BILL NUMBER: AB 807	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  AUGUST 17, 2009
	AMENDED IN SENATE  JULY 9, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 1, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Fuentes

                        FEBRUARY 26, 2009

   An act to amend Sections 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 direct 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   June 30, 2011  , to
reopen and operate 2 restitution centers.  The bill would provide
that this requirement shall not become operative if certain 
 reforms are implemented, as specified. 
   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 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  
previous  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
  of  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. 
   (h) It is the intent of the Legislature that defendants eligible
for placement in a restitution center be placed as expeditiously as
possible. To that end, the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation shall work in concert with other agencies, such as
county sheriff and public defender offices, to share information in
order to make screening, classification, and placement more
expeditious. The Legislature further intends that, in implementing
this measure, the department draw upon successful pilot programs,
such as the pilot program implemented pursuant to Senate Bill 618 of
the 2005-06 Regular Session (Ch. 603, Stats. 2005). 
  SEC. 2.  Section 6220 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   6220.   (a)    The Secretary of the Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation may establish and operate
facilities to be known as restitution centers.  The 

    (b)     The  secretary shall establish
and operate two restitution centers in Los Angeles County no later
than  the 2010-11 fiscal year   June 30, 2011.
However, the requirement to establish and operate two restitution
centers in Los Angeles County shall not become operative if the
prison reforms proposed by the Governor as part of the 2009 budget
revision are passed by the Legislature and put into effect and, as a
result, the secretary determines that there is an insufficient
population of inmates eligible for restitution center placement 
.
  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 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 or 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. 
Defendants sentenced to a restitution center shall be sent directly
to the restitution center.   The department may send a
defendant to a reception center for classification prior to placing
the defendant in the restitution center. 
   (b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), inmates who commit crimes
involving direct victims shall receive priority placement in
restitution centers.
  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.