BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 648
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 648 (Block and Fletcher) - As Amended: April 6, 2011
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill requires that at least 30 days before the governor
acts upon an application for a commutation of sentence, written
notice of the intention to apply for the commutation must be
provided to the district attorney in the county where the
offender was convicted. (Current law requires 10 days for a
pardon, but is silent regarding a commutation.) In addition,
this bill:
1)Authorizes the district attorney to submit a written
recommendation to the governor regarding the commutation.
2)Requires the district attorney to notify the victim or victims
of the related crime or crimes, as well as the victim's
families, who may submit a recommendation to the governor
regarding the commutation.
3)Recasts existing law that requires the governor to report to
the Legislature at the beginning of each session each pardon
or commutation, and to make these reports available to the
public.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Minor state-reimbursable costs to district attorneys to notify
victims and families of potential pardons or commutation. Only
14 commutations have been granted over the past 30 years.
2)Negligible costs to the Governor's Office to make a written
report available to the public every two years regarding
pardons and commutations.
AB 648
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COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author and proponents (primarily law
enforcement) contend this bill provides additional input -
from victims and district attorneys - and adds transparency to
the process by which commutations may be issued by the
governor.
2)Frequency of commutations and pardons . A pardon, generally
granted years after a person is released from prison,
essentially forgives the crime and restores certain civil
rights, but does not erase a conviction. A pardon may be
granted outright by the governor, or it may follow the
granting of a certificate of rehabilitation. A commutation is
a sentence reduction and generally does not include a pardon.
According to information released in January by Gov.
Schwarzenegger's office:
Commutations
Pardons
Gov Schwarzenegger 10 16
Gov. Davis 0 0
Gov. Wilson 3 10
Gov. Deukmejian 0 328
Gov. Brown 1 403
Gov. Reagan 17 575
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081