BILL NUMBER: AB 2479	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MAY 12, 2014
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 28, 2014

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Bradford

                        FEBRUARY 21, 2014

   An act to amend Section 17 of the Penal Code, relating to
felonies.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2479, as amended, Bradford. Crimes: nonviolent felonies.
   Existing law provides that a crime punishable with death, by
imprisonment in the state prison, or by imprisonment in a county jail
for more than one year is a felony and all other offenses, except
those that are classified as infractions, are misdemeanors. Existing
law further provides that a crime that is punishable, in the
discretion of the court, as a felony or as a misdemeanor is a
misdemeanor under certain circumstances, including when the court
grants a defendant probation without imposing a sentence and, at the
time of granting probation or on application of the defendant or
probation officer thereafter, the court declares the offense to be a
misdemeanor. 
   This bill would require, upon application of a defendant, a felony
offense to be deemed a misdemeanor for all purposes, except as
specified, if the court finds that certain circumstances apply,
including that the defendant was not imprisoned in the state prison
for the offense, the offense for which the defendant was convicted
was not one of several specified controlled substance offenses, and
was not robbery, burglary, or possession of a firearm by a felon or
person addicted to narcotics, the offense does not require
registration as a sex offender, the defendant is not currently
charged with and has not been convicted of an offense in the
preceding 5 years, except as specified, and the defendant presents
clear and convincing evidence that he or she has been rehabilitated.
 
   This bill would require the court, when a defendant has not been
convicted of any new offenses within a period of 5 years following
release from custody, is not currently subject to probation or
mandatory supervision, and upon application by the defendant, to
declare the felony that is the subject of the application to be a
misdemeanor. These provisions would not apply if the felony is a
violent felony, a serious felony, or an offense that requires a
person to register as a sex offender. 
   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 17 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   17.  (a) A felony is a crime that is punishable with death, by
imprisonment in the state prison, or notwithstanding any other
provision of law, by imprisonment in a county jail under the
provisions of subdivision (h) of Section 1170. Every other crime or
public offense is a misdemeanor except those offenses that are
classified as infractions.
   (b) When a crime is punishable, in the discretion of the court,
either by imprisonment in the state prison or imprisonment in a
county jail under the provisions of subdivision (h) of Section 1170,
or by fine or imprisonment in the county jail, it is a misdemeanor
for all purposes under the following circumstances:
   (1) After a judgment imposing a punishment other than imprisonment
in the state prison or imprisonment in a county jail under the
provisions of subdivision (h) of Section 1170.
   (2) When the court, upon committing the defendant to the Division
of Juvenile Justice, designates the offense to be a misdemeanor.
   (3) When the court grants probation to a defendant without
imposition of sentence and at the time of granting probation, or on
application of the defendant or probation officer thereafter, the
court declares the offense to be a misdemeanor.
   (4) When the prosecuting attorney files in a court having
jurisdiction over misdemeanor offenses a complaint specifying that
the offense is a misdemeanor, unless the defendant at the time of his
or her arraignment or plea objects to the offense being made a
misdemeanor, in which event the complaint shall be amended to charge
the felony and the case shall proceed on the felony complaint.
   (5) When, at or before the preliminary examination or prior to
filing an order pursuant to Section 872, the magistrate determines
that the offense is a misdemeanor, in which event the case shall
proceed as if the defendant had been arraigned on a misdemeanor
complaint. 
   (6) When a defendant has not been convicted of any new offenses
within a period of five years following release from custody and is
not currently subject to probation or mandatory supervision pursuant
to subdivision (h) of Section 1170, on application of the defendant,
the court shall declare the offense to be a misdemeanor. This
paragraph does not apply to violent felonies listed in Section 667.5,
serious felonies listed in Section 1192.7, or offenses that require
a person to register as a sex offender pursuant to Section 290. 

   (c) When a defendant is committed to the Division of Juvenile
Justice for a crime punishable, in the discretion of the court,
either by imprisonment in the state prison or imprisonment in a
county jail under the provisions of subdivision (h) of Section 1170,
or by fine or imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year,
the offense shall, upon the discharge of the defendant from the
Division of Juvenile Justice, thereafter be deemed a misdemeanor for
all purposes. 
   (d) (1) When a defendant is convicted of a felony offense, the
offense shall, on application of the defendant, thereafter be deemed
a misdemeanor for all purposes, except as specified in paragraph (2),
if the court finds that all of the following circumstances apply:
 
   (A) The defendant was not imprisoned in the state prison for the
offense.  
   (B) The offense for which the defendant was convicted is not a
violation of subdivision (a) of Section 11350, or Section 11351,
11351.5, 11358, 11359, or 11360 of the Health and Safety Code, or a
violation of Section 211, 459, or 29800 of this code. 

   (C) The offense for which the defendant was convicted does not
require him or her to register as a sex offender pursuant to Chapter
5.5 (commencing with Section 290) of Title 9 of Part 1. 

   (D) The defendant is not currently charged with the commission of
any offense, and has not been convicted of an offense in the
preceding five years, except the offense to be deemed a misdemeanor
pursuant to this subdivision, a misdemeanor that does not involve
moral turpitude, a misdemeanor driving offense, or an infraction.
 
   (E) The defendant presents clear and convincing evidence that he
or she has been rehabilitated.  
   (2) The reduction of a conviction from a felony to a misdemeanor
pursuant to this subdivision shall not prohibit its use as a prior
felony conviction in any future criminal proceeding against the
defendant, including, but not limited to, a sentencing hearing.
 
   (e) 
    (d)  A violation of any code section listed in Section
19.8 is an infraction subject to the procedures described in Sections
19.6 and 19.7 when:
   (1) The prosecutor files a complaint charging the offense as an
infraction unless the defendant, at the time he or she is arraigned,
after being informed of his or her rights, elects to have the case
proceed as a misdemeanor, or;
   (2) The court, with the consent of the defendant, determines that
the offense is an infraction in which event the case shall proceed as
if the defendant had been arraigned on an infraction complaint.

   (f) 
    (e)  Nothing in this section authorizes a judge to
relieve a defendant of the duty to register as a sex offender
pursuant to Section 290 if the defendant is charged with an offense
for which registration as a sex offender is required pursuant to
Section 290, and for which the trier of fact has found the defendant
guilty.