            owning, purchasing, receiving, possessing, or having in his or  
            her custody a firearm, and punishes that offense as a felony.  
            (PC 29800(a)(1)).


          AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill created the Advanced  
          Low-Carbon Diesel Fuels Access Program, administered by the  
          State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission  
          (Commission) to fund advanced low-carbon diesel fueling  
          infrastructure projects in disadvantaged communities


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee:


          1)Ballot costs:  One-time costs in the range of $414,000 to  
            $552,000 (General Fund) to the Secretary of State (SOS) for  
            printing and mailing costs to place the measure on the ballot  
            in the next statewide election. 


          2)State prisons:  To the extent the voters approve the  
            amendments to the Proposition, significant increase in state  








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            incarceration costs potentially in the millions of dollars  
            (General Fund) annually for a) felony convictions for theft of  
            a firearm, b) felony convictions for receipt of a stolen  
            firearm for persons with a current or prior serious or violent  
            felony conviction, and c) potential future violations of the  
            lifetime firearms ban imposed for these felony convictions  
            that otherwise may have been charged as misdemeanors.   
            Separate from the initiative, potential increase in felony  
            violations of the 10-year firearms ban under the expanded list  
            of misdemeanor offenses.  To the extent the 10-year  
            prohibition is applied retroactively could significantly  
            increase the potential fiscal impact to the state. Staff notes  
            commitments to state prison for both a) theft of a firearm and  
            b) receipt of stolen property as a principal offense decreased  
            by about 70% after passage of Proposition 47.  To the extent  
            some defendants continue to be committed to prison for other  
            felony convictions, while not resulting in new commitments,  
            this bill could result in longer prison sentences for these  
            cases. 


          3)County jails:  To the extent the voters approve the amendments  
            to the Proposition, potentially major increase in  
            non-reimbursable local costs (Local Funds) for felony jail  
            sentences for receipt of stolen property violations that  
            previously would have been subject to misdemeanor penalties,  
            offset in minor part due to fewer jail terms for petty theft  
            of a firearm that would be subject to a state prison term.   
            Separate from the initiative, potentially significant  
            increases or decreases in local costs (Local Funds) resulting  
            from violations of the 10-year firearms ban (See Staff  
            Comments).  To the extent the 10-year firearms ban is applied  
            retroactively would significantly increase the potential  
            fiscal impact to counties.  To the extent local agencies incur  
            a net increase in overall costs, funding could be required  
            from the State (Proposition 30 General Fund).


          4)Reduction in Proposition 47 savings:  Potential reduction in  
            future funds allocated to the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools  
            Fund (SNSF) to the extent raising the criminal penalties for  
            the specified firearm offenses results in a reduction in  








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            future calculated savings under Proposition 47 by the  
            Department of Finance.


          5)Department of Justice (DOJ):  Potentially significant increase  
            in DOJ administration and enforcement costs in the hundreds of  
            thousands of dollars (Special Fund*) due to increases to the  
            Armed Prohibited Persons System (APPS) list resulting from the  
            expanded application of the firearms prohibition.  It is  
            unclear how the DOJ would determine the convictions for  
            receipt of stolen property that are specific to firearms  
            (should the voters choose not to approve amendments to the  
            initiative that would make the offense a wobbler), given that  
            level of detail is not currently available with regard to  
            arrests/convictions under existing law.


          *Dealers Record of Sale Special Account (DROS) - Staff notes the  
          DROS is structurally imbalanced, with less than a $1 million  
          reserve balance projected by year-end fiscal year 2016-17.  As a  
          result, an appropriation from another fund source, potentially  
          the General Fund, may be required to support the activities  
          resulting from this bill. 


          COMMENTS:  According to the author, "Current law makes the theft  
          of a firearm a misdemeanor if it is valued under $950.   
          Handguns, shotguns, rifles and AR-15 types of weapons are easy  
          to find for sale for under the $950 at most retail gun stores.   
          When these guns are stolen they are often sold or traded at  
          below market value on the street.  Many times these stolen guns  
          are found to have been used in other crimes such as robberies  
          and shootings.  AB 1176 will serve as a deterrent and apply the  
          proper criminal consequences to those who steal and transfer any  
          type of firearm."


          This bill was substantially amended in the Senate and the  
          Assembly-approved version of this bill was deleted.  This bill,  
          as amended in the Senate, is inconsistent with Assembly actions  
          and the provisions of this bill, as amended in the Senate, have  
          not been heard in an Assembly policy committee. 








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          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744  FN:  
          0003479