Crimes: intoxication and firearms.
Summary
Existing law imposes various sentence enhancements, consisting of additional and consecutive terms of imprisonment, including, among others, enhancements for being armed with a firearm during the commission of a felony. Existing law makes it a crime for a person to be unlawfully under the influence of cocaine, cocaine base, heroin, methamphetamine, or phencyclidine while in the immediate personal possession of a loaded, operable firearm, punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year or in the state prison for a first conviction, or in the state prison for 2, 3, or 4 years for a 2nd or subsequent conviction. This bill would create an enhancement for any person who, while armed with a firearm in the commission or attempted commission of a felony, is under the influence of a controlled substance they are prohibited from possessing, as specified. The bill would make this enhancement punishable by an additional year of imprisonment in the county jail. The bill would also authorize a search warrant to be issued when a sample of the blood of a person constitutes evidence that tends to show a violation of this enhancement, and the sample will be drawn from the person in a reasonable, medically approved manner. By creating a new 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.
Bill status
failed
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Jan 29, 2025
Last action Feb 2, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons
What changed between versions
01/05/26 - Amended Assembly
→
AB256
·
1 edit
MINOR
The changes between these two versions of AB 256 are entirely technical and formatting-related. The bill text was reformatted from a traditional legislative document layout (with line numbers and page headers/footers) to a web-based presentation format that includes website navigation elements, search functionality, and UI components. No substantive legal provisions were added, removed, or modified.
TECHNICAL
The bill text was reformatted from a traditional legislative document layout with line numbers and page headers/footers into a web-based presentation format that includes website navigation menus (home, accessibility, FAQ, feedback, sitemap, login), search boxes, and other interface elements. The underlying legal text of the bill remains substantively identical.
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
9
Key actions
3
Committee
5
Amendments
1
Feb 2, 2026
Lower · Passed
From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
lower
Jan 13, 2026
Lower · Passed
In committee: Set, first hearing. Failed passage.
lower
Jan 6, 2026
Committee
Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
lower
Jan 5, 2026
Introduced
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended.
lower
Jan 5, 2026
Committee
Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
lower
Jan 29, 2025
Introduced
Introduced measure version corrected.
lower
Jan 17, 2025
Lower · Passed
From printer. May be heard in committee February 16.
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Carl DeMaio
RRepublican
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