BILL ANALYSIS SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY Senator Mark Leno, Chair S 2009-2010 Regular Session B 1 7 4 SB 174 (Strickland) As Amended April 22, 2009 Hearing date: April 28, 2009 Business and Professions Code; Civil Code; Code of Civil Procedure; Government Code; Health and Safety Code; Penal Code; Welfare and Institutions Code MK:mc PUBLIC SAFETY HISTORY Source: California District Attorneys Association Prior Legislation: SB 1241 (Margett) - Ch. 699, Stats. 2008 SB 425 (Margett) - Ch. 302, Stats. 2007 SB 1422 (Margett) - Ch. 901, Stats. 2006 SB 1107 (SCoPS) - Ch. 279, Stats. 2005 SB 1796 (SCoPS) - Ch. 405, Stats. 2004 SB 851 (SCoPS) - Ch. 468, Stats. 2003 SB 1852 (SCoPS) - Ch. 545, Stats. 2002 SB 485 (SCoPS) - Ch. 473, Stats. 2001 SB 832 (SCoPS) - Ch. 853, Stats. 1999 SB 1880 (SCoPS) - Ch. 606, Stats. 1998 Support: Unknown Opposition:None known (THIS ANALYSIS REFLECTS AUTHOR'S AMENDMENTS: SEE COMMENT 10.) (More) SB 174 (Strickland) PageB KEY ISSUE SHOULD TECHNICAL AND CORRECTIVE CHANGES BE MADE IN VARIOUS CODE SECTIONS RELATING GENERALLY TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE LAWS, AS SPECIFIED? PURPOSE The purpose of this bill is to make technical and corrective changes to various code sections relating generally to criminal justice laws, as specified. Existing law provides that the Attorney General shall maintain summary criminal history information and shall furnish the information to specified persons. (Penal Code 11105.) Existing law provides that the Department of Justice shall make a determination whether an explosives permit can be granted to a person. (Health and Safety Code 12101.) This bill makes it clear that the Department of Justice can provide subsequent arrest and conviction information to the permit issuing authority if the applicant becomes ineligible. Existing law requires people convicted of specified sex offenders to register with local authorities including people who are transients. (Penal Code 290 et. seq.) This bill clarifies that if a transient convicted in another jurisdiction enters the state, he shall register within five working days of coming into California with the chief of police of the city in which he or she is present, or the sheriff of the county, if he or she is present in an unincorporated area or city that has no police department. Existing law provides that any person who receives money for the purpose of obtaining or paying for services, labor, materials or equipment and willfully fails to apply such money for such purpose by either willfully failing to complete the improvement (More) SB 174 (Strickland) PageC for which funds were provided or willfully failing to pay for services, labor, materials or equipment provided incident to such construction, and wrongfully diverts the funds to a use other than that for which the funds were received shall be guilty of a wobbler, if the amount diverted is in excess of $1,000 and by a misdemeanor if the amount is less than $1,000. (Penal Code 484.) This bill clarifies that if the amount diverted is $1,000 or less, it is punishable as a misdemeanor. Existing law provides that in order for a person to be certified to roll fingerprints for non-law enforcement purposes, the applicant must submit a copy of his or her fingerprints along with a notarized written application. (Penal Code 11102.1(d)(3).) This bill deletes the requirement that the application be notarized. Existing law provides that every public agency or bona fide research body immediately concerned with the prevention or control of crime, the quality of criminal justice, or the custody or correction of offenders may be provided with such criminal offender record information as is required for the performance of its duties, provided that any material identifying individuals is not transferred, revealed, or used for other than research or statistical activities and reports or publications derived therefrom do not identify specific individuals, and provided that such agency or body pays the cost of processing of such data as determined by the Attorney General. (Penal Code 13202.) This bill clarifies that the Department of Justice may release specified identifying information to public agencies and research bodies. Existing law provides that a law enforcement agency shall release, upon request, a complete copy of a juvenile police record without notice or consent from the person who is the (More) SB 174 (Strickland) PageD subject of the juvenile police record only to specified persons or entities including other California law enforcement agencies including the office of the Attorney General of California, any district attorney, the Department of Corrections, the Department of the Youth Authority, and any peace officer as specified. (Welfare and Institutions Code 827.9(b)(1).) This bill allows this information to be shared with law enforcement in other states. Existing law provides no employee or agent of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Board of Parole Hearings, or State Department of Mental Health shall disclose to any person the name, address, telephone number, or other identifying information of a person who was involved in a civil commitment hearing under this article as a victim of a sex offense except where authorized or required by law. (Welfare and Institutions Code 6603.5.) This bill deletes a couple of outdated report requirements. (Penal Code 290.4(g), 290.46(n).) This bill makes technical changes to the following: Business and Professions Code section 21606.5; Civil Code section 1670.7; Code of Civil Procedure section 1219(a); Government Code section 27388(a); Penal Code sections 290.46(b)(2)(S), 1094, 12076(b)(3) &(c)(2), 12650, 13010(g); and Welfare and Institutions Code section 1767.35(b). RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION California continues to face a severe prison overcrowding crisis. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) currently has about 170,000 inmates under its jurisdiction. Due to a lack of traditional housing space available, the department houses roughly 15,000 inmates in gyms and dayrooms. California's prison population has increased by 125% (an average of 4% annually) over the past 20 years, growing from 76,000 inmates to 171,000 inmates, far outpacing the state's population growth rate for the age cohort with the highest risk of (More) SB 174 (Strickland) PageE incarceration.<1> In December of 2006 plaintiffs in two federal lawsuits against CDCR sought a court-ordered limit on the prison population pursuant to the federal Prison Litigation Reform Act. On February 9, 2009, the three-judge federal court panel issued a tentative ruling that included the following conclusions with respect to overcrowding: No party contests that California's prisons are overcrowded, however measured, and whether considered in comparison to prisons in other states or jails within this state. There are simply too many prisoners for the existing capacity. The Governor, the principal defendant, declared a state of emergency in 2006 because of the "severe overcrowding" in California's prisons, which has caused "substantial risk to the health and safety of the men and women who work inside these prisons and the inmates housed in them." . . . A state appellate court upheld the Governor's proclamation, holding that the evidence supported the existence of conditions of "extreme peril to the safety of persons and property." (citation omitted) The Governor's declaration of the state of emergency remains in effect to this day. . . . the evidence is compelling that there is no relief other than a prisoner release order that will remedy the unconstitutional prison conditions. . . . Although the evidence may be less than perfectly ---------------------- <1> "Between 1987 and 2007, California's population of ages 15 through 44 - the age cohort with the highest risk for incarceration - grew by an average of less than 1% annually, which is a pace much slower than the growth in prison admissions." (2009-2010 Budget Analysis Series, Judicial and Criminal Justice, Legislative Analyst's Office (January 30, 2009).) (More) SB 174 (Strickland) PageF clear, it appears to the Court that in order to alleviate the constitutional violations California's inmate population must be reduced to at most 120% to 145% of design capacity, with some institutions or clinical programs at or below 100%. We caution the parties, however, that these are not firm figures and that the Court reserves the right - until its final ruling - to determine that a higher or lower figure is appropriate in general or in particular types of facilities. . . . Under the PLRA, any prisoner release order that we issue will be narrowly drawn, extend no further than necessary to correct the violation of constitutional rights, and be the least intrusive means necessary to correct the violation of those rights. For this reason, it is our present intention to adopt an order requiring the State to develop a plan to reduce the prison population to 120% or 145% of the prison's design capacity (or somewhere in between) within a period of two or three years.<2> The final outcome of the panel's tentative decision, as well as any appeal that may be in response to the panel's final decision, is unknown at the time of this writing. This bill does not appear to aggravate the prison overcrowding crisis outlined above. COMMENTS 1. Purpose of This Bill --------------------------- <2> Three Judge Court Tentative Ruling, Coleman v. Schwarzenegger, Plata v. Schwarzenegger, in the United States District Courts for the Eastern District of California and the Northern District of California United States District Court composed of three judges pursuant to Section 2284, Title 28 United States Code (Feb. 9, 2009). (More) SB 174 (Strickland) PageG This is the annual omnibus bill. In past years, the omnibus bill has been introduced by all members of the Committee on Public Safety. This year, Senator Strickland is carrying the bill. This bill is similar to the ones introduced as Committee bills in the past, in that it has been introduced with the following understanding: The bill's provisions make only technical or minor changes to the law; and There is no opposition by any member of the Legislature or recognized group to the proposal. This procedure has allowed for introduction of fewer minor bills and has saved the Legislature time and expense. The following bills had the same intent as this bill: SB 1241 (Margett) - Ch. 699, Stats. 2008 SB 425 (Margett) - Ch. 302, Stats. 2007 SB 1422 (Margett) - Ch. 901, Stats. 2006 SB 1107 (Senate Committee on Public Safety) - Ch. 279, Stats. 2005 SB 1796 (Senate Committee on Public Safety) - Ch. 405, Stats. 2004 SB 851 (Senate Committee on Public Safety) - Ch. 468, Stats. 2003 SB 1852 (Senate Committee on Public Safety) - Ch. 545, Stats. 2002 SB 485 (Senate Committee on Public Safety) - Ch. 473, Stats. 2001 SB 832 (Senate Committee on Public Safety) - Ch. 853, Stats. 1999 SB 1880 (Senate Committee on Public Safety) - Ch. 606, Stats. 1998 2. Amendment to Health and Safety Code Section 2101 Currently, subsequent arrest and conviction information is not provided for explosives permit holders under Health and Safety Code section 12101. The change in this bill will allow the DOJ (More) SB 174 (Strickland) PageH to provide such information to local agencies. 3. Amendment to Penal Code Section 290.011 The Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA - Penal Code 290-290.023) requires that offenders convicted in other jurisdictions must register in California if certain requirements set out in Penal Code section 290.005 are met. However, the statute needs to be clarified regarding the duty to register transient sex offenders who come into the state from other jurisdictions. While it is clear that a sex offender from another jurisdiction who moves into a residence has 5 working days to register (Penal Code 290(b)), it is not clear that such an offender who is transient has 5 working days after entering California to register, wherever he or she is located on that date. This amendment clarifies the duty of such a transient sex offender to register. 4. Amendment to Penal Code Section 484b Penal Code section 484b (Diversion of Construction Funds) makes it an alternate felony/misdemeanor to divert in excess of $1,000 in construction funds. The statute also makes it a misdemeanor to divert less than $1,000 in construction funds. It thus fails to address a diversion of $1,000 exactly. The statute should be amended to make it a misdemeanor to divert $1,000 or less in construction funds. (More) 5. Amendment Penal Code Section 11102.1(d)(3) In order for a person to be certified to roll fingerprint images for non-law enforcement purposes, the applicant must submit a copy of his or her fingerprints along with a notarized written application. This notarization requirement is unique to this application type and is redundant in light of the fact that fingerprints must be submitted along with the application. This requirement should be deleted. 6. Amendment Penal Code Section 13202 Penal Code sections 11105 (g), 13305(a) and 13202 conflict regarding the use of criminal history information for research purposes. While sections 11105(g) and 13305(a) specifically state that it is a violation of law to release the identity of the subject of a record, section 13202 states that certain public agencies and bona fide research bodies are authorized to receive personal identifiable information on the subject of a record. This amendment clarifies that the Department of Justice may release identifying information to public agencies and research bodies. 7. Amendment to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 827.9(b)(1) This proposal seeks to amend California Welfare and Institutions Code section 827.9(b)(1) to allow for vital information sharing with other law enforcement agencies in neighboring states. Over the last few years, we have seen a tremendous increase in the number of gang members who are living, or now residing in neighboring states such as in Las Vegas, Nevada, Phoenix, and Arizona. Some of these gang members are juveniles. In an effort to better communicate and information share with other law enforcement agencies, we have developed a computer information sharing system called CopLink that will assist law enforcement with information sharing. The problem law enforcement has run into is that the Welfare and Institutions Code section 827.0 (b)(1) only allows law enforcement to share (More) SB 174 (Strickland) PageJ information on juveniles to "California" law enforcement agencies, which means that California's neighboring states that share information with our law enforcement cannot get access to California information or databases. The proposal also makes two other technical, non substantial, changes to that section. 8. Amendment to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 6603.5 Last year, AB 2410 (Stats. 2008 Chapter 155) was enacted. The amended statute ensures the protection of the name, address, telephone number, or other identifying personal information of victims and witnesses from being released to a respondent, his/her family, or anyone else in Sexually Violent Predator petitions. In drafting the regulations to implement the provisions of AB 2410, the Board of Parole Hearings and the Department of Mental Health requested more explicit authority than what is granted in Welfare and Institutions Code sections 6601(d) and (h) to authorize the release of information to the district attorney (prosecuting attorney). This amendment expressly addresses the release of this information to the prosecuting attorney. 9. Other Changes As noted in the Purpose section of this analysis, other changes in this bill are technical, grammatical, or nonsubstantive changes. 10. Delete Changes to Penal Code Section 830.1c As it leaves Committee, this bill will be amended to delete the changes to Penal Code Section 830.1c. *************** SB 174 (Strickland) PageK