CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

99

Introduced by Assembly Members Hadwick and Sanchez

January 23, 2025

An act to amend Section 451.1 of the Penal Code, relating to crimes.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: yes

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law requires that a person who is convicted of felony arson, in addition to the term of imprisonment for the felony, be punished by a 3-, 4-, or 5-year enhancement if one or more of any specified circumstances is found to be true, including that the defendant caused multiple structures to burn in a single violation.

This bill would additionally authorize the 3-, 4-, or 5-year enhancement for a person who proximately causes 500 or more acres of forest land to burn. By expanding the scope of the enhancement, 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 451.1 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

451.1.

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, any person who is convicted of a felony violation of Section 451 shall be punished by a three-, four-, or five-year enhancement if one or more of the following circumstances is found to be true:

(1) The defendant has been previously convicted of a felony violation of Section 451 or 452.

(2) A firefighter, peace officer, or other emergency personnel suffered great bodily injury as a result of the offense. The additional term provided by this subdivision shall be imposed whenever applicable, including any instance in which when there is a violation of subdivision (a) of Section 451.

(3) The defendant proximately caused great bodily injury to more than one victim in any single violation of Section 451. The additional term provided by this subdivision shall be imposed whenever applicable, including any instance in which when there is a violation of subdivision (a) of Section 451.

(4) The defendant proximately caused multiple structures to burn in any a single violation of Section 451.

(5) The defendant committed arson as described in subdivision (a), (b), or (c) of Section 451 and the arson was caused by use of a device designed to accelerate the fire or delay ignition.

(b) The additional term specified in subdivision (a) shall not be imposed unless the existence of any fact required under this section shall be is alleged in the accusatory pleading and either admitted by the defendant in open court or found to be true by the trier of fact.

SEC. 2.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.