BILL ANALYSIS Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair 2295 (De La Torre) Hearing Date: 08/12/2010 Amended: 07/15/2010 Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Public Safety 7-0 _________________________________________________________________ ____ BILL SUMMARY: AB 2295 would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to retain all files prepared by the Division of Adult Parole Operations (DAPO) regarding any person who was paroled who is required to register as a sex offender, for 75 years from the date of release. _________________________________________________________________ ____ Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund DAPO file retention $35 $70 $70 General _________________________________________________________________ ____ STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AB 2295 states that CDCR "shall retain all files, including handwritten or typed files" prepared by DAPO regarding any person released on parole who is required to register as a sex offender, for 75 years. This bill requires the physical storage of all files produced, as specified. CDCR will incur additional costs detailed above for the physical storage of all files related to the 9,000 registered sex offenders on parole (to the extent they are still available) and every sex offender paroled in the future. This bill does not indicate that copies, electronic versions of specified information, or any new form of replicating certain critical information from DAPO files would be an acceptable alternative to the specific directive to retain "all files, including handwritten or typed files". CDCR is in the process of developing an electronic based system of records management, known as the Strategic Offender Management System (SOMS), which would (in the absence of this bill) likely address the intended retention requirements of this measure, as scanned copies of all files would be kept electronically on an indefinite basis. The development and implementation of SOMS at the institution level is about three years from completion. Staff recommends that if the author's intention is simply to capture the contents of the files, that the bill be amended to specify that CDCR may store the information in any form, including electronically.