What is the test for a defendant to be prosecuted under a general statute?

"It is a firmly established principle where specific conduct is prohibited by a special statute, a defendant cannot be prosecuted under a general statute." (People v. Mayers (1980) 110 Cal.App.3d 809, 813, 168 Cal.Rptr. 252.) "It is the general rule that where the general statute standing alone would include the same matter as the special act, and thus conflict with it, the special act will be considered as an exception to the general statute whether it was passed before or after such general enactment...." (Id. at p. 814, 168 Cal.Rptr. 252, internal quotations omitted.) The fundamental requirement for the application of the rule is a specific statute proscribing the defendant's conduct with a lesser penalty than the general statute. (Mitchell v. Superior Court (1989) 49 Cal.3d 1230, 1250, 265 Cal.Rptr. 144, 783 P.2d 731.)