BILL ANALYSIS Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair 2326 (Bass) Hearing Date: 08/02/2010 Amended: 08/02/2010 Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Public Safety 6-0 _________________________________________________________________ ____ BILL SUMMARY: AB 2326 would extend the sunset of the Reentry Advisory Committee (RAC) to January 1, 2016. This bill would also make the following changes to RAC: 1) Require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), in consultations with RAC, to immediately seek and apply for specified federal grant funding. 2) Add seven new members to the committee, as specified. 3) Authorize meetings upon call of the Secretary, in addition to quarterly meetings. 4) Revise topic areas upon which the committee shall advise the Secretary. 5) Provide that committee members shall serve without compensation. _________________________________________________________________ ____ Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 Fund Extends RAC sunset $200 $400* $400* General New RAC duties/expansion $34 $77 $77 General Grant application: CDCR up to $100 up to $200 General Re-entry plan/grant activities** -----Potentially substantial costs----- General *Annual costs will continue through 2014-15; half-year costs in 2015-16. **If CDCR receives a federal Second Chance Act grant, the state will be required to show a 100% match of federal funding in its activities relates to re-entry, at least 50% of which must be in cash for the new projects. _________________________________________________________________ ____ STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. AB 2326 would incur substantial state costs by extending the sunset on RAC and imposing new duties on this committee and its supporting staff. Because of the current fiscal crisis, CDCR has suspended its financial support of RAC, and diverted CDCR staff involved in RAC to other duties. CDCR has also ended its $100,000 per year contract with the University of California Davis for support, coordination, and facilitation of the RAC meetings. All future RAC meetings have been suspended, until the committee authority sunsets. In the absence of this bill, all money that was previously funding RAC would be used to support other CDCR needs, in light of the department's $100 million unallocated budget reduction. Page 2 AB 2326 (Bass) This bill adds seven new members to RAC, and requires the committee to meet at the call of the Secretary (in addition to its regular meetings) which will require increased coordination and management. It also provides that members will serve without compensation. Under existing statute, members are not paid, but they are reimbursed for travel expenses. This bill deletes a provision on statute that specifically provides for travel reimbursement, but does not expressly prohibit such reimbursement. This bill would impose additional duties on RAC, and on the Secretary of CDCR, which would almost certainly become the responsibility of CDCR and contracted staff members who support the committee. The most extensive of the new duties, would be to create the comprehensive reentry plan including 5 year performance goals and outcome measures, necessary to apply for federal Second Chance Act funding. The federal Second Chance Act was signed into law by President Bush in April 2008. It authorizes federal grants to government agencies and community and faith-based organizations to provide employment assistance, substance abuse treatment, housing, family programming, mentoring, victims support, and other services to help reduce recidivism. In March 2009, President Obama signed an omnibus appropriations bill for the remainder of fiscal year 2009 that provides $25 million for Second Chance Act programs, including $15 million for state and local reentry demonstration projects. Application for these funds would require substantial work upfront, in order to present the best plan to ask for competitive federal funds. Federal Second Chance grants require a 100% state match, at least 50% of which must be in cash. Implementing the program/plan that CDCR and RAC develop will require substantial additional resources, in order to draw down federal funding. The extent of the costs depends on the overall cost of activities that receive this funding. This bill is similar to AB 845 (Bass, 2009) which was vetoed, citing fiscal concerns, with the following veto message: I am returning Assembly Bill 845 without my signature. This bill would impose new requirements upon the Reentry Advisory Committee (RAC), including a requirement that the RAC seek and apply for federal funds, develop a comprehensive reentry plan, submit various advisory reports to the Legislature and Governor, and would also increase the number of individuals on the Committee. In addition, RAC would be required to develop a comprehensive resource guide for use by various entities and the public. AB 845 also extends the sunset date of the RAC from January 1, 2011 to January 1, 2016. This bill imposes several new duties upon the RAC without providing any new funding to pay for them. I cannot sign a bill that creates such unfunded mandates for the State of California during this time of fiscal crisis. For these reasons, I am returning this bill without my signature.