BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 139 Page 1 Date of Hearing: May 27, 2011 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Felipe Fuentes, Chair AB 139 (Fuentes) - As Amended: May 17, 2011 Policy Committee: AppropriationsVote: Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill, one of two annual bills sponsored by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board (board) and carried by the Appropriations Committee chairs, appropriates $246,696 to pay 45 claims against the state as approved by the board. FISCAL EFFECT Appropriates $246,696 from the GF to the board for payment of claims. COMMENTS 1)Rationale. The Government Code requires the board to take all necessary steps to ensure that all approved claims, for which there exists no legally available appropriation, are submitted for legislative approval at least twice each calendar year. 2)Support . This bill, supported by the board, the Department of Finance, and the administration, has no opposition. 3)The largest claim - $162,700 - is for the wrongful incarceration case of Robert Cuevas . Cuevas meets the statutory requirements to receive compensation under Penal Code section 4900 because he proved, by a preponderance of the AB 139 Page 2 evidence, that he did not commit the crimes for which he was charged. Cuevas was convicted December 9, 2003, and released from prison September 5, 2008. He spent 1,627 days in prison and is eligible for $162,700.00 in compensation, based on the statutory reimbursement rate of $100 per day. Cuevas case background . On May 14, 2003, three men entered a Rite Aid pharmacy store in L.A. and stole small items by placing them in their pockets. During the course of the robbery one of the suspects pulled a gun and pointed it at store security officers before escaping. Cuevas was arrested a few months later after being identified by Rite Aid employees as the suspect in photo lineups. On December 1, 2003, a jury trial commenced in which Cuevas was convicted of robbery with the use of a firearm. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Multiple appeals and petitions were denied by the California Court of Appeals, the California Supreme Court, and the United States District Court. In February 2007, the case was referred to the Los Angeles Post Conviction Assistance Center. This was mainly because enhanced technology allowed a clearer look at the surveillance videotape of the robbery. The L.A. D.A.'s Office viewed the enhanced footage along with the pictures of Cuevas from around the time of the robbery and concluded Cuevas was not the perpetrator. On September 5, 2008, the D.A.'s Office conceded the factual innocence of Cuevas, joined in the petition for writ of habeas corpus, and dismissed the charges. Cuevas was immediately released from prison. On December 1, 2008, Cuevas received an order of factual innocence pursuant to Penal Code section 851.8(c). A person erroneously convicted and imprisoned for a felony may submit a claim to the board for pecuniary injury sustained as a result of the erroneous conviction and imprisonment. Penal Code section 4903 provides that in order to state a successful claim for compensation, the claimant must prove the following by a preponderance of the evidence: That the crime was either not committed at all, or, if committed, was not committed by the convicted person. That the convicted person did not by any act, intentionally AB 139 Page 3 or negligently, contribute to the arrest or conviction for the crime. That the convicted person sustained pecuniary injury through the erroneous conviction and imprisonment. If the claimant meets the burden of proof, the board shall recommend to the Legislature an appropriation of $100 per day of incarceration served subsequent to conviction be made for the claimant. 4)The other 44 claims are all stale-date warrants (expired checks) , ranging from $35 to $15,415. The 11 largest of these claims account for 79% of the costs of this bill; the remaining 33 claims average $541. 5)Related Legislation . SB 206 (Kehoe) will be heard in this committee later this year and will include additional claims. AB 1715 (Fuentes), Statutes of 2010 and SB 910 (Kehoe), Statutes of 2010 were the two claims bills last year. Both urgency bills passed without a dissenting vote. Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081