BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  AB 446
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   May 4, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    AB 446 (Carter) - As Amended:  March 25, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              Public 
          SafetyVote:   5-2

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill authorizes counties to adopt a restorative justice 
          program for juvenile offenders to address the needs of minors, 
          victims, and the community. Specifically, this bill:

          1)States the restorative justice program shall be implemented 
            through a restorative justice protocol developed by the 
            juvenile court in conjunction with the prosecutor, defense 
            bar, probation, victims' groups, law enforcement, community 
            organizations and others.  

          2)Requires the program seek to repair the harm to the victim, 
            the offender, and the community.  

          3)Requires program requirements be tailored to the age, mental 
            capacity, and developmental maturity of the minor, the nature 
            of the offense, and the resources available to accomplish the 
            goals of the program.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          No direct state or local costs. To the extent a county opts to 
          adopt a program, and to the extent the proposed restorative 
          justice objectives, which are generally consistent with current 
          juvenile justice system goals, result in additional or improved 
          programming, local juvenile justice system costs (not 
          state-reimbursable) could increase.

          The bill states no GF may be used to fund a restorative justice 
          program established by this bill.     









                                                                  AB 446
                                                                  Page  2

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . The balanced and restorative justice model, on 
            which this bill is based, assumes an understanding of crime as 
            an act against the victim and the community.  The author 
            contends that while criminal justice practitioners have long 
            used techniques consistent with restorative justice, they lack 
            a coherent philosophical framework that supports restorative 
            practice and provides direction to guide all aspects of 
            juvenile justice practice.  

           2)Prior Legislation  :  

             a)   AB 114 (Carter), of the 2008-09 Legislative Session, was 
               similar to this bill and was vetoed. Gov. Schwarzenegger 
               stated:  California's juvenile justice system is already 
               rehabilitation-based, focused on attempts to reform 
               juveniles rather than punish.  In addition, juvenile courts 
               may already create restorative justice programs. 
               Consequently, this bill is unnecessary.

             b)   AB 360 (Carter), of the 2007-08 Legislative Session, was 
               substantially similar to this bill and was also vetoed.

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081