SB 82

Bill Subjects

Abstract

Existing law, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act, enacted as an initiative statute by Proposition 47, as approved by the electors at the November 4, 2014, statewide general election, requires the theft of money, labor, or property to be considered petty theft, punishable as a misdemeanor by up to 6 months in county jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both, whenever the value of the property taken does not exceed $950 or in other cases that are specifically defined as grand theft. This bill would define the crime of petty theft in the first degree as taking the property from the person of another or from a commercial establishment by means of force or fear without the use of a deadly weapon or great bodily injury. The bill would specifically exclude from the crime of petty theft in the first degree acting in concert with one or more persons to steal merchandise from one or more merchant's premises or online marketplace with the intent to sell, exchange, or return the merchandise for value. The bill would define the crime of petty theft in the 2nd degree as all other petty theft. The bill would impose a penalty of imprisonment in county jail for up to one year, a $1,000 fine, or both, for petty theft in the first degree and would prohibit an act of petty theft from being charged as robbery or burglary. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would provide a means of vacating the sentence of, and resentencing, a currently incarcerated defendant who had been convicted of robbery, who was sentenced under an alternative sentencing scheme based on one or more prior convictions for robbery, or whose sentence includes an enhancement based on one or more prior convictions for robbery and who would not be convicted of robbery based on the changes made in this bill. The bill would also provide a means of vacating the sentence of, and resentencing, a person who had previously served a term of imprisonment for robbery and who would not be convicted of robbery based on the changes made in this bill. By requiring the participation of district attorneys and public defenders in the resentencing process, this 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 with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.