California Penal Code

§ 451.5

PEN § 451.5 Effective Jan 1, 2026Title 13 · Part 1 · Ch. 1

Statute text

(a)A person who willfully, maliciously, deliberately, with premeditation, and with intent to cause injury to one or more persons, or to cause damage to property under circumstances likely to produce injury to one or more persons, or to cause damage to one or more structures or inhabited dwellings, sets fire to, burns, or causes to be burned, or aids, counsels, or procures the burning of any residence, structure, forest land, or property, is guilty of aggravated arson if one or more of the following aggravating factors exists:

(1)The defendant has been previously convicted of arson on one or more occasions within the past 10 years.

(2)(A) The fire caused property damage and other losses in excess of ten million one hundred thousand dollars ($10,100,000), exclusive of damage to, or destruction of, inhabited dwellings.

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Legislative history

Amended (as amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 706, Sec. 1) by Stats. 2025, Ch. 545, Sec. 1. (SB 571) Effective January 1, 2026. Repealed as of January 1, 2029, by its own provisions. See later operative version, as amended by Sec. 2 of Stats. 2023, Ch. 706.