Bill Text: CA AB2492 | 2013-2014 | Regular Session | Amended

California Assembly Bill 2492 (Prior Session Legislation)

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Controlled substances: sentencing.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-09-29 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 819, Statutes of 2014. [AB2492 Detail]

Download: California-2013-AB2492-Amended.html

BILL NUMBER: AB 2492	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 28, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Jones-Sawyer

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

    An act to amend Section 54956.8 of the Government Code,
relating to local government.   An act to amend Section
11550 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to controlled
substances. 



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2492, as amended, Jones-Sawyer.  Local agencies:
meetings: real property transactions.   Controlled
substances: sentencing.  
   Existing law prohibits a person from using or being under the
influence of certain controlled substances, except as specified. A
person convicted of violating this prohibition is guilty of a
misdemeanor and the court is required to sentence the person to not
less than 90 days or more than one year in a county jail. The court
is authorized to place a person convicted under this provision on
probation for not more than 5 years, and the court is required, as a
condition of granting probation, to order the person to serve at
least 90 days in a county jail. The court is prohibited, except with
regards to specified drug treatment provisions, from absolving a
person convicted under this provision from serving at least 90 days
in a county jail.  
   This bill would delete the requirement that a person convicted
under this provision serve at least 90 days in a county jail, and
would delete the requirement that, as a condition of granting
probation, the person serve at least 90 days in a county jail. The
bill would make additional conforming changes. The bill would also
authorize the court to grant probation for not more than 5 years in
addition to any jail sentence imposed.  
   Existing law, the Ralph M. Brown Act, requires all meetings of the
legislative body of a local agency to be open and public, with
specified exceptions. Existing law authorizes a legislative body of a
local agency, after holding an open and public session as specified,
to hold a closed session with its negotiator prior to the purchase,
sale, exchange, or lease of real property by or for the local agency
to grant authority to its negotiator regarding the price and terms of
payment for the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease. 

   This bill would instead authorize the legislative body to hold a
closed session to grant authority to the negotiator regarding the
price and terms of the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease. 

   Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that
limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the
writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings
demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need
for protecting that interest.  
   This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.

   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

   SECTION 1.    Section 11550 of the   Health
and Safety Code   is amended to read: 
   11550.  (a)   No person   A person 
shall  not  use, or be under the influence of any controlled
substance  which   that  is (1) specified
in subdivision (b), (c), or (e), or paragraph (1) of subdivision (f)
of Section 11054, specified in paragraph (14), (15), (21), (22), or
(23) of subdivision (d) of Section 11054, specified in subdivision
(b) or (c) of Section 11055, or specified in paragraph (1) or (2) of
subdivision (d) or in paragraph (3) of subdivision (e) of Section
11055, or (2) a narcotic drug classified in Schedule III, IV, or V,
except when administered by or under the direction of a person
licensed by the state to dispense, prescribe, or administer
controlled substances. It shall be the burden of the defense to show
that it comes within the exception.  Any   A
 person convicted of violating this subdivision is guilty of a
misdemeanor and shall be sentenced to serve a term of not 
less than 90 days or  more than one year in a county jail.
The court may  also  place a person convicted under this
subdivision on probation for a period not to exceed five 
years and, except as provided in subdivision (c), shall in all cases
in which probation is granted require, as a condition thereof, that
the person be confined in a county jail for at least 90 days. Other
than as provided by subdivision (c), in no event shall the court have
the power to absolve a person who violates this subdivision from the
obligation of spending at least 90 days in confinement in a county
jail.   years. 
   (b)   Any   (1)     A 
person who  (1)  is convicted of violating
subdivision (a) when the offense occurred within seven years of that
person being convicted of two or more separate violations of that
subdivision, and  (2)  refuses to complete a
licensed drug rehabilitation program offered by the court pursuant to
subdivision (c), shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail
for not less than 180 days nor more than one year. In no event does
the court have the power to absolve a person convicted of a violation
of subdivision (a)  that   who  is
punishable under this subdivision from the obligation of spending at
least 180 days in confinement in a county jail unless there are no
licensed drug rehabilitation programs reasonably available. 
   For 
    (2)     For  the purpose of this
section, a drug rehabilitation program  shall not be
considered   is not  reasonably available unless
the person is  not required to pay  no 
more than the court determines that he or she is reasonably able to
 pay,   pay  in order to participate in the
program.
   (c)   (1)    The court may, when it would be in
the interest of justice, permit  any  a 
person convicted of a violation of subdivision (a) punishable under
subdivision (a) or (b) to complete a licensed drug rehabilitation
program in lieu of part or all of the imprisonment in  the
  a  county jail. As a condition of sentencing, the
court may require the offender to pay all or a portion of the drug
rehabilitation program. 
   In 
    (2)     In  order to alleviate jail
overcrowding and to provide recidivist offenders with a reasonable
opportunity to seek rehabilitation pursuant to this subdivision,
counties are encouraged to include provisions to augment licensed
drug rehabilitation programs in their substance abuse proposals and
applications submitted to the state for federal and state drug abuse
funds.
   (d)  In addition to any fine assessed under this section, the
judge may assess a fine not to exceed seventy dollars ($70) against
 any   a  person who violates this section,
with the proceeds of this fine to be used in accordance with Section
1463.23 of the Penal Code. The court shall, however, take into
consideration the defendant's ability to pay, and  no
  a  defendant shall  not  be denied
probation because of his or her inability to pay the fine permitted
under this subdivision.
   (e)   (1)    Notwithstanding subdivisions (a)
and (b) or any other  provision of  law, 
any   a  person who is unlawfully under the
influence of cocaine, cocaine base, heroin, methamphetamine, or
phencyclidine while in the immediate personal possession of a loaded,
operable firearm is guilty of a public offense punishable by
imprisonment in a county jail for not exceeding one year or in state
prison. 
   As 
    (2)     As  used in this subdivision
"immediate personal possession" includes, but is not limited to, the
interior passenger compartment of a motor vehicle.
   (f)  Every person who violates subdivision (e) is punishable upon
the second and each subsequent conviction by imprisonment in the
state prison for two, three, or four years.
   (g)   Nothing in this section prevents   This
section does not prevent  deferred entry of judgment or a
defendant's participation in a preguilty plea drug court program
under Chapter 2.5 (commencing with Section 1000) of Title 6 of Part 2
of the Penal Code unless the person is charged with violating
subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 243 of the Penal Code. A person
charged with violating this section by being under the influence of
any controlled substance which is specified in paragraph (21), (22),
or (23) of subdivision (d) of Section 11054 or in paragraph (3) of
subdivision (e) of Section 11055 and with violating either
subdivision (b) or (c) of Section 243 of the Penal Code or with a
violation of subdivision (e) shall be ineligible for deferred entry
of judgment or a preguilty plea drug court program. 
  SECTION 1.    Section 54956.8 of the Government
Code is amended to read:
   54956.8.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, a
legislative body of a local agency may hold a closed session with its
negotiator prior to the purchase, sale, exchange, or lease of real
property by or for the local agency to grant authority to its
negotiator regarding the price and terms for the purchase, sale,
exchange, or lease.
   However, prior to the closed session, the legislative body of the
local agency shall hold an open and public session in which it
identifies its negotiators, the real property or real properties
which the negotiations may concern, and the person or persons with
whom its negotiators may negotiate.
   For purposes of this section, negotiators may be members of the
legislative body of the local agency.
   For purposes of this section, "lease" includes renewal or
renegotiation of a lease.
   Nothing in this section shall preclude a local agency from holding
a closed session for discussions regarding eminent domain
proceedings pursuant to Section 54956.9.  
  SEC. 2.    The Legislature finds and declares that
Section 1 of this act, which amends Section 54956.8 of the
Government Code, imposes a limitation on the public's right of access
to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials
and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the
California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision,
the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the
interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting
that interest:
   Local agencies increasingly are entering into more sophisticated
and complex real estate transactions requiring the negotiation of
nonmonetary terms outside the scope of the "price and terms of
payment" that constitute valuable consideration. A local agency must
be authorized to consider all of the terms of a real estate
transaction in closed session in order to preserve its negotiating
position so as to strike the best bargain in the public interest.