BILL ANALYSIS AB 807 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 807 (Fuentes) As Introduced June 1, 2009 Majority vote PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 13-0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Ayes:|Solorio, Hagman, |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles | | |Furutani, Gilmore, Hill, | |Calderon, Davis, Fuentes, | | |Ma, Skinner | |Hall, John A. Perez, | | | | |Price, Skinner, Solorio, | | | | |Audra Strickland, | | | | |Torlakson, Krekorian | ------------------------------------------------------------------ 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 direct victims 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; or, c) For a serious felony, as defined; or, d) For a violent felony, as defined; or, e) The defendant did not receive a sentence of more than 60 months for the current offense or offenses; and, AB 807 Page 2 f) The defendant presents no unacceptable risk to the community and the defendant is employable. 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. 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; and, f) Being employed is a key factor ensuring a lower recidivism rate and thus reducing taxpayer burdens. 6)States that the CDCR Secretary may establish and operate facilities, known as "restitution centers". Requires the Secretary to operate the Los Angeles County Central AB 807 Page 3 Restitution Center and the Los Angles County La Cienaga Restitution Center. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, no immediate practical effect as CDCR closed down its two restitution centers - which had a combined 110 beds, but 36 vacancies - last November to avoid what CDCR claimed were unnecessary costs. This bill does not require CDCR to take any immediate action, other than revising inmate eligibility. When CDCR reopens a restitution center, this bill should make it somewhat easier to fill more beds, and therefore result in moderate and ongoing per capita General Fund savings. COMMENTS : According to the author, "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%." Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this bill. Analysis Prepared by : Kathleen Ragan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0001280