BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 139|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 139
Author: Fuentes (D)
Amended: 8/15/11 in Senate
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-0, 8/15/11
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Lieu, Pavley,
Price, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 5/31/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : State claims
SOURCE : California Victim Compensation and Government
Claims
Board
DIGEST : This bill appropriates $3,009,627.04 from the
General Fund and special and federal funds to the Executive
Officer of the Victim Compensation and Government Claims
Board (VCGCB) to pay claims accepted by VCGCB. This bill
also appropriates to VCGCB $162,700 from the General Fund
to pay an erroneous conviction claim accepted by the board.
ANALYSIS : The State Board of Control was established in
1945. It was revised and renamed VCGCB by AB 2491
(Jackson), Chapter 1016, Statutes of 2000. Government
Code 13928 requires VCGCB to ensure that all claims which
have been approved by VCGCB, and for which there exists no
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legally available appropriation, are submitted for
legislative approval at least twice during each calendar
year.
General Funds . This bill appropriates funding for 111
stale dated warrants and one reimbursement claim. The
re-issuance of stale-dated warrants is the most prevalent
claim approved by VCGCB. For stale-dated warrants, the
Controller must confirm that (1) the check was not cashed
and has not been issued and (2) more than three years have
elapsed since the check was issued and the monies have
reverted to the General Fund. For these warrants an
appropriation is needed to reissue the payment. This
category also may include state treasury bonds that have
not been redeemed within ten years of their maturity date
(there are no such claims in this bill), but the majority
of warrants are checks.
This bill appropriates $2,818,709.44 for:
1. Mt. San Antonio College ($80,000). A grant of $330,000
was awarded but due to an administrative error only
$250,000 was paid.
2. Los Angeles Harbor College ($128,000). A grant of
$128,000 was awarded but due to a payment tracking error
payment was never received.
3. Los Angeles Community College District ($2,610,709.44).
Electronic claims were submitted for grants from the
2006 Budget Act Community College Capital Outlay Bond
Fund that were denied because the appropriation was
thought to have reverted back to the General Fund.
Special Funds . This bill appropriates $1,255.05 from the
Public Employees Health Care Fund, $2,511.77 from the State
Highway Account, $59.99 from the Motor Vehicle Account and
$815.46 from the Health Care Deposit Fund for stale dated
warrants. This bill appropriates $20,244.00 from the
Federal Trust Fund for services provided to the Department
of Public Health under emergency circumstances related to
the public awareness campaign for the H1N1 virus.
The Robert Cuevas Claim - $162,700 - is for the wrongful
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incarceration case of Robert Cuevas . Mr. Cuevas meets the
statutory requirements to receive compensation under Penal
Code (PC) Section 4900 because he proved, by a
preponderance of the evidence, that he did not commit the
crimes for which he was charged. Mr. 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 Los Angeles 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. Mr. 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 Mr.
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 Los Angeles
District Attorney's Office viewed the enhanced footage
along with the pictures of Mr. Cuevas from around the time
of the robbery and concluded Mr. Cuevas was not the
perpetrator. On September 5, 2008, the District Attorney's
Office conceded the factual innocence of Mr. Cuevas, joined
in the petition for writ of habeas corpus, and dismissed
the charges. Mr. Cuevas was immediately released from
prison. On December 1, 2008, Mr. Cuevas received an order
of factual innocence pursuant to PC Section 851.8(c).
A person erroneously convicted and imprisoned for a felony
may submit a claim to the VCGCB for pecuniary injury
sustained as a result of the erroneous conviction and
imprisonment. PC Section 4903 provides that in order to
state a successful claim for compensation, the claimant
must prove the following by a preponderance of the
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evidence:
1. That the crime was either not committed at all, or, if
committed, was not committed by the convicted person;
2. That the convicted person did not by any act,
intentionally or negligently, contribute to the arrest
or conviction for the crime; and,
3. That the convicted person sustained pecuniary injury
through the erroneous conviction and imprisonment.
If the claimant meets the burden of proof, the VCGCB shall
recommend to the Legislature an appropriation of $100 per
day of incarceration served subsequent to conviction be
made for the claimant.
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 percent of the costs of this
bill; the remaining 33 claims average $541.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Appropriations $2,847
General* $4.6
Special** $20.2 Federal
* 112 claims; 2 claims ($2,611) are from bond funds
** 5 claims from 4 special funds, 1 claim from federal
funds
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/16/11)
California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board
(source)
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 5/31/11
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AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani,
Beth Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove,
Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger
Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson,
Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada,
John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Gorell
DLW:kc 8/17/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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