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 








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            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 








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               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