BILL ANALYSIS AB 2295 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 2295 (De La Torre and Fletcher) As Amended August 17, 2010 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(June 2, 2010) |SENATE: |34-0 |(August 18, | | | | | | |2010) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: PUB. S. SUMMARY : Requires 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 has been imprisoned for committing a violent felony or who is required to register as a sex offender. The Senate amendments specify that CDCR: 1)Shall maintain the specified files for 75 years. 2)May maintain electronic copies of the files. EXISTING LAW : 1)Provides that a parolee's parole terminates after the parole has served the entire time of parole, when the parole authority discharges the parolee from parole for good cause, or by operation of law. 2)States that depending on the commitment offense, a parolee must be discharged within 30 days after the end of the first, second or third continuous year on parole if the Board of Parole Hearings does not order retention. 3)Specifies that parole entails supervision and surveillance, including the judicious use of revocation actions, and should also include vocational, family, and personal counseling necessary to assist parolees in the process. 4)States that unless parole is waived by Board of Parole Hearings for good cause, all prisoners must serve a period of parole. AB 2295 Page 2 5)Specifies that nearly all determinately sentenced prisoners are subject to three years of parole. That period can be extended to four years for misconduct that results in parole revocation. 6)States that ordinarily a prisoner is paroled to the county that was his or her last legal residence before incarceration. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill required CDCR to permanently retain all files prepared by DAPO regarding any person who was paroled who has been imprisoned for committing a violent felony or who is required to register as a sex offender. FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Fiscal Impact (in Thousands) Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund DAPO file retention $35 $70 $70 General COMMENTS : According to the author, "[w]e have an obligation to prioritize the retention of parole files that could be of value to law enforcement in identifying and apprehending dangerous individuals. It defies logic that CDCR policies require longer retention periods for expense receipts and other minor documents than for parole agents' notes of offenders' habits and behaviors. AB 2295 will place parole file retention requirements into statute to ensure that important information related to dangerous offenders is retained for use by law enforcement." Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this bill. Analysis Prepared by : Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 AB 2295 Page 3 FN: 0006236