Street gangs.

Existing law provides that any person who actively participates in any criminal street gang with knowledge that the members of the gang engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity, and who willfully promotes, furthers, or assists in any felonious criminal conduct by members of that gang, is guilty of a crime punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not to exceed one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years. This bill would revise and expand the scope of the provision described above to apply to a person who actively participates in a criminal street gang with knowledge that the gang's members or active participants engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity, and who (1) commits, alone or in concert, a felony that is one of the gang's primary activities, as described, (2) aids or abets any felony committed by a member of, or active participant in, that gang, or (3) willfully promotes, furthers, or assists in any felonious criminal conduct by a member of, or an active participant in, that gang. By revising and expanding the scope of a crime, the 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.