BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 807
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 14, 2009
          Consultant:       Larry Yee


                         ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
                                 Jose Solorio, Chair

                AB 807 (Fuentes) - As Introduced:   February 26, 2009
           
           
           SUMMARY  :   Revises the criteria for placement by the California  
          Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) in a  
          restitution center.  Specifically,  this bill  : 

          1)Revises what is included by the term "restitution" for the  
            purposes of restitution centers to include direct restitution  
            to victims as well as other restitution fines and fees.

          2)Provides that inmates who commit crimes involving a direct  
            victim shall receive priority placement in restitution  
            centers. 

          3)Provides that a defendant is eligible for placement in a  
            restitution center if he or she does not have a criminal  
            conviction for:

             a)   The sale of drugs within the last five years; or, 

             b)   For an offense requiring registration as a sex offender  
               pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act, Penal Code  
               Section 290; or, 

             c)   For a serious felony as listed in Penal Code Section  
               1192.7; or, 

             d)   For a violent felony as listed in Penal Code Section  
               667.5, and,

             e)   The defendant did not receive a sentence of more than 60  
               months for the current offense or offenses.

          4)Removes the requirement that a defendant is only eligible for  
            placement in a restitution center if he or she has not served  
            a prison term within the five years prior to the present  
            conviction.  








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          5)States findings and declarations pertaining to restitution  
            centers and inmates that:

             a)   Of the 125,000 inmates annually released from California  
               prisons, more than one-half will return to prison within  
               two years and more than 70% will return within three years.

             b)   Incarceration costs have risen to $46,000 per inmate per  
               year, not including the costs of programming for substance  
               abuse, mental health, or educational and vocational  
               training.

             c)   The vast majority of California prisons inmates do not  
               participate in any prison programs. The majority of  
               released inmates will be unemployed with few job prospects.

             d)   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.

             e)   The restitution center concept is a model where inmates  
               serving time for non-violent, non-serious offenses can  
               fulfill obligations to pay restitution and other  
               court-related fines and fees in addition to obtaining and  
               maintaining employment.

             f)   Being employed is a key factor ensuring a lower  
               recidivism rate and thus reducing taxpayer burdens.

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Authorizes the CDCR to establish restitution centers for  
            inmates to provide a means for those sentenced to prison to be  
            able to pay their victims' financial restitution, as  
            specified.  [Penal Code Section 6220 and 6221.]

          2)Provides that a defendant is eligible for placement in a  
            restitution center if he or she:

             a)   Has not served a prison term within the five years prior  








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               to the present conviction;

             b)   Does not have a criminal history of a conviction for the  
               sale of drugs or for a crime involving violence or sex; 

             c)   Did not receive a sentence of more than 36 months;

             d)   Presents no unacceptable risk to the community; and,

             e)   Is employable.  [Penal Code Section 6228.]

          3)Provides that the court may order the CDCR 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.  [Penal Code Section  
            6227.]

          4)Provides that offenders shall perform all the labor necessary  
            to maintain the restitution center and meet the offenders'  
            needs unless the director finds that a particular task can be  
            better performed by other persons.  The director may employ  
            and pay compensation to offenders to perform work at a center.  
             [Penal Code Section 6230(a) to (b).]

          5)Provides that: 

             a)   The offender's wages earned shall be paid directly to  
               the CDCR, less any tax deductions.

             b)   Wages received by the CDCR shall be used to reimburse  
               the offender for direct employment costs, such as  
               transportation, tools, clothing, meals, union dues, and  
               other employee-mandated costs.  Of the remaining wages:

                  i)        One-third goes to the CDCR to pay the costs of  
                    the restitution center.  

                  ii)       One-third first goes to court ordered or  
                    agreed upon restitution, and then the moneys are paid  
                    to the prosecuting jurisdiction to defray court costs  
                    and attorney fees incurred in prosecution, and then  
                    the moneys are paid to the local jurisdiction for  
                    crime prevention.

                  iii)      One-third goes in a savings account for the  








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                    offender, which can be used to provide support for the  
                    offender's immediate family, purchase items necessary  
                    for employment, or given to the offender to purchase  
                    personal accessories.  Upon release, the remaining  
                    money in the savings account is paid to the offender.   
                    [Penal Code Section 6231(a) to (b)(3).]  

          6)Provides that an offender shall not leave a restitution center  
            except to go to work or when specifically authorized and shall  
            return to the restitution center immediately after work or  
            when required by the person in charge of the restitution  
            center. An offender who violates this section is guilty of  
            escape.  [Penal Code Section 6233(a) to (b).]

          7)Establishes the Sex Offender Registration Act, which requires  
            all persons convicted in California, federal, or military  
            court, of specifically enumerated sex crimes to register with  
            the chief of police of the city in which he or she is  
            residing.  [Penal Code Section 290.]

          8)Provides that a "serious felony" includes manslaughter, flight  
            from a peace officer, reckless driving, and driving under the  
            influence, when any of these offenses involve the personal  
            infliction of great bodily injury in any person other than an  
            accomplice, or the personal use of a dangerous or deadly  
            weapon.  [Penal Code Section 1192.7.]

          9)Provides that a "violent felony" includes murder, mayhem,  
            rape, robbery, arson, attempted murder, kidnapping,  
            carjacking, extortion, and more.  [Penal Code Section  
            667.5(c).]

           FISCAL EFFECT :   Unknown

           COMMENTS  :   

           1)Author's Statement  :  According to the author, "California's 33  
            state prisons are bursting at the seams at 200% capacity, and  
            California boasts the highest recidivism rate in the country,  
            at 70%.  On top of that is the looming threat of thousands of  
            inmates being released early, as a result of the prisons  
            system being in receivership.  The overwhelming majority of  
            inmates in state prison do not access meaningful job training  
            or other programming while incarcerated and have no immediate  
            employment prospects upon release, which ensures that they  








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            will be dependent on government aid.  Further, the cost per  
            day of housing a CDCR inmate in a Restitution Center is  
            approximately $50 compared to $97 per day to house in state  
            prison, which saves at least $17,000 per inmate per year.  The  
            Restitution Centers provide an avenue for inmates to be housed  
            in a less costly community setting while still fulfilling  
            their obligations to pay restitution. 

          "AB 807 would expand eligibility to those charged with  
            non-violent, and non-Section 290 registerable offenses facing  
            a maximum five-year sentence.  AB 807 would further clarify  
            that persons who owe restitution fines and fees to the courts  
            are eligible for placement in Restitution Centers, but would  
            prioritize admission to those who owe restitution to  
            individual victims.  The goal of AB 807 is to ensure that bed  
            capacity is always filled at 100%."

           2)Background  :  According to the background submitted by the  
            author, "Citing budget costs, state officials from the  
            California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations  
            abruptly closed both Restitution Centers on Thanksgiving Eve  
            2008 and suspended contracts with the community provider  
            indefinitely, sending all 74 enrolled offenders to prison,  
            without informing their employers. Participation in the  
            Restitution Centers was contingent on obtaining and  
            maintaining full-time employment. 

          "CDCR officials asserted that using current criteria, they were  
            unable to fill all 110 beds, and at time of closing, the two  
            facilities had combined 36 empty beds. For many years, when  
            eligibility for Restitution Centers included those owing  
            restitution fines and fees to the courts, the Restitution  
            Centers were filled to capacity and had lengthy waiting lists.  
            CDCR began to adopt a strict interpretation of restitution and  
            excluded those candidates who did not owe direct restitution  
            to victims but rather owed restitution fines and fees to the  
            court.

          "The Governor has mandated that inmates be sent to community  
            centers in order to reduce the number of individuals sent to  
            prison at the cost of $46,000 per year. Re-opening the  
            Restitution Centers makes smart fiscal sense especially in  
            light of California's dire budget crisis and the lingering  
            threat of the release of thousands of inmates incident to the  
            prison system being in receivership.  The Restitution Center  








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            model is an example of being smart on crime: it is based on  
            employment that pays for restitution as well as the cost of  
            program operating expenses. The Restitution Centers must be  
            reopened so that victims of nonviolent crime continue to  
            receive restitution. AB 807 would prioritize those candidates  
            who owe direct restitution to a victim but would also admit  
            eligible participants who owe restitution fines and fees to  
            the courts to ensure that bed capacity is always filled at 100  
            percent."

           3)Arguments in Support :  According to the  California Public  
            Defenders Association  (the sponsor of this bill), "The  
            Restitution Centers provide an avenue for inmates to be housed  
            in a less costly community setting while still fulfilling  
            their obligations to pay restitution.  The Restitution Center  
            model which is enhanced via AB 807 emphasizes individual  
            accountability, enhances public safety and creates immediate  
            as well as long-term cost savings to California taxpayers.   
            Most importantly, in stark contrast to the 70% recidivism rate  
            of inmates housed in prison, estimates are that only 20% of  
            inmates housed in Restitution Centers recidivate!

          "In the Restitution Center program which emphasizes principles  
            of individual accountability, non-violent state prison inmate  
            participants can obtain and maintain jobs, with the goal of  
            continuity their employment upon release on parole.   
            Additionally, earned wages help to directly fulfill  
            restitution owed to victims.  The payment of restitution  
            assists in making the victims of non-violent crime whole.  AB  
            807 would prioritize those candidates who owe direct  
            restitution to a victim and would next admit eligible  
            participants who owe restitution fines and fees to the courts  
            to ensure that bed capacity is always filled at 100%.

          "Earned wages would also help defray the costs of operating and  
            maintaining the Restitution Centers.  In light of California's  
            dire budget crisis and the fact that California's prisons are  
            bursting at 200% capacity, Restitution Centers make smart  
            fiscal sense.  Participation in a Restitution Center costs  
            produces immediate cost savings by slicing in half the cost of  
            incarcerating an inmate in a California prison.

          "The Restitution Center model enhanced by AB 807 is an example  
            of being smart on crime:  it is based on employment that pays  
            for restitution as well as the cost of program operating  








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            expenses.  These goals are especially important in light of  
            California's current dire financial condition."

           REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

          Support 
           
          California Public Defenders Association (Sponsor)
          California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
          California Peace Officers' Association
          California Police Chiefs Association

           Opposition 
           
          None

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Larry Yee / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744