Bill Text: CA AB849 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Enrolled

California Assembly Bill 849 (Prior Session Legislation)

Bill Title: Crimes: causing an explosion.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2016-01-15 - Consideration of Governor's veto stricken from file. [AB849 Detail]

Download: California-2015-AB849-Enrolled.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 849	ENROLLED
	BILL TEXT

	PASSED THE SENATE  SEPTEMBER 1, 2015
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY  SEPTEMBER 2, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 31, 2015
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 16, 2015
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 4, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bonilla

                        FEBRUARY 26, 2015

   An act to add Section 452.5 to the Penal Code, relating to crimes.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 849, Bonilla. Crimes: causing an explosion.
   Existing law proscribes the crime of arson and provides that a
person is guilty of arson when he or she willfully and maliciously
sets fire to or burns or causes to be burned, or aids, counsels, or
procures the burning of, a structure, forest land, or property. The
crime of arson is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state
prison, as specified.
   This bill would provide that a person who recklessly causes an
explosion is guilty of a public offense. The bill would provide that
if the explosion causes great bodily injury, the offense is a felony
punishable by incarceration for 2, 4, or 6 years, as specified, or a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one
year. The bill would provide that if the explosion causes damages in
the amount of $20,000 or more to any structure in which a person was
present at the time of the offense or to an inhabited dwelling, the
offense is a felony punishable, as specified, or a misdemeanor
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year. The
bill would also provide that if the explosion causes damages in the
amount of $2,000 or more, but less than $20,000, to any structure in
which a person was present at the time of the offense or to an
inhabited dwelling, the offense is a misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year. By creating new
crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
   The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
   This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 452.5 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
   452.5.  (a) A person who recklessly causes an explosion is guilty
of a public offense.
   (b) If the explosion described in subdivision (a) causes great
bodily injury to another person, the offense is a felony punishable
pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 for two, four, or six
years, or a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail
for up to one year.
   (c) If the explosion described in subdivision (a) causes damages
in the amount of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) or more to any
structure in which a person was present at the time of the offense or
to an inhabited dwelling, the offense is a felony punishable
pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or a misdemeanor
punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year.
   (d) If the explosion described in subdivision (a) causes damages
in the amount of two thousand dollars ($2,000) or more, but less than
twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), to any structure in which a
person was present at the time of the offense or to an inhabited
dwelling, the offense is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in
a county jail for up to one year.
   (e) The court may not impose sentence pursuant to subdivision (b)
and an enhancement for infliction of great bodily injury if the same
injury is an element of the crime and the basis for the enhancement.
   (f) For purposes of this section, the amount of damages caused by
the defendant's conduct is determined by the market cost of repair or
replacement in the place where the offense occurred.
   (g) As used in this section:
   (1) "Explosion" means the sudden conversion of potential energy,
either chemical or mechanical, into kinetic energy with the
production and release of gases under pressure, or the release of gas
under pressure, which results in these high pressure gases doing
mechanical work such as moving, changing, or shattering nearby
materials.
   (2) "Inhabited" means currently being used for dwelling purposes,
whether occupied or not occupied.
   (h) A misdemeanor charged under this section is subject to a civil
compromise pursuant to Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 1377) of
Title 10 of Part 2.
   (i) This section does not prohibit prosecution under any other
law, provided, however, that a person shall not be punished for a
violation of both this section and Section 452 if the offenses arise
from the same conduct.
  SEC. 2.  No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.