Does the fact of a defendant's prior conviction of carrying a loaded firearm in public constitute a sentencing factor that renders his conviction a felony?

The fact of a defendant's prior conviction of a felony constitutes a sentencing factor that renders a conviction of carrying a loaded firearm in public a felony. It is not an element of the offense. (People v. Hall (1998) 67 Cal.App.4th 128, 134-135.) While it was probably error for the trial court to have added the additional element when instructing the jury on count 1, it was clearly harmless. The evidence of defendant's prior felony conviction was relevant to count 2 and, in any event, defendant stipulated to having previously being convicted of a felony. (Id. at p. 135.)