BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1369|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1369
          Author:   Davis (D)
          Amended:  8/2/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 7/7/09
          AYES:  Leno, Benoit, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,  
            Wright

           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE  :  5-1, 6/29/10
          AYES:  Leno, Cedillo, Hancock, Steinberg, Wright
          NOES:  Cogdill
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Huff
           
          SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  79-0, 5/26/09 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Electronic monitoring on home detention:   
          inmates held in 
                      jail in lieu of bail

           SOURCE  :     Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department


           DIGEST :    This bill enacts home detention programs for  
          qualified persons held in county jail in lieu of bail, as  
          specified.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law provides that the board of  
          supervisors of any county may authorize the correctional  
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          administrator to offer a program under which minimum  
          security inmates and low-risk offenders committed to a  
          county jail or other county correctional facility or  
          granted probation, or inmates participating in a work  
          furlough program, may voluntarily participate in a home  
          detention program.  Existing law also provides that the  
          board of supervisors of any county may, upon determination  
          by the correctional administrator that conditions in a jail  
          facility warrant the necessity of releasing sentenced  
          misdemeanor inmates prior to them serving the full amount  
          of a given sentence due to lack of jail space, offer a  
          program under which specified inmates may be required to  
          participate in an involuntary home detention program.

          This bill provides that, until January 1, 2015, upon  
          determination of the correctional administrator that  
          conditions in a jail facility warrant the necessity of  
          releasing inmates being held in lieu of bail, the board of  
          supervisors of any county may authorize the correctional  
          administrator to offer a program under which these inmates  
          may be placed in an electronic monitoring program, as  
          specified.  This bill provides separate authority for  
          voluntary and involuntary electronic monitoring programs.   
          This bill establishes criteria for inmates to be eligible  
          for programs established pursuant to its provisions and  
          specifies circumstances under which inmates may be placed  
          in these programs.  This bill also provides that defendants  
          arrested for a bailable offense who are without any other  
          warrant and who meet certain criteria may apply, after 10  
          court days from the date of arraignment, for release on  
          reduced bail if the defendant agrees to be placed in the  
          voluntary electronic monitoring program and the court and  
          correctional administrator determine that the defendant is  
          eligible to participate in the electronic monitoring  
          program.  This bill makes it a misdemeanor for any inmate  
          who is a participant in an electronic monitoring program to  
          fail to comply with the prescribed rules and regulations.   
          This bill specifies, for persons pending disposition of  
          charges, that electronic monitoring programs authorized  
          pursuant to this bill include, but are not limited to, home  
          detention programs, work furlough programs, and work  
          release programs.  This bill makes other conforming  
          changes.








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          Existing law provides for an administrative fee for  
          specified work furlough and voluntary electronic home  
          detention program participants.

          This bill includes participants in the voluntary electronic  
          monitoring program for persons pending disposition of  
          charges, and the existing voluntary home detention program,  
          within the coverage of those administrative fee provisions,  
          as specified.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  8/3/10)

          Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (source)
          California Bail Agents Association (as proposed to be  
          amended)
          Crime Victims United of California
          Golden State Bail Agents Association (as proposed to be  
          amended)
          Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The author states:

            "Based on the lack of space in the county jail system, a  
            Federal Court has placed a mandatory cap on the number of  
            inmates in the system (  Rutherford v. Block  ).  To adhere  
            to the cap, the Sheriff's Department has reduced the  
            percentage of time served by inmates committed to county  
            jail.  The Sheriff [sic] Department offered the voluntary  
            electronic monitoring program and in 2007 ran Senate Bill  
            959 (Romero and Runner) to create an involuntary home  
            detention electronic monitoring program, which has been  
            very successful.  Approximately 1500 inmates are  
            currently on some form of Home Electronic Monitoring, up  
            from 437 in 2007.  Prior to SB 959, inmates were spending  
            an average of 10% of their sentence in jail before being  
            released early due to overcrowding.  Now, male inmates  
            are doing approximately 75% of their sentence. 

            "Existing law provides that the county board of  
            supervisors of any county may offer a program under which  







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            specified inmates may be required to participate in an  
            involuntary home detention program upon determination by  
            the correctional administrator that conditions in a jail  
            facility warrant the necessity of releasing sentenced  
            misdemeanor inmates prior to them serving the full amount  
            of a given sentence due to lack of jail space.  Existing  
            law also provides specified punishments for the escape or  
            attempted escape from various confinements, including the  
            place of confinement pursuant to a voluntary home  
            detention program.

            "To confront the lack of space in California's County  
            Jail System, AB 1369 would do two things.  First it will  
            allow the Sheriff (correctional administrator) to place  
            on electronic home detention those inmates sentenced to  
            low level felonies to be allowed to be placed on home  
            electronic monitoring, if found eligible pursuant to  
            current law."


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill  
            Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,  
            Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,  
            Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,  
            DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,  
            Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,  
            Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,  
            Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,  
            Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,  
            Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel  
            Perez, Portantino, Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,  
            Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,  
            Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Garrick


          RJG:mw  8/3/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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