AB336 - Criminal penalties: wildfires.

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 336 Introduced by Assembly Member Wallis (Coauthors: Assembly Members Chen, Dixon, Essayli, Gallagher, Jeff Gonzalez, Hoover, Macedo, Patterson, Sanchez, and Ta) January 28, 2025 An act to amend Section 452 of the Penal Code, relating to wildfires. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 336, as introduced, Wallis. Criminal penalties: wildfires. Existing law prohibits unlawfully causing a fire by recklessly setting fire to, burning, or causing to be burned, any structure, forest land, or property. A violation of this prohibition that causes great bodily injury, that causes an inhabited structure or property to burn, or that causes a fire of a structure or forest land is punishable either as a felony or a misdemeanor. This bill would make the above-described violations punishable only as a felony including a fine not to exceed $10,000. By increasing the punishment of a crime, 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. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 452 of the Penal Code is amended to read: 452. A person is guilty of unlawfully causing a fire when they recklessly set fire to, burn, or cause to be burned any structure, forest land, or property. (a) 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. and by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000). (b) 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. and by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000). (c) 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. and by a fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000). (d) Unlawfully causing a fire of property is a misdemeanor. For purposes of this paragraph, unlawfully causing a fire of property does not include one burning or causing to be burned their own personal property unless there is injury to another person or to another person’s structure, forest land, or property. (e) In the case of any person convicted of violating this section while confined in a state prison, prison road camp, prison forestry camp, or other prison camp or prison farm, or while confined in a county jail while serving a term of imprisonment for a felony or misdemeanor conviction, any sentence imposed shall be consecutive to the sentence for which the person was then confined. (f) For purposes of sentencing for a violation of this section, the fact that the offense was carried out within a merchant’s premises in order to facilitate organized retail theft, as defined in Section 490.4, shall be a factor in aggravation. SEC. 2. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B 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 XIII B of the California Constitution.