BILL ANALYSIS
AB 320
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB 320 (Solorio)
As Amended September 11, 2009
2/3 vote
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |76-1 |(June 2, 2009) |SENATE: |29-2 |(September 11, |
| | | | | |2009) |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|ASSEMBLY: |71-4 |(September 12, | | | |
| | |2009) | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY : Modifies the conditions for the funding of reentry
facilities under the Public Safety and Offender Rehabilitation
Services Act of 2007.
The Senate amendments :
1)State that a county shall be eligible for funding preference
pursuant to this subdivision for providing beds and program
space in county jails for use as reentry facilities for prison
inmates if the following requirements are met:
a) The beds and programs meet specified reentry program
facility requirements of the Penal Code requiring tailored
programs to inmates' interests and risk assessments as
specified.
b) The CDCR develops the collaborative partnership with
local government, local law enforcement, and community
service providers as specified.
AB 320
Page 2
c) The minimum number of beds in county jails to be used as
reentry facilities for prison inmates shall be as follows:
i) Any county with a general population at or above
500,000 shall provide 500 jail beds to be designated and
used exclusively as a reentry facility for prison
inmates.
ii) Any county with a general population below 500,000
shall provide at least as many jail beds to be used as a
reentry facility for prison inmates as there are county
jail beds funded under this chapter to be used for county
jail inmates.
d) Counties may meet the requirements of this paragraph
with existing jail beds, future jail beds to be constructed
with funding made available under this chapter, or a
combination thereof.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill:
1)Required the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(CDCR) and the Corrections Standards Authority (CSA) to give
coequal funding preference to counties that assist the state
in either siting reentry facilities or providing existing beds
and program space in county jails for use as reentry
facilities.
2)Stated that counties interested in providing reentry services
to state inmates would be required to enter into a long-term
agreement with CDCR to provide such services and CDCR would
need to certify that the proposed reentry services meet their
approval.
3)Specified that the amendments made to this section are
AB 320
Page 3
prospective only and not intended to affect any Phase 1 grant
awards that were made prior to the enactment of this measure.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, to the extent a county has jail bed capacity and
enters into a lease with the state for use of those beds as
state reentry beds, this bill would result in increased local
revenue and commensurate state costs, which would be offset by a
reduction in state prison overcrowding.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 320 is a follow-up to AB
900. This bill would create another incentive for counties that
apply or re-apply for AB 900 bond money by granting co-equal
preference to counties that provide reentry services to inmates
in their community by using existing county beds in lieu of
siting a new state reentry facility. Not only would this bill
help more counties receive AB 900 local jail construction
funding, but also this bill will help the state achieve its goal
of providing up to 6,000 new reentry beds. This bill also would
reduce the state's projected costs to operate and maintain new
state reentry facilities. This bill is prospective only and
will not have an impact on any existing awards for county jail
construction bond financing."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE :
This measure would require the CDCR and the CSA, when
providing funds pursuant to AB 900 (Solorio, Chapter
7, Statutes of 2007), to give coequal funding
preference to counties that assist the state in either
siting reentry facilities or providing existing beds
and program space in county jails for use as reentry
facilities. While I appreciate the Legislature's
efforts to provide local jail construction funding,
which could help the state achieve its goal of
providing up to 6,000 new reentry beds, I cannot
approve this measure because it fails to define what
would constitute an acceptable "long-term agreement"
AB 320
Page 4
between the state and local governments.
Furthermore, I am unable to sign this measure while
significant reforms to AB 900 remain unaddressed as a
result of the newly memorialized construction
partnership between the Administration and the Federal
Receiver. In order to fully implement AB 900, I urge
the Legislature, at the very least, to do the
following: (1) provide permissive authority for the
Secretary of the CDCR to accept assignment of any
planning/design/construction contracts already entered
into by the Receiver, and to continue projects
(pursuant to Public Works Board approval) that have
already begun with these contracts; (2) amend AB 900
to provide access to Phase II medical/mental
health/dental funding and/or shifting of funding from
infill to medical/mental health/dental to construct a
Consolidated Care Center facility; and (3) extend
authority for the transfer of inmates to prisons in
other states to July 1, 2014.
The above-stated issues need to be addressed in order
to expedite and facilitate the construction of both
existing facility improvements and new facilities.
Construction of these facilities is essential to
ensure compliance with existing court mandates related
to medical care, mental health care, and dental care.
Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0003359