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.

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, as specified, 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.

Existing law provides that a person is guilty of the crime of unlawfully causing a fire when he or she recklessly sets fire to or burns, or causes to be burned, a structure, forest land, or property. Unlawfully causing a fire that causes great bodily injury or causes an inhabited structure or inhabited property to burn, or unlawfully causing a fire of a structure or forest land is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison or a county jail, as specified, and a fine, or both the fine and imprisonment. Unlawfully causing a fire of property is a misdemeanor, except as specified. Existing law also imposes sentence enhancements for those crimes, if specified circumstances apply, such as if emergency personnel suffer great bodily injury as a result of the offense.

This bill would revise those provisions to specify that they also apply to unlawfully causing an explosion. The bill would also provide that unlawfully causing a fire or an explosion that causes the contents of an inhabited structure or an inhabited property to burn or be damaged by an explosion is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 2, 3, or 4 years, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine, or by both that imprisonment and fine. By expanding the scope of existing crimes and 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.

GOVERNOR'S VETO

GV Bill Id:AB 849

Author:(Bonilla)

As Enrolled Ver:September 4, 2015

2/3 vote

Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.

SUMMARY: Makes it a public offense to recklessly cause an explosion that results in great bodily injury to any person, damage to a structure where a person is present, or damage to an inhabited dwelling, as specified.

The Senate amendments:

1. Make recklessly causing an explosion that results in great bodily injury to another person a felony punishable by two, four, or six years in a county jail, or by a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year.

2. Provide that recklessly causing an explosion that causes damage 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 is a felony punishable by 16 months, two, or three years in a county jail, or a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year.

3. State that recklessly causing an explosion that causes damage 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 is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year.

4. Provide that the court may not impose a great bodily injury enhancement if great bodily injury is an element of the underlying crime and the basis for the enhancement.

5. State that the amount of the damage caused by the defendant's conduct is determined by the market cost of repair or replacement of the place where the offense occurred.

6. Define "inhabited" to mean currently being used for dwelling purposes whether occupied or not occupied.

7. Define "explosion" the sudden conversion of potential energy, either chemical or mechanical, into kinetic energy with the production and release of gasses under pressure, or the release of gas under pressure, which results in these high pressure gasses doing mechanical work such as moving, changing, or shattering nearby materials.

8. Make a misdemeanor charge of recklessly causing an explosion subject to a civil compromise, as specified.

9. Prohibit punishment for both recklessly causing an explosion and reckless fire setting if the offenses arise from the same conduct.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Provides that a person is guilty of unlawfully causing a fire when he or she recklessly sets fire to or causes to be burned any structure, forestland, or property.

   1. Unlawfully causing a fire that causes great bodily injury is a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or six years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.

   2. Unlawfully causing a fire that causes an inhabited structure or property to burn is a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.

   3. Unlawfully causing a fire of a structure or forestland is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, two, or three years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.

   4. Unlawfully causing a fire of property is a misdemeanor.

2. Provides that any person convicted of reckless fire setting shall be punished by a one, two, or three year enhancement for each of the following circumstances found to be true:

   1. The defendant was previously convicted of felony arson;

   2. A peace officer, firefighter, or other emergency personnel suffered great bodily injury;

   3. The defendant proximately caused great bodily injury to more than one victim in a single incident; or,

   4. The defendants proximately caused multiple structures to burn.

3. States that the following terms have the following meanings:

   1. "Structure" means any building, or commercial or public tent, bridge, tunnel, o power plant;

   2. "Forest land" means any brush covered land, cut over land, forest, grasslands, or woods;

   3. "Property" means real property or personal property, other than a structure or forest land;

   4. "Inhabited" means being used for dwelling purposes whether occupied or not. "Inhabited structure" and "inhabited property" do not include real property on which an inhabited structure or an inhabited property is located;

   5. "Maliciously" imports a wish to vex, defraud, annoy, or injure another person, or an intent to do a wrongful act, established either by proof or presumption of law,

   6. "Recklessly" means a person is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that his or her act will set fire to, burn, or cause to burn a structure, forest land, or property. The risk shall be of such nature and degree that disregard thereof constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. A person who creates such a risk but is unaware thereof solely by reason of voluntary intoxication also acts recklessly with respect thereto.

4. Provides that any person, firm, or corporation who, except as specified, within this state, possesses any destructive device, other than fixed ammunition of a caliber greater than 0.60 caliber is guilty of a public offense. A person, firm, or corporation convicted of this offense shall be punished imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed one year, or in the state prison, or by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both.

5. States that any person who recklessly or maliciously has in possession any destructive device or any explosive in any of the following places is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years:

   1. On a public street or highway;

   2. In or near any theater, hall, school, college, church, hotel, or other public building,

   3. In or near any private habitation;

   4. In, on, or near any aircraft, railway passenger train, car, cable road, cable car, or vessel engaged in carrying passengers for hire; and,

   5. In, on, or near any other public place ordinarily passed by human beings.

6. Provides that any person that possesses any substance, material, or combination of substances or materials with the intent any destructive device or any explosive without first obtaining a valid permit that destructive device or explosive, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or four years.

7. States that every person that does any of the following is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years:

   1. Carries any destructive device or any explosive on any vessel, aircraft, car, or other vehicle that transports passengers for hire;

   2. While on board any vessel, aircraft, car, or other vehicle that transports passengers for hire places or carries any destructive device or explosive in any hand baggage, roll, or other container; and;

   3. Places any destructive device or any explosive in any baggage that is alter checked with any common carrier.

8. States except as provided, any person, firm or corporation who, within this state, sells, offers for sale, or knowingly transports any destructive device, other than fixed ammunition of a caliber greater than 0.60 caliber, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or four years.

9. Provides that every person that possess, explodes, or ignites, or attempts to possess, explode, or ignite any destructive device or any explosive with the intent to injure, intimidate, or terrify any person, or with intent to wrongfully injure or destroy any property is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for three, five, or seven years.

10. Provides that every person that explodes, or ignites, or attempts to explode, or ignite any destructive device or any explosive with the intent to murder is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole.

AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill made it a felony for any person to extract tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana and cause an explosion resulting in great bodily injury, or damage to structures, property, or forest land:

1. Provided that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in great bodily injury shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not exceeding one year, by a fine not to exceed $10, 000, or both a fine and imprisonment.

2. Provided that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in damage to an inhabited structure or inhabited property shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or four years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment.

3. Provided that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in damage to forest land shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, two, or three years, be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment.

4. Any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in damage to property is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed six months, by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment. For purposes of this paragraph unlawfully causing an explosion that damages property does not include an explosion that damages his or her own personal property unless there is injury to another person or to another person's structure, forest land, or property.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

1. State prisons: Potentially significant increase in state prison costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars (General Fund) annually to the extent the new felony of recklessly causing an explosion that causes great bodily injury qualifies as a current conviction for a serious or violent felony for purposes of sentencing under Penal Code (PC) Section 1170(h), the entire sentence of which would be served in state prison.

2. County jails: Potential ongoing increase in non-reimbursable local enforcement and incarceration costs (Local Fund) for new felony and misdemeanor convictions resulting in local jail terms.

COMMENTS: According to the author, "We have seen a worrying increase in the number of honey oil related butane explosions. In my own district, one explosion knocked a neighboring house off its foundation. Unfortunately, currently law does not provide an adequate means of addressing these butane related explosions. If a person manufacturing honey oil using butane causes an explosion, but that same explosion does not cause fire damage to the structure, the only remedy available to law enforcement is to charge vandalism. This is hardly an appropriate charge for such a dangerous act. AB 849 remedies this situation by ensuring that all honey oil related butane explosions can be charged to appropriately reflect their gravity."

GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:

I am returning the following nine bills without my signature:

Assembly Bill 144

Assembly Bill 849

Senate Bill 168

Senate Bill 170

Senate Bill 271

Senate Bill 333

Senate Bill 347

Senate Bill 716

Senate Bill 722

Each of these bills creates a new crime - usually by finding a novel way to characterize and criminalize conduct that is already proscribed. This multiplication and particularization of criminal behavior creates increasing complexity without commensurate benefit.

Over the last several decades, California's criminal code has grown to more than 5,000 separate provisions, covering almost every conceivable form of human misbehavior. During the same period, our jail and prison populations have exploded.

Before we keep going down this road, I think we should pause and reflect on how our system of criminal justice could be made more human, more just and more cost-effective.

Analysis Prepared by: Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0002460

CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS

CSA1 Bill Id:AB 849

Author:(Bonilla)

As Amended Ver:August 31, 2015

Majority vote

Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.

SUMMARY: Makes it a public offense to recklessly cause an explosion that results in great bodily injury to any person, damage to a structure where a person is present, or damage to an inhabited dwelling, as specified.

The Senate amendments:

1. Make recklessly causing an explosion that results in great bodily injury to another person a felony punishable by two, four, or six years in a county jail, or by a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year.

2. Provide that recklessly causing an explosion that causes damage 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 is a felony punishable by 16 months, two, or three years in a county jail, or a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year.

3. State that recklessly causing an explosion that causes damage 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 is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail not to exceed one year.

4. Provide that the court may not impose a great bodily injury enhancement if great bodily injury is an element of the underlying crime and the basis for the enhancement.

5. State that the amount of the damage caused by the defendant's conduct is determined by the market cost of repair or replacement of the place where the offense occurred.

6. Define "inhabited" to mean currently being used for dwelling purposes whether occupied or not occupied.

7. Define "explosion" the sudden conversion of potential energy, either chemical or mechanical, into kinetic energy with the production and release of gasses under pressure, or the release of gas under pressure, which results in these high pressure gasses doing mechanical work such as moving, changing, or shattering nearby materials.

8. Make a misdemeanor charge of recklessly causing an explosion subject to a civil compromise, as specified.

9. Prohibit punishment for both recklessly causing an explosion and reckless fire setting if the offenses arise from the same conduct.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Provides that a person is guilty of unlawfully causing a fire when he or she recklessly sets fire to or causes to be burned any structure, forestland, or property.

   1. Unlawfully causing a fire that causes great bodily injury is a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or six years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.

   2. Unlawfully causing a fire that causes an inhabited structure or property to burn is a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.

   3. Unlawfully causing a fire of a structure or forestland is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, two, or three years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.

   4. Unlawfully causing a fire of property is a misdemeanor.

2. Provides that any person convicted of reckless fire setting shall be punished by a one, two, or three year enhancement for each of the following circumstances found to be true:

   1. The defendant was previously convicted of felony arson;

   2. A peace officer, firefighter, or other emergency personnel suffered great bodily injury;

   3. The defendant proximately caused great bodily injury to more than one victim in a single incident; or,

   4. The defendants proximately caused multiple structures to burn.

3. States that the following terms have the following meanings:

   1. "Structure" means any building, or commercial or public tent, bridge, tunnel, o power plant;

   2. "Forest land" means any brush covered land, cut over land, forest, grasslands, or woods;

   3. "Property" means real property or personal property, other than a structure or forest land;

   4. "Inhabited" means being used for dwelling purposes whether occupied or not. "Inhabited structure" and "inhabited property" do not include real property on which an inhabited structure or an inhabited property is located;

   5. "Maliciously" imports a wish to vex, defraud, annoy, or injure another person, or an intent to do a wrongful act, established either by proof or presumption of law,

   6. "Recklessly" means a person is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that his or her act will set fire to, burn, or cause to burn a structure, forest land, or property. The risk shall be of such nature and degree that disregard thereof constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. A person who creates such a risk but is unaware thereof solely by reason of voluntary intoxication also acts recklessly with respect thereto.

4. Provides that any person, firm, or corporation who, except as specified, within this state, possesses any destructive device, other than fixed ammunition of a caliber greater than .60 caliber is guilty of a public offense. A person, firm, or corporation convicted of this offense shall be punished imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed one year, or in the state prison, or by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both.

5. States that any person who recklessly or maliciously has in possession any destructive device or any explosive in any of the following places is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years:

   1. On a public street or highway;

   2. In or near any theater, hall, school, college, church, hotel, or other public building,

   3. In or near any private habitation;

   4. In, on, or near any aircraft, railway passenger train, car, cable road, cable car, or vessel engaged in carrying passengers for hire; and,

   5. In, on, or near any other public place ordinarily passed by human beings.

6. Provides that any person that possesses any substance, material, or combination of substances or materials with the intent any destructive device or any explosive without first obtaining a valid permit that destructive device or explosive, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or four years.

7. States that every person that does any of the following is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years:

   1. Carries any destructive device or any explosive on any vessel, aircraft, car, or other vehicle that transports passengers for hire;

   2. While on board any vessel, aircraft, car, or other vehicle that transports passengers for hire places or carries any destructive device or explosive in any hand baggage, roll, or other container; and;

   3. Places any destructive device or any explosive in any baggage that is alter checked with any common carrier.

8. States except as provided, any person, firm or corporation who, within this state, sells, offers for sale, or knowingly transports any destructive device, other than fixed ammunition of a caliber greater than .60 caliber, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or four years.

9. Provides that every person that possess, explodes, or ignites, or attempts to possess, explode, or ignite any destructive device or any explosive with the intent to injure, intimidate, or terrify any person, or with intent to wrongfully injure or destroy any property is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for three, five, or seven years.

10. Provides that every person that explodes, or ignites, or attempts to explode, or ignite any destructive device or any explosive with the intent to murder is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole.

AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill made it a felony for any person to extract tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana and cause an explosion resulting in great bodily injury, or damage to structures, property, or forest land:

1. Provided that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in great bodily injury shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not exceeding one year, by a fine not to exceed $10, 000, or both a fine and imprisonment.

2. Provided that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in damage to an inhabited structure or inhabited property shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or four years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment.

3. Provided that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in damage to forest land shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, two, or three years, be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment.

4. Any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in damage to property is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed six months, by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment. For purposes of this paragraph unlawfully causing an explosion that damages property does not include an explosion that damages his or her own personal property unless there is injury to another person or to another person's structure, forest land, or property.

FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

1. State prisons: Potentially significant increase in state prison costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars (General Fund) annually to the extent the new felony of recklessly causing an explosion that causes great bodily injury qualifies as a current conviction for a serious or violent felony for purposes of sentencing under Penal Code (PC) Section 1170(h), the entire sentence of which would be served in state prison.

2. County jails: Potential ongoing increase in non-reimbursable local enforcement and incarceration costs (Local Fund) for new felony and misdemeanor convictions resulting in local jail terms.

COMMENTS: According to the author, "We have seen a worrying increase in the number of honey oil related butane explosions. In my own district, one explosion knocked a neighboring house off its foundation. Unfortunately, currently law does not provide an adequate means of addressing these butane related explosions. If a person manufacturing honey oil using butane causes an explosion, but that same explosion does not cause fire damage to the structure, the only remedy available to law enforcement is to charge vandalism. This is hardly an appropriate charge for such a dangerous act. AB 849 remedies this situation by ensuring that all honey oil related butane explosions can be charged to appropriately reflect their gravity."

Analysis Prepared by: Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0001809

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: AB 849

Author: Bonilla (D)

Amended: 8/31/15 in Senate

Vote: 21

SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 7/14/15

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: 74-0, 5/22/15 - See last page for vote

SUBJECT: Crimes: causing an explosion

SOURCE: Los Angeles County District Attorney

DIGEST: This bill provides that a person who recklessly causes an explosion that causes great bodily injury to another person is guilty of an alternate felony-misdemeanor, punishable pursuant to Penal Code Section 1170, subdivision (h), for a felony term of two, four or six years or by a misdemeanor jail term of up to one year; provides that where the explosion causes damages in the amount of $20,000 or more to an inhabited dwelling or any structure in which a person was present, the offense is an alternate felony-misdemeanor, punishable pursuant to Penal Code Section 1170, subdivision (h), for a felony term of 16 months, two years or three years, or by a misdemeanor jail term of up to one year; provides that where the amount of damage is between $2,000 and $20,000, the offense is a misdemeanor, punishable by a jail term of up to one year; defines an explosion as “the sudden conversion of… mechanical or chemical energy into kinetic energy with the … release of gas under pressure” so as to move change or shatter nearby material; provides that the defendant can be punished only a single time if the same reckless conduct causes an explosion and a fire; and provides that a defendant cannot be punished for recklessly causing an explosion that causes great bodily and also receive an enhancement for infliction of great bodily injury based on the same injury.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Provides that a person is guilty of unlawfully causing a fire when he or she recklessly sets fire to or causes to be burned any structure, forestland, or property.

1. Unlawfully causing a fire that causes great bodily injury is a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or six years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.

2. Unlawfully causing a fire that causes an inhabited structure or property to burn is a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.

3. Unlawfully causing a fire of a structure or forestland is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, 2, or 3 years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.

4. Unlawfully causing a fire of property is a misdemeanor. (Pen. Code § 452.)
   
   

1. Provides that any person convicted of reckless fire setting shall be punished by a one, two, or three year enhancement for each of the following circumstances found to be true:

1. The defendant was previously convicted of felony arson;

2. A peace officer, firefighter, or other emergency personnel suffered great bodily injury;

3. The defendant proximately caused great bodily injury to more than one victim in a single incident; or,

4. The defendants proximately caused multiple structures to burn. (Pen. Code § 452.1.)

3. States that the following terms have the following meanings:

1. Structure means any building, or commercial or public tent, bridge, tunnel, or power plant;

2. Forest land means any brush covered land, cut over land, forest, grasslands, or woods;

3. Property means real property or personal property, other than a structure or forest land;

4. Inhabited means being used for dwelling purposes whether occupied or not;

5. Inhabited structure and inhabited property do not include real property on which an inhabited structure or an inhabited property is located;

6. Maliciously imports a wish to vex, defraud, annoy, or injure another person, or an intent to do a wrongful act, established either by proof or presumption of law; and;

7. Recklessly means a person is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that his or her act will set fire to, burn, or cause to burn a structure, forest land, or property. The risk shall be of such nature and degree that disregard thereof constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. A person who creates such a risk but is unaware thereof solely by reason of voluntary intoxication also acts recklessly with respect thereto. (Pen. Code § 450.)

4. Provides that any person, firm, or corporation who, except as specified, within this state, possesses any destructive device, other than fixed ammunition of a caliber greater than .60 caliber is guilty of a public offense. A person, firm, or corporation convicted of this offense shall be punished imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed one year, or in the state prison, or by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both. (Pen. Code § 18710.).

5. States that any person who recklessly or maliciously has in possession any destructive device or any explosive in any of the following places is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years:

1. On a public street or highway;

2. In or near any theater, hall, school, college, church, hotel, or other public building;

3. In or near any private habitation;

4. In, on, or near any aircraft, railway passenger train, car, cable road, cable car, or vessel engaged in carrying passengers for hire; and;

5. In, on, or near any other public place ordinarily passed by human beings. (Pen Code § 18715.)
   
   

1. Provides that any person that possesses any substance, material, or combination of substances or materials with the intent any destructive device or any explosive without first obtaining a valid permit that destructive device or explosive, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or four years. (Pen Code § 18720.)

7. States that every person that does any of the following is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years:

1. Carries any destructive device or any explosive on any vessel, aircraft, car, or other vehicle that transports passengers for hire;

2. While on board any vessel, aircraft, car, or other vehicle that transports passengers for hire places or carries any destructive device or explosive in any hand baggage, roll, or other container; and;

3. Places any destructive device or any explosive in any baggage that is alter checked with any common carrier. (Pen Code, § 18720.)

8. States except as provided, any person, firm or corporation who, within this state, sells, offers for sale, or knowingly transports any destructive device, other than fixed ammunition of a caliber greater than .60 caliber, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or four years. (Pen. Code, § 18730.)

9. Provides that every person that possess, explodes, or ignites, or attempts to possess, explode, or ignite any destructive device or any explosive with the intent to injure, intimidate, or terrify any person, or with intent to wrongfully injure or destroy any property is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for three, five, or seven years. (Pen. Code, § 18740.)

10. Provides that every person that explodes, or ignites, or attempts to explode, or ignite any destructive device or any explosive with the intent to murder is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole. (Pen. Code, § 18745.)

This bill:

1. Provides that any person who recklessly causes an explosion that results in great bodily injury shall be punished pursuant to Penal Code Section 1170, subdivision (h), by a felony term of two, four, or six years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not exceeding one year.

2. Provides that any person who recklessly causes an explosion that results in damage in an amount of at least $20,000 to an inhabited dwelling or structure in which a person was present at the time of the offense shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to Penal Code Section 1170, subdivision (h), for a felony term of sixteen months, two years or three years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed one year. Where the explosion causes damage in an amount between $2,000 and $20,000, the offense is a misdemeanor, punishable by a jail term of up to one year.

3. Provides that a misdemeanor offense of recklessly causing an explosion is subject to a civil compromise.

4. Provides that a court may not punish a person for recklessly causing an explosion that results in great bodily injury and impose an enhancement for infliction of great bodily injury in another offense based on that same injury.

5. Provides that a court may not punish a defendant for recklessly causing an explosion and recklessly causing a fire if both offenses arise from the same conduct.

6. Defines an explosion as “the sudden conversion of… mechanical or chemical energy into kinetic energy with the … release of gas under pressure” so as to move, change or shatter nearby material.

Background

The introduction of this bill was prompted by a rash of explosions caused by the making of hash[ish] oil - an increasingly popular form of concentrated cannabis - through extraction with a solvent. As described below, the solvent most commonly used is butane, thus the name “Butane Honey Oil,” or “BHO.” Explosions occur when the butane that extracts the “oil” from marijuana fails to dissipate, builds up, sinks to the floor in an enclosed space and explodes from any spark. Extracting the oil outside largely eliminates the risk of explosion, as volatile butane quickly evaporates and disperses in the air. Some of these explosions have caused death, serious injury and substantial property damage.

Previously, the bill specifically defined crimes that are committed when a person extracts concentrated cannabis through chemical extraction and causes an explosion. The punishment for the crime would have been less severe than the punishment for extracting concentrated cannabis by chemical extraction per se although the prosecutor would necessarily have to prove that crime in proving the crime of causing an explosion while extracting concentrated cannabis. Further, a defendant who was convicted of the crime of causing an explosion while chemically extracting BHO and the crime of chemically extracting concentrated cannabis in the same incident could only be punished a single time. The proposed new crime would have created a number of vexing charging and sentencing issues.

The bill was amended to define a new crime of recklessly causing an explosion, a parallel or companion offense to the existing crime or recklessly causing a fire. Under current law, a person who caused a fire in making BHO - typically as a result of an explosion- can be convicted for recklessly causing a fire, while a person who caused an explosion without a fire could not be charged with a crime for that conduct, even where the explosion was much more damaging than the explosion and fire caused by another person.

The bill also defines an explosion and specifically prohibits punishment for recklessly causing a fire and recklessly causing an explosion through the same conduct. Left unanswered is the question of whether a defendant who causes an explosion in making BHO can be punished for causing the explosion and making BHO. Generally, a defendant can only be punished a single time for one act or indivisible course of conduct that violates more than one crime statute. The deciding factor is the intent and objective of the defendant. Each case must be determined on its own facts and exceptions to the rule - such as conduct that causes physical harm to multiple victims.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes

SUPPORT: (Verified 8/28/15)

Association of Deputy District Attorneys

Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs

California Association of Code Enforcement Officers

California College and University Police Chiefs Association

California Correctional Supervisors Organization

California District Attorneys Association

California Narcotic Officers’ Association

California Professional Firefighters

California State Firefighters’ Association

California State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police

California State Sheriffs’ Association

Central Coast Forest Association

Long Beach Police Officers’ Association; Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association

Los Angeles Police Protective League

Riverside Sheriffs Association

Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association

Santa Ana Police Officers’ Association

OPPOSITION: (8/28/15)

None received

ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 74-0, 5/22/15

AYES: Achadjian, 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-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins

NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Jones, O'Donnell, Olsen, Waldron, Weber

Prepared by: Jerome McGuire / PUB. S. /

8/31/15 16:34:24

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular Session

AB 849 (Bonilla) - Crimes: causing an explosion

*********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM – SUSPENSE FILE ***********

The following information is revised to reflect amendments

adopted by the committee on August 27, 2015

Bill Summary:

AB 849 would provide that a person who recklessly causes an explosion is guilty of an alternate felony-misdemeanor, as specified.

Fiscal Impact:

• State prisons: Potentially significant increase in state prison costs in the hundreds of thousands of dollars (General Fund) annually to the extent the new felony of recklessly causing an explosion that causes great bodily injury qualifies as a current conviction for a serious or violent felony for purposes of sentencing under Penal Code (PC) § 1170(h), the entire sentence of which would be served in state prison.

• County jails: Potential ongoing increase in non-reimbursable local enforcement and incarceration costs (Local Fund) for new felony and misdemeanor convictions resulting in local jail terms.

Author Amendments:

• Define “explosion” as 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.

• Prohibit punishment for a violation under both the provisions of this bill and PC § 452 (recklessly causing a fire) if the offenses arise from the same conduct.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular Session

AB 849 (Bonilla) - Crimes: causing an explosion

This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.

Bill Summary:

AB 849 would provide that a person who recklessly causes an explosion is guilty of an alternate felony-misdemeanor, as specified.

Fiscal Impact:

• State prisons: Potentially significant increase in state prison costs in excess of hundreds of thousands of dollars (General Fund) annually to the extent the new felony of recklessly causing an explosion that causes great bodily injury qualifies as a current conviction for a serious or violent felony for purposes of sentencing under Penal Code (PC) § 1170(h), the entire sentence of which would be served in state prison. Additionally, to the extent a charge under existing provisions of law, including but not limited to unlawfully causing a fire pursuant to PC § 452, could be brought in addition to the new offenses created could result in lengthier prison sentences.

• County jails: Potential ongoing increase in non-reimbursable local enforcement and incarceration costs (Local Fund) for new felony and misdemeanor convictions resulting in local jail terms.

Background:

Existing law provides that a person is guilty of unlawfully causing a fire when he or she recklessly sets fire to or burns or causes to be burned, any structure, forest land or property. Specifically:

• Unlawfully causing a fire that causes great bodily injury is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four or six years, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine, or by both such imprisonment and fine.

• Unlawfully causing a fire that causes an inhabited structure or inhabited property to burn is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three or four years, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine, or by both such imprisonment and fine.

• Unlawfully causing a fire of a structure or forest land is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, two or three years, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or by a fine, or by both such imprisonment and fine.

• Unlawfully causing a fire of property is a misdemeanor as long as the property does not include one burning or causing to be burned his or her own personal property, unless there is injury to another person or to another person’s structure, forest land or property. (PC § 452.)

Under current law, if an explosion, and not a fire, causes great bodily injury in the commission of the offense, a felony conviction for recklessly causing a fire resulting in great bodily injury cannot be obtained under PC § 452. Additionally, if damage caused by fire is to personal property, felony vandalism is not chargeable. This bill seeks to address these issues.

Proposed Law:

This bill would provide that a person who recklessly causes an explosion is guilty of a public offense, as follows:

• If the explosion causes great bodily injury to another person, the offense is a felony punishable in county jail for two, four, or six years (or in state prison if a prior or current conviction for a serious or violent felony exists), or a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year.

• 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 in county jail for 16 months, two or three years (or in state prison if a prior or current conviction for a serious or violent felony exists), or a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year.

• If the explosion causes damages between $2,000 and $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.

• Provides that the court may not impose sentence 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.

• Provides that 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.

• Defines “inhabited” as currently being used for dwelling purposes, whether occupied or not occupied.

• Provides that a misdemeanor charged under this section is subject to a civil compromise, as specified.

• Provides that this section does not prohibit prosecution under any other law.

Related Legislation:

SB 305 (Bates) 2015 would have added a state prison enhancement of two years or five years for the commission or attempted commission of manufacturing a controlled substance by chemical extraction or synthesis, as those crimes relate to concentrated cannabis, if a child under 16 years of age was present or suffered great bodily injury. This bill was held on the Suspense File of this Committee.

SB 212 (Mendoza) 2015 would authorize a court to apply a specified factor in aggravation in cases when sentencing a defendant for manufacturing methamphetamine or concentrated cannabis based on the distance from the scene of the offense to an occupied residence or any structure in which persons are present at the time of the offense. This bill has been ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

Staff Comments:

By creating new felony and misdemeanor crimes, this bill could result in additional costs to both state prisons and local jails. Any local costs are not estimated to be eligible for state reimbursement pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution, which specifies that any costs incurred by a local agency due to the creation of a new crime are not reimbursable.

The new felony offense created in this measure of recklessly causing an explosion that causes great bodily injury specifies punishment pursuant to PC § 1170(h) for a term of two, four, or six years. Under PC § 1170(h), a sentence for a felony conviction is to be served in county jail unless the defendant has a prior or current felony conviction for a serious or violent felony, as specified, or is required to register as a sex offender.

As any felony in which the defendant inflicts great bodily injury on any person other than an accomplice is considered a serious or violent felony (PC §§ 1192.7, 667.5), to the extent a felony conviction would be considered a current conviction of a serious or violent felony, the entire sentence would be served in state prison. In effect, this provision would appear to result in a comparable punishment that exists under PC § 452(a), which plainly states in statute a state prison term of two, four, or six years for recklessly causing a fire that causes great bodily injury to a person.

Existing law pursuant to PC § 654 states that an act that is punishable in different ways by different provisions of law shall be punished under the provision that provides for the longest potential term of imprisonment, but in no case shall the act be punished under more than one provision. A conviction and sentence under any one bars a prosecution for the same act under any other.

To the extent charges under existing provisions of law, including but not limited to recklessly causing a fire pursuant to PC § 452 or manufacturing of controlled substances pursuant to HSC § 11379.6, could be brought in addition to the charge of recklessly causing an explosion, and are allowable as separate “acts,” the potential for extended prison sentences could result in significant increases in state incarceration costs.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Senator Loni Hancock, Chair

2015 - 2016 Regular

Bill No: AB 849 Hearing Date: July 14, 2015

Subject: Unlawful Cannabinoid Extraction: Explosion

HISTORY

Source: Los Angeles County District Attorney

Prior Legislation: None directly on point

Support: Association of Deputy District Attorneys; Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs; California Association of Code Enforcement Officers; California College and University Police Chiefs Association; California Correctional Supervisors Organization; California District Attorneys Association; California Narcotic Officers’ Association; California Professional Firefighters; California State Firefighters’ Association; California State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police; California State Sheriffs’ Association; Central Coast Forest Association; Long Beach Police Officers’ Association; Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association; Los Angeles Police Protective League; Riverside Sheriffs Association; Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association; Santa Ana Police Officers’ Association

Opposition: None known

Assembly Floor Vote: 74 - 0

PURPOSE

The purpose of this bill is to provide that a person who causes an explosion in the solvent extraction of cannabinoids is guilty of an alternate felony-misdemeanor or a misdemeanor, as follows: 1) where the explosion causes great bodily injury, the felony sentence is a term of two, four or six years, with a maximum felony or misdemeanor fine of $10,000; 2) where the explosion causes damage to inhabited property, the felony sentence is a term of two, three or four year, with a maximum felony or misdemeanor fine of $10,000; 3) where the explosion causes damage to a structure or forest land, the felony sentence is a term of 16 months, two years or three years, with a maximum felony or misdemeanor fine of $10,000; and 4) where the explosion causes damage to the property of another person, the offense is a misdemeanor, with maximum jail term of six months, a fine of up to $1,000, or both.

Existing law:

Provides that a person is guilty of unlawfully causing a fire when he or she recklessly sets fire to or causes to be burned any structure, forestland, or property.

• Unlawfully causing a fire that causes great bodily injury is a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or six years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.

• Unlawfully causing a fire that causes an inhabited structure or property to burn is a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.

• Unlawfully causing a fire of a structure or forestland is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, 2, or 3 years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.

• Unlawfully causing a fire of property is a misdemeanor. (Pen. Code § 452.)
  
  

Provides that any person convicted of reckless fire setting shall be punished by a one, two, or three year enhancement for each of the following circumstances found to be true:

• The defendant was previously convicted of felony arson;

• A peace officer, firefighter, or other emergency personnel suffered great bodily injury;

• The defendant proximately caused great bodily injury to more than one victim in a single incident; or,

• The defendants proximately caused multiple structures to burn. (Pen. Code § 452.1.)
  
  

States that the following terms have the following meanings:

• Structure means any building, or commercial or public tent, bridge, tunnel, o power plant;

• Forest land means any brush covered land, cut over land, forest, grasslands, or woods;

• Property means real property or personal property, other than a structure or forest land;

• Inhabited means being used for dwelling purposes whether occupied or not.

• Inhabited structure and inhabited property do not include real property on which an inhabited structure or an inhabited property is located;

• Maliciously imports a wish to vex, defraud, annoy, or injure another person, or an intent to do a wrongful act, established either by proof or presumption of law,

• Recklessly means a person is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that his or her act will set fire to, burn, or cause to burn a structure, forest land, or property. The risk shall be of such nature and degree that disregard thereof constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. A person who creates such a risk but is unaware thereof solely by reason of voluntary intoxication also acts recklessly with respect thereto. (Pen. Code § 450.)
  
  

Provides that any person, firm, or corporation who, except as specified, within this state, possesses any destructive device, other than fixed ammunition of a caliber greater than .60 caliber is guilty of a public offense. A person, firm, or corporation convicted of this offense shall be punished imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed one year, or in the state prison, or by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both. (Pen. Code § 18710.).

States that any person who recklessly or maliciously has in possession any destructive device or any explosive in any of the following places is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years:

• On a public street or highway;

• In or near any theater, hall, school, college, church, hotel, or other public building

• In or near any private habitation

• In, on, or near any aircraft, railway passenger train, car, cable road, cable car, or vessel engaged in carrying passengers for hire; and,

• In, on, or near any other public place ordinarily passed by human beings. (Pen Code § 18715.)
  
  

Provides that any person that possesses any substance, material, or combination of substances or materials with the intent any destructive device or any explosive without first obtaining a valid permit that destructive device or explosive, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or four years. (Pen Code § 18720.)

States that every person that does any of the following is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years:

• Carries any destructive device or any explosive on any vessel, aircraft, car, or other vehicle that transports passengers for hire;

• While on board any vessel, aircraft, car, or other vehicle that transports passengers for hire places or carries any destructive device or explosive in any hand baggage, roll, or other container; and;

• Places any destructive device or any explosive in any baggage that is alter checked with any common carrier. (Pen Code, § 18720.)
  
  

States except as provided, any person, firm or corporation who, within this state, sells, offers for sale, or knowingly transports any destructive device, other than fixed ammunition of a caliber greater than .60 caliber, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or four years. (Pen. Code, § 18730.)

Provides that every person that possess, explodes, or ignites, or attempts to possess, explode, or ignite any destructive device or any explosive with the intent to injure, intimidate, or terrify any person, or with intent to wrongfully injure or destroy any property is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for three, five, or seven years. (Pen. Code, § 18740.)

Provides that every person that explodes, or ignites, or attempts to explode, or ignite any destructive device or any explosive with the intent to murder is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole. (Pen. Code, § 18745.)

This bill

Provides that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in great bodily injury shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not exceeding one year, by a fine not to exceed $10, 000, or both a fine and imprisonment.

Provides that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in damage to an inhabited structure or inhabited property shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or four years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment.

Provides that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in damage to forest land shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, two, or three years, be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment.

Any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in damage to property is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed six months, by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment. For purposes of this paragraph unlawfully causing an explosion that damages property does not include an explosion that damages his or her own personal property unless there is injury to another person or to another person's structure, forest land, or property.

RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION

For the past eight years, this Committee has scrutinized legislation referred to its jurisdiction for any potential impact on prison overcrowding. Mindful of the United States Supreme Court ruling and federal court orders relating to the state’s ability to provide a constitutional level of health care to its inmate population and the related issue of prison overcrowding, this Committee has applied its “ROCA” policy as a content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that the Legislature does not erode progress in reducing prison overcrowding.

On February 10, 2014, the federal court ordered California to reduce its in-state adult institution population to 137.5% of design capacity by February 28, 2016, as follows:

• 143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;

• 141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,

• 137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.

In February of this year the administration reported that as “of February 11, 2015, 112,993 inmates were housed in the State’s 34 adult institutions, which amounts to 136.6% of design bed capacity, and 8,828 inmates were housed in out-of-state facilities. This current population is now below the court-ordered reduction to 137.5% of design bed capacity.”( Defendants’ February 2015 Status Report In Response To February 10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).

While significant gains have been made in reducing the prison population, the state now must stabilize these advances and demonstrate to the federal court that California has in place the “durable solution” to prison overcrowding “consistently demanded” by the court. (Opinion Re: Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendants’ Request For Extension of December 31, 2013 Deadline, NO. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK DAD (PC), 3-Judge Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (2-10-14). The Committee’s consideration of bills that may impact the prison population therefore will be informed by the following questions:

• Whether a proposal erodes a measure which has contributed to reducing the prison population;

• Whether a proposal addresses a major area of public safety or criminal activity for which there is no other reasonable, appropriate remedy;

• Whether a proposal addresses a crime which is directly dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there is no other reasonably appropriate sanction;

• Whether a proposal corrects a constitutional problem or legislative drafting error; and

• Whether a proposal proposes penalties which are proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other reasonably appropriate remedy.

COMMENTS

1. Need for this Bill

According to the author:

We have seen a worrying increase in the number of honey oil related butane explosions. In my own district, one explosion knocked a neighboring house off its foundation. Unfortunately, currently law does not provide an adequate means of addressing these butane related explosions. If a person manufacturing honey oil using butane causes an explosion, but that same explosion does not cause fire damage to the structure, the only remedy available to law enforcement is to charge vandalism. This is hardly an appropriate charge for such a dangerous act. AB 849 remedies this situation by ensuring that all honey oil related butane explosions can be charged to appropriately reflect their gravity.

2. Sentencing and Conviction Issues: Author’s Amendments

The introduction of this bill was prompted by a rash of explosions caused by the making of hash[ish] oil - an increasingly popular form of concentrated cannabis - through extraction with a solvent. As described below, the solvent most commonly used is butane, thus the name “Butane Honey Oil,” or “BHO.” Explosions occur when the butane that extracts the “oil” from marijuana fails to dissipate, builds up, sinks to the floor in an enclosed space and explodes from any spark. Extracting the oil outside largely eliminates the risk of explosion, as volatile butane quickly evaporates and disperses in the air.

The current version of the bill would require the prosecution to prove that the defendant committed the crime of manufacturing a controlled substance by chemical synthesis or chemical extraction in every case involving a BHO making explosion that caused serious damage. The penalty for the most serious form of causing an explosion while extracting BHO - an explosion that caused great bodily injury - has a lower penalty than the crime of manufacturing BHO, per se. That would have caused confusion and complex litigation. For example, if the prosecutor charged the defendant only with causing an explosion through making BHO, could the prosecutor ask the judge to sentence the defendant for manufacturing the BHO, as that crime was necessarily proved in proving the crime involving an explosion.

The author will offer amendments in committee to focus the bill on explosions that cause injury to persons and significant damage to residences and structures where people were present during the explosion. The amendments will apply the bill to any recklessly caused explosion. Intentional conduct involving explosive devices that causes or threatens serious harm is subject to prosecution under other provisions of law.

Prosecutors can still bring charges for BHO manufacturing. However, while it is not legal to make BHO, a person with a medical cannabis recommendation may legally possess BHO. Where a person authorized to use medical cannabis recklessly causes an explosion in the making of BHO for his or her own authorized use, prosecutors may choose to prosecute under this bill rather than under the relatively harsh provisions of the controlled substances manufacturing statute.

The amendments also include a reference to the process in existing law of a civil compromise. In a civil compromise, the defendant and the victim can agree that the defendant will fully compensate the victim for his or her losses apart from criminal prosecution. The court has discretion to approve or reject the compromise. Civil compromise is strictly prohibited for a felony or any domestic violence related charges. A compromise in an explosion case could allow the victim to quickly repair his or her property and the defendant could avoid a criminal conviction for reckless conduct.

The following mockup sets out the proposed amendments, which would replace the current language in the bill:

A person who recklessly causes an explosion is guilty of a public offense.

(a) Where the explosion causes great bodily injury to another person, the offense is a felony, punishable pursuant to Section 1170, subdivision (h) for two, four or six years, or a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year.

(b) Where the explosion causes damage in the amount of a least $20,000 to an inhabited dwelling or an any structure in which a person was present at the time of the offense, the offense is a felony, punishable pursuant to Section1170, subdivision (h), or a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year.

(c) Where the explosion causes damage in the amount of a least $2,000 to an inhabited dwelling or any structure in which a person was present at the time of the offense, the offense is a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for up to one year

(c) The court may not impose sentence pursuant to subdivision (a) 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.

(e) For the 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.

(f) For purposes of this Section, inhabited means currently being used for dwelling purposes, whether occupied or not.

(g) A misdemeanor charged under this Section is subject to a civil compromise pursuant to Sections 1377-1379.

(h) Prosecution under this Section does not limit prosecution under any other provision of law.

3. Background on Concentrated Cannabis, Including Hashish, Butane Honey Oil and Related Substances

The most common and widely known form of concentrated cannabis is hashish, or hash. There are references to hashish use in the Middle East at least as early as the 10th Century.¹² Hashish has traditionally been made by hand, with simple screens, presses and cloth bags – commonly, marijuana is essentially pounded into a resinous powder that is heated or pressed to form a block or sticky paste.³

Hash oil is generally made by using a solvent to strip the essential oils from marijuana plant matter. The resulting material is often described as “honey oil” or “wax,” reflecting the appearance of the product. A relatively new and popular form of concentrated cannabis is “butane honey oil” or “BHO.” BHO is commonly made by packing marijuana in a steel or glass tube, introducing or injecting butane in one end of the tube and straining the liquid material that emerges from the other end of the tube. The liquid may be heated – in warm water – to purge the butane. The resulting product is a resin or oil. Butane is volatile and highly flammable. Using too much heat or exposing the butane to a spark can cause an explosion, especially inside a structure, as evaporated butane gas can fill a room. Extracting BHO outside allows the butane vapors to dissipate into the air. Other solvents – including alcohol – can be used to produce hash oil.

In Colorado, hash oil is legal, but production is highly regulated. The Los Angeles Times reported on February 5, 2014:

Safer forms of production exist where it is sanctioned and regulated under state law. In Colorado's highly controlled market, state officials this month set forth rules requiring hash oil producers to follow the same procedures that manufacturers use to extract oils from plants to make canola oil, fragrances, food additives, pharmaceuticals and shampoo.

Butane extraction must be done in a closed loop system so that no vapor escapes, in rooms with powerful ventilation systems. And the facilities must comply with health and safety codes and be inspected by a certified industrial hygienist or professional engineer.

Hash oil contains a very high concentration of the active chemicals in marijuana, most notably THC, which is understood to produce the high experienced by the user. However, numerous other chemicals are found in marijuana, hashish and hash oil. The most widely known of these is CBD. CBD antagonizes (cancels) the effect of THC. The National Cancer Institute in the National Institutes of Health has noted that “[t]he use of Cannabis for medicinal purposes dates back at least 3,000 years.” CBD and THC have been identified as having numerous medical benefits, including relief from nausea, pain and inflammation, reducing seizures and shrinking and inhibiting the growth of tumors.”⁴

4. Related Bills

SB 212 (Mendoza) would define two factors in aggravation that apply in cases in which the defendant is charged with manufacturing a controlled substance by chemical synthesis or extraction. Specifically, the court may consider as a factor in aggravation that the defendant manufactured methamphetamine within 200 feet of an occupied residence or any structure in which others were present at the time of the offense. Where the defendant has been convicted of extracting concentrated cannabis through the use of a volatile solvent, the court may consider as a factor in aggravation that the offense occurred within 300 feet of an occupied residence or any structure in which others were present at the time of the offense. SB 212 is on the Third Reading file in the Assembly.

SB 305 (Bates) would have added the manufacturing of concentrated cannabis by chemical synthesis or extraction to enhancements for causing great bodily to a child and for manufacturing the drug in a place where a child under the age of 16 resides. The existing enhancement applies to the manufacturing of methamphetamine or phencyclidine by chemical synthesis or extraction. SB 305 was held in Senate Appropriations.

-- END –

Date of Hearing: May 13, 2015

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Jimmy Gomez, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 849

Author:(Bonilla) – As Amended Ver:May 4, 2015

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill makes it a felony, punished by imprisonment in a county jail and/or a fine not to exceed $10,000, for any person to extract tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana and cause an explosion resulting in great bodily injury, or damage to structures, property, or forest land.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Moderate nonreimbursable local costs for incarceration, offset to a degree by fee revenue.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author, "We have seen a worrying increase in the number of honey oil related butane explosions. In my own district, one explosion knocked a neighboring house off its foundation. Unfortunately, currently law does not provide an adequate means of addressing these butane related explosions. If a person manufacturing honey oil using butane causes an explosion, but that same explosion does not cause fire damage to the structure, the only remedy available to law enforcement is to charge vandalism. This is hardly an appropriate charge for such a dangerous act. AB 849 remedies this situation by ensuring that all honey oil related butane explosions can be charged to appropriately reflect their gravity."

2. Background. The increasing popularity of Butane Honey Oil (BHO), which is a form of concentrated cannabis, and the large profits that can be made from its manufacture, has resulted in a significant public safety issue from the damage caused when BHO labs explode. BHO is manufactured through a chemical extraction process in which the THC from unused parts of a marijuana plant is extracted by using butane. Butane is highly combustible and in the “off gassing” stage of the BHO manufacturing process, often explodes when a careless manufacturer ignites a spark or flame. Because butane gas is odorless and colorless it can build up in a home or apartment without the occupants or neighbors being aware of the danger.

Throughout the state, there have been 32 BHO explosions in the last year. In the majority of these cases, the exploding butane gas ignites and there is significant structural damage caused by the resulting fire. When this occurs, the district attorney normally files a charge of recklessly causing a fire. However, current law requires there to be a fire and damage to a structure, and the damage must be the result of the fire. Although most of the labs that explode do result in a fire, a problematic scenario has arisen when either the damage from the fire was to personal property or the damage to the structure was caused by the explosion and not the fire. Damage to a structure caused by an explosion is not currently covered. Also, if the harm is done to the perpetrator’s own property, vandalism cannot be charged either as one cannot vandalize his or her own property.

3. Argument in Support: The California Professional Firefighters state, "AB 849 provides that defendants be held liable for damage caused when a drug lab explodes, whether it is caused by a resulting fire or the explosion itself. This bill insures that butane hash oil lab explosions are addressed in the same manner as other drug lab explosions.
   
   "Drug labs provide serious, inherent risks on a myriad of fronts, particularly the high risk for explosion and hazardous material release. Such risks compromise the health and safety of neighbors, as well as the health and safety of our members who are the first to respond to an emergency situation involving such labs. This bill provides our states communities with an effective means of holding a responsible party accountable for the damage to properties and personal belongings resulting from explosions of this kind.
   
   
   

Analysis Prepared by: Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: April 28, 2015

Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Bill Quirk, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 849

Author:(Bonilla) – As Introduced Ver:February 26, 2015

As Proposed to be Amended in Committee

SUMMARY:

Makes it a felony for any person to extract tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana and cause an explosion resulting in great bodily injury, or damage to structures, property, or forest land. Specifically, this bill:

1. Provides that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in great bodily injury shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not exceeding one year, by a fine not to exceed $10, 000, or both a fine and imprisonment.

2. Provides that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in damage to an inhabited structure or inhabited property shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or four years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment.

3. Provides that any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or any other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in damage to forest land shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, two, or three years, be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed one year, by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment.

4. Any person who extracts, or attempts to extract THC or other cannabinoids, by means of solvent extraction, from marijuana leaves, flowers, or stalks and causes an explosion that results in damage to property is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a term not to exceed six months, by a fine not to exceed $1,000, or by both a fine and imprisonment. For purposes of this paragraph unlawfully causing an explosion that damages property does not include an explosion that damages his or her own personal property unless there is injury to another person or to another person's structure, forest land, or property.
   
   
   
   
   
   

EXISTING LAW:

1. Provides that a person is guilty of unlawfully causing a fire when he or she recklessly sets fire to or causes to be burned any structure, forestland, or property.
   
   

   1. Unlawfully causing a fire that causes great bodily injury is a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or six years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.
      
      

   2. Unlawfully causing a fire that causes an inhabited structure or property to burn is a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.
      
      

   3. Unlawfully causing a fire of a structure or forestland is a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, 2, or 3 years, or by imprisonment in the county jail not to exceed one year, or by a fine, or by both imprisonment and a fine.
      
      

   4. Unlawfully causing a fire of property is a misdemeanor. (Pen. Code, § 452.)
      
      

2. Provides that any person convicted of reckless fire setting shall be punished by a one, two, or three year enhancement for each of the following circumstances found to be true:
   
   

   1. The defendant was previously convicted of felony arson;
      
      

   2. A peace officer, firefighter, or other emergency personnel suffered great bodily injury;
      
      

   3. The defendant proximately caused great bodily injury to more than one victim in a single incident; or,
      
      

   4. The defendants proximately caused multiple structures to burn. (Pen. Code, § 452.1.)
      
      

3. States that the following terms have the following meanings:
   
   

   1. "Structure" means any building, or commercial or public tent, bridge, tunnel, o power plant;
      
      

   2. "Forest land" means any brush covered land, cut over land, forest, grasslands, or woods;
      
      

   3. "Property" means real property or personal property, other than a structure or forest land;
      
      

   4. "Inhabited" means being used for dwelling purposes whether occupied or not. "Inhabited structure" and "inhabited property" do not include real property on which an inhabited structure or an inhabited property is located;
      
      

   5. "Maliciously" imports a wish to vex, defraud, annoy, or injure another person, or an intent to do a wrongful act, established either by proof or presumption of law,
      
      

   6. "Recklessly" means a person is aware of and consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that his or her act will set fire to, burn, or cause to burn a structure, forest land, or property. The risk shall be of such nature and degree that disregard thereof constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable person would observe in the situation. A person who creates such a risk but is unaware thereof solely by reason of voluntary intoxication also acts recklessly with respect thereto. (Pen. Code, § 450.)
      
      

4. Provides that any person, firm, or corporation who, except as specified, within this state, possesses any destructive device, other than fixed ammunition of a caliber greater than .60 caliber is guilty of a public offense. A person, firm, or corporation convicted of this offense shall be punished imprisonment in the county jail for a term not to exceed one year, or in the state prison, or by a fine not to exceed $10,000, or by both. (Pen. Code, § 18710.).
   
   

5. States that any person who recklessly or maliciously has in possession any destructive device or any explosive in any of the following places is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years:
   
   

   1. On a public street or highway;
      
      

   2. In or near any theater, hall, school, college, church, hotel, or other public building,
      
      

   3. In or near any private habitation;
      
      

   4. In, on, or near any aircraft, railway passenger train, car, cable road, cable car, or vessel engaged in carrying passengers for hire; and,
      
      

   5. In, on, or near any other public place ordinarily passed by human beings. (Pen Code, § 18715.)
      
      

6. Provides that any person that possesses any substance, material, or combination of substances or materials with the intent any destructive device or any explosive without first obtaining a valid permit that destructive device or explosive, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or four years. (Pen Code, § 18720.)
   
   

7. States that every person that does any of the following is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, four, or six years:
   
   

   1. Carries any destructive device or any explosive on any vessel, aircraft, car, or other vehicle that transports passengers for hire;
      
      

   2. While on board any vessel, aircraft, car, or other vehicle that transports passengers for hire places or carries any destructive device or explosive in any hand baggage, roll, or other container; and;
      
      

   3. Places any destructive device or any explosive in any baggage that is alter checked with any common carrier. (Pen Code, § 18720.)
      
      

8. States except as provided, any person, firm or corporation who, within this state, sells, offers for sale, or knowingly transports any destructive device, other than fixed ammunition of a caliber greater than .60 caliber, is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for two, three, or four years. (Pen. Code, § 18730.)
   
   

9. Provides that every person that possess, explodes, or ignites, or attempts to possess, explode, or ignite any destructive device or any explosive with the intent to injure, intimidate, or terrify any person, or with intent to wrongfully injure or destroy any property is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for three, five, or seven years. (Pen. Code, § 18740.)
   
   

10. Provides that every person that explodes, or ignites, or attempts to explode, or ignite any destructive device or any explosive with the intent to murder is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole. (Pen. Code, § 18745.)
    
    

FISCAL EFFECT:

Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, "We have seen a worrying increase in the number of honey oil related butane explosions. In my own district, one explosion knocked a neighboring house off its foundation. Unfortunately, currently law does not provide an adequate means of addressing these butane related explosions. If a person manufacturing honey oil using butane causes an explosion, but that same explosion does not cause fire damage to the structure, the only remedy available to law enforcement is to charge vandalism. This is hardly an appropriate charge for such a dangerous act. AB 849 remedies this situation by ensuring that all honey oil related butane explosions can be charged to appropriately reflect their gravity."
   
   

2. Background: According to background materials supplied by the author, the law as it currently exists holds a defendant liable for a drug lab that catches fire but not a drug lab that explodes. This yields an inconsistent result where much more dangerous explosions that cause significant damage (to persons and property) are going unpunished or are being treated as vandalism.

The increasing popularity of Butane Honey Oil (BHO), which is a form of concentrated cannabis, and the large profits that can be made from its manufacture, has resulted in a significant public safety issue from the damage caused when BHO labs explode. BHO is manufactured through a chemical extraction process in which the THC from unused parts of a marijuana plant is extracted by using butane. Butane is highly combustible and in the “off gassing” stage of the BHO manufacturing process, often explodes when a careless manufacturer ignites a spark or flame. Because butane gas is odorless and colorless it can build up in a home or apartment without the occupants or neighbors being aware of the danger.

In Los Angeles County, there have been 32 BHO explosions in the last two years. In the majority of these cases, the exploding butane gas ignites and there is significant structural damage caused by the resulting fire. When this occurs, the district attorney normally files a charge of violating California Penal Code section 452(b) (recklessly causing a fire). The elements of California Penal Code section 452(b) require there to be a fire and damage to a structure, and the damage must be the result of the fire. Although most of the labs that explode do result in a fire, a problematic scenario has arisen when either the damage from the fire was to personal property or the damage to the structure was caused by the explosion and not the fire.

Both problems lead to the same result- insufficient evidence for California Penal Code section 452(b) as currently written. As currently written, California Penal Code section 452(b) requires damage to a structure caused by a fire. Damage to a structure caused by an explosion does not qualify. This is an inconsistent result. This is an arbitrary distinction that leaves district attorneys with the only option of filing California Penal Code section 594(a) – vandalism -- to reflect the damage done and the loss to the property owner, but it does not adequately represent the risks taken by the defendant and the scope of the harm he or she has done. If the harm is done to the perpetrator’s own property, vandalism cannot be charged either as one cannot vandalize his or her own property.

In People v. Ellebracht, the explosion caused significant damage, but the fire (which was put out quickly by a neighbor) did not cause any damage to the structure. All of the structural damage was caused by the explosion. In this case, the defendant was making Butane Honey Oil in apartment he was living in. He was not the renter or the owner of the property. He placed the mixture into the freezer to cool it down. The freezer door blew off. The explosion caused two glass sliding doors to break. There was no damage to the structure from fire specifically, however, the overall impact of the defendant’s actions were significant.

In People v. Jones, the fire damaged the defendant’s personal property only. The damage to the structure was caused by the explosion. In this case, the defendant was making Butane Honey Oil in mass quantities throughout the three bedroom house. The explosion occurred in the garage where it resulted in the melting of plastic on the cases of butane (defendant’s property) and the bowing out of the garage door by three feet. Glass panels of the door shattered. There was no damage to the structure from fire specifically, however, the overall impact of the defendant’s actions were significant.

3. Argument in Support: The California Professional Firefighters state, "AB 849 provides that defendants be held liable for damage caused when a drug lab explodes, whether it is caused by a resulting fire or the explosion itself. This bill insures that butane hash oil lab explosions are addressed in the same manner as other drug lab explosions.
   
   "Drug labs provide serious, inherent risks on a myriad of fronts, particularly the high risk for explosion and hazardous material release. Such risks compromise the health and safety of neighbors, as well as the health and safety of our members who are the first to respond to an emergency situation involving such labs. This bill provides our states communities with an effective means of holding a responsible party accountable for the damage to properties and personal belongings resulting from explosions of this kind.
   
   
   
   
   

4. Argument in Opposition: The California Public Defenders Association submitted an opposition letter correctly pointed out that the bill as introduced penalized "causing an explosion" and did not require that any damage result. Also, the sections amended, in the introduced bill, were not amended in such a way as to require that the prohibited explosion cause damage to property, structure or lands. The bill is now being heard as proposed to be amended in Committee, and will be amended in Committee to address the stated concerns of Public Defenders Association. The bill as proposed to be amended requires that an explosion that occurs in the course of butane hash oil extraction results in great bodily injury or damage to structures, property or forest land.
   
   
   

5. Related Legislation:
   
   
   

   1. AB 772 (Baker) prohibited any person from purchasing more than 400 milliliters of butane in a calendar month. AB 772 was removed from this Committee's hearing agenda at the request of the author.
      
      
      

   2. SB 305 (Bates) expands several enhancements related to the manufacture of a controlled substance and the possession of specified precursor chemicals in a structure where a child under 16 years of age is present. SB 305 is pending hearing in the Senate Public Safety Committee.
      
      
      

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Los Angeles

County District Attorney's Office (Sponsor)
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs Association
Association of Deputy District Attorneys
California Association of Code Enforcement Officers
California College and University Police Chiefs Association
California Correctional Supervisors Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
California Narcotics Officers' Association
California Professional Firefighters
California State Lodge Fraternal Order of Police
California State Firefighters Association
Central Coast Forest Association
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Association
Long Beach Police Officers Association
Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs' Association
Santa Ana Police Officers Association

Opposition

California Public Defenders Association

Analysis Prepared by:

Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744