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. AB 807 Page 2 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 AB 807 Page 3 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 AB 807 Page 4 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 AB 807 Page 5 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 AB 807 Page 6 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 AB 807 Page 7 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