BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   AB 633|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 633
          Author:   Ammiano (D)
          Amended:  8/17/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE  :  5-0, 6/15/10
          AYES:  Leno, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg, Wright
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Cogdill, Cedillo
           
          SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  7-4, 8/12/10
          AYES:  Kehoe, Alquist, Corbett, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
          NOES:  Ashburn, Emmerson, Walters, Wyland
           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  59-9, 1/27/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Corrections:  classification of inmates and  
          wards

           SOURCE  :     Equality California
                      National Center for Lesbian Rights
                      Transgender Law Center


           DIGEST  :    This bill amends existing law to require the  
          inmate classification and housing assignment procedures of  
          the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to  
          take into account risk factors that can lead to inmates and  
          wards becoming the target of victimization or of being  
          "abusive" toward others, and amend the current relevant  
          factors to be considered in this regard, as specified.   
          This bill provides that inmates and wards at high risk for  
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          victimization may be placed in segregated housing "only as  
          a last resort," as specified.  This bill prohibits CDCR  
          from requiring any inmate or ward to disclose or report  
          his/her sexual orientation or gender identity at any time,  
          as specified.  This bill prohibits CDCR from disciplining  
          or otherwise punishing an inmate or ward for failing to  
          disclose or report his/her sexual orientation or gender  
          identity during all or part of his/her term of commitment.   
          This bill provides that the new requirements not be  
          construed to require or justify expansion or construction  
          of CDCR facilities.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law requires CDCR to classify inmates  
          and wards in order to prevent inmate and ward sexual  
          violence and to promote inmate and ward safety, as  
          specified.  Existing law also requires CDCR to consider  
          specified risk factors when classifying and housing  
          inmates.
           
           This bill makes the following legislative findings and  
          declarations:

          1. The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission has  
             reported that inmates and wards of correctional  
             facilities are at a heightened risk of sexual violence  
             and abuse based on certain risk factors, including  
             having a mental or physical disability, being young,  
             having a slight physical build, having a sexual  
             orientation other than heterosexual, being gender  
             nonconforming, for example, having transgender identity  
             or an intersex condition, not having served a prior term  
             of commitment, having a nonviolent history, having a  
             history of sexual victimization, or having a prior  
             conviction for a sexual offense.

          2. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act  
             to ensure that CDCR recognizes that wards or inmates may  
             be at increased risk based on these factors, and  
             provides vulnerable inmates or wards who are at risk  
             with heightened protection in classification and housing  
             decisions, without automatically subjecting them to  
             highly restrictive or isolated settings or denying them  
             access to programs and services. 








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          This bill amends current law to require CDCR's inmate  
          classification and housing assignment procedures to take  
          into account risk factors that can lead to inmates and  
          wards becoming the target of violence or of being abusive  
          toward others, in place of the term "sexually aggressive,"  
          and amends the current relevant factors to be considered in  
          this regard by CDCR to include the following: 

          1. For assessing inmates or wards in men's or boys'  
             facilities or units for risk of victimization:  mental  
             or physical disability, mental illness, young age,  
             slight physical build, first incarceration in prison,  
             nonviolent offense history, prior convictions for sex  
             offenses, prior victimization, and the inmate's or  
             ward's stated safety concerns and stated sexual  
             orientation and gender nonconformance.

          2. For assessing inmates or wards in men's or boys'  
             facilities or units for risk of being abusive:  prior  
             acts of abuse and prior convictions for violent  
             offenses.

          3. For assessing inmates or wards in women's or girls'  
             facilities or units for risk of victimization:  mental  
             or physical disability, mental illness, prior  
             victimization, and the inmate's or ward's own stated  
             safety concerns.

          4. For assessing inmates or wards in women's or girls'  
             facilities or units for risk of being abusive:  prior  
             acts of sexual abuse. 

          This bill provides:

          1. CDCR shall not require any inmate or ward to disclose or  
             report his/her sexual orientation or gender identity at  
             any time, and a disclosure or report shall not be  
             discredited solely because it was not provided at an  
             earlier point in time. 

          2. CDCR is prohibited from disciplining or otherwise  
             punishing an inmate or ward if the inmate or ward fails  
             to disclose or report his/her sexual orientation or  
             gender identity during all or part of his/her term of  







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             commitment. 

          3. In accordance with CDCR's classification scoring system,  
             the risk factors listed above shall be considered with  
             the goal of keeping separate those inmates and wards at  
             high risk of being victimized from those at high risk of  
             being abusive.  

          This bill states that it shall not be construed to require  
          or justify expansion or construction of CDCR facilities. 
           
          Prior legislation  .  AB 550 (Goldberg), Chapter 303,  
          Statutes of 2005.  AB 382 (Ammiano), which addressed inmate  
          classification to prevent prison rape, passed the Senate on  
          September 3, 2009, with a vote of 24-14, but was vetoed.   
          The Governor's veto message reads:  "This bill would add,  
          among other provisions, the sexual orientation and gender  
          identity of an inmate or ward to the list of risk factors  
          considered as part of the California Department of  
          Corrections and Rehabilitation's (CDCR) inmate and ward  
          classification and housing assignment procedures.  This  
          bill is unnecessary because CDCR already considers these  
          factors when determining where to house inmates."

          AB 633 adds several classification factors that were not  
          included in AB 382.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

             Major Provisions                2010-11     2011-12     
             2012-13               Fund  

            New CDCR policies             Minor and absorbable  
            workload            General

           SUPPORT :   (Verified  8/17/10)

          Equality California (co-source)
          National Center for Lesbian Rights (co-source)







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          Transgender Law Center (co-source)
          American Civil Liberties Union
          California Commission on the Status of Women
          California Public Defenders Association
          Inland Counties Stonewall Democrats
          Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
          Service Employees International Union
          Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  8/17/10)

          California Correctional Supervisors Organization

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author:

            "Existing law (Section 2636 of the Penal Code) requires  
            the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to  
            classify inmates and wards in order to prevent inmate and  
            ward sexual violence and to promote inmate and ward  
            safety.  Existing law also requires the department to  
            consider specified risk factors when classifying and  
            housing inmates.

            "The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission has  
            reported that inmates and wards of correctional  
            facilities are at a heightened risk of sexual violence  
            and abuse based on certain risk factors, including having  
            a mental or physical disability, being young, having a  
            slight physical build, having a sexual orientation other  
            than heterosexual, being gender nonconforming, for  
            example, having transgender identity or an intersex  
            condition, not having served a prior term of commitment,  
            having a nonviolent history, having a history of sexual  
            victimization, or having a prior conviction for a sexual  
            offense.

            "This bill would ensure that the Department of  
            Corrections and Rehabilitation recognizes that wards or  
            inmates may be at increased risk based on these factors,  
            and provides vulnerable inmates or wards who are at risk  
            with heightened protection in classification and housing  
            decisions, without automatically subjecting them to  
            highly restrictive or isolated settings or denying them  
            access to programs and services.







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          6


            "The bill would also prohibit the department from  
            requiring an inmate or ward to disclose or report his or  
            her sexual orientation or gender identity and from  
            disciplining or punishing an inmate or ward for failing  
            to disclose or report his or her sexual orientation or  
            gender identity."

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    The California Correctional  
          Supervisors Organization "opposes AB 633 as amended, which  
          would require the Department of Corrections and  
          Rehabilitation to take into consideration the sexual  
          identity or orientation when classifying an inmate or ward.  
           Under current CDCR policies all such factors are currently  
          considered when classifying inmates or wards.  This measure  
          while scaled down from its introduction continues to raise  
          concerns with our membership and thus our opposition  
          remains."


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Arambula, Beall, Blakeslee, Block,  
            Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero,  
            Charles Calderon, Chesbro, Conway, Coto, Davis, De La  
            Torre, DeVore, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,  
            Fuentes, Furutani, Galgiani, Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey,  
            Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries,  
            Jones, Lieu, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning,  
            Nava, Nestande, Niello, John A. Perez, Portantino,  
            Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra  
            Strickland, Swanson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines,  
            Yamada
          NOES:  Anderson, Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Fuller,  
            Gaines, Knight, Logue, Nielsen, Silva
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Carter, Cook, De Leon, Emmerson,  
            Garrick, Hall, Miller, V. Manuel Perez, Torlakson, Bass


          RJG:mw  8/17/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

                       SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED








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