BILL NUMBER: AB 807	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 1, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Fuentes

                        FEBRUARY 26, 2009

   An act to amend Sections  6221   6220, 6221,
6227,  and 6228 of the Penal Code, relating to restitution
centers.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 807, as amended, Fuentes. Restitution centers.
   Existing law establishes restitution centers for inmates to
provide a means for those sentenced to prison to be able to pay their
victims' financial restitution, as specified.
   This bill would revise what is included by the term "restitution"
for these purposes, and provide that inmates who commit crimes
involving  a  direct  victim  
victims  shall receive priority placement in restitution centers
 , as specified. The bill would require the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, no later than the 2010-   11
  fiscal year, to reopen and operate specified restitution
centers  . 
   Existing law provides that a court may order the department to
place an eligible defendant in a restitution center if the court
makes a restitution order or if a restitution agreement is entered
into by the victims and the defendant.  
   The bill would specify that the court may order the department to
place an eligible defendant in a restitution center if the court
makes an order for a restitution fine.  
   Existing law allows the department to send a defendant to a
reception center for classification prior to placing the defendant in
the restitution center.  
   This bill would remove this discretion of the department and
require that defendants sentenced to a restitution center be sent
directly to the restitution center. 
   Existing law provides criteria for eligibility for placement in a
restitution center, including in part, that a defendant is eligible
for placement in a restitution center if he or she has not served a
prison term within the 5 years prior to the present conviction, does
not have a criminal history of a conviction for the sale of drugs or
for a crime involving violence or sex, and did not receive a sentence
of more than 36 months.
   This bill  revises   would revise  those
criteria to provide, among other criteria, that a defendant is
eligible for placement in a restitution center if he or she does not
have a criminal history of a conviction for the sale of drugs within
the last 5 years, or for an offense requiring registration as a sex
offender, or for a serious or violent felony, and the defendant did
not receive a sentence of more than 60 months for the current offense
or offenses.
   The bill would also state findings and declarations by the
Legislature pertaining to restitution centers and inmates.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares the following:
   (a) Every year, more than 125,000 inmates are released from
California prisons. Of those released, more than half will return to
prison within two years, and more than 70 percent will return within
three years.
   (b) The cost of incarceration alone has risen to a staggering
$46,000 per inmate per year, which does not include the costs of
inmates participating in programming to address substance abuse,
mental health treatment, or educational and vocational training.
   (c) The vast majority of inmates housed in California prisons do
not participate in a single program while incarcerated, and the
majority of inmates will be unemployed at the time of release from
prison, with few, if any, job prospects.
   (d) Successful reentry models combine a continuity of services
before and after release from prison and real incentives to hold
former offenders accountable for using those services.
   (e) The most successful models for preventing recidivism include
public-private partnerships among law enforcement, government
agencies, business and labor associations, private employers, and
community-based organizations formed to create living wage employment
opportunities for eligible former offenders and to take advantage of
existing programs and incentives for hiring former offenders.
   (f) The restitution center concept is a model where inmates
serving time for nonviolent, nonserious offenses can fulfill
obligations to pay restitution and other court related fines and fees
in addition to obtaining and maintaining employment.
   (g) Being employed is a key factor ensuring a lower recidivism
rate and thus reducing taxpayer burdens.
   SEC. 2.    Section 6220 of the   Penal Code
  is amended to read: 
   6220.  The  Director   Secretary  of
 the Department of  Corrections  and Rehabilitation
 may establish and operate facilities to be known as restitution
centers.  The secretary shall operate the Los Angeles County
Central Restitution Center and the Los Angeles County La Cienega
Restitution Center. 
   SEC. 2.   SEC. 3.   Section 6221 of the
Penal Code is amended to read:
   6221.  The purpose of restitution centers is to provide a means
for those sentenced to prison to be able to pay their victims'
financial restitution, which includes direct restitution to victims
as well as other restitution fines and fees, as ordered by the
sentencing court or as agreed upon by the defendant and his or her
victims. Inmates who commit crimes involving a  direct victim
  direct victims  shall receive priority placement
in restitution centers.
   SEC. 4.    Section 6227 of the   Penal Code
  is amended to read: 
   6227.   (a)    The court may order the
Department of Corrections  and Rehabilitation  to place an
eligible defendant in a restitution center if the court makes a
restitution order,  makes an order for a restitution fine
pursuant to Section 1202.4,  or if a restitution agreement is
entered into by the victims and the defendant.  The
Department of Corrections may send a defendant to a reception center
for classification prior to placing the defendant in the restitution
center.   Defendants sentenced to a restitution center
shall be sent directly to the restitution center.  
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), inmates who commit crimes
involving a direct victim shall receive priority placement in
restitution centers. 
   SEC. 3.   SEC. 5.   Section 6228 of the
Penal Code is amended to read:
   6228.  A defendant is eligible for placement in a restitution
center if the defendant does not have a criminal history of a
conviction for the sale of drugs within the last five years or for an
offense requiring registration pursuant to Section 290, or a serious
felony, as listed in Section 1192.7, or a violent felony, as listed
in Section 667.5, the defendant did not receive a sentence of more
than 60 months for the current offense or offenses, the defendant
presents no unacceptable risk to the community, and the defendant is
employable. The provisions of Article 2.5 (commencing with Section
2930) of Chapter 7 of Title 1 of Part 3, are applicable to prisoners
in restitution centers.
   SEC. 6.    The Secretary of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation shall reopen the Los Angeles County
Central Restitution Center and the Los Angeles County La Cienega
Restitution Center no later than the 2010-11 fiscal year.