BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 648 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 648 (Block and Fletcher) As Amended April 6, 2011 Majority vote PUBLIC SAFETY 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 14-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Ammiano, Knight, Hagman, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, | | |Hill, Mitchell, Skinner | |Blumenfield, Bradford, | | | | |Charles Calderon, Campos, | | | | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, | | | | |Hall, Hill, Mitchell, | | | | |Nielsen, Solorio | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Requires that at least 30 days before the Governor acts upon any application for a commutation of sentence, the application must be served upon the district attorney in the county where the conviction was had. Specifically, this bill : 1)Requires that at least 30 days before the Governor acts upon any application for a commutation of sentence, written notice of the intention to apply therefor, signed by the person applying, shall be upon the district attorney in the county where the conviction was had, and proof, by affidavit, of the service shall be presented to the Governor. 2)Provides that the district attorney may submit a written recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation of sentence. 3)Requires the district attorney to notify the victim or victims of the crime or crimes related to the application and the victim's families who may also submit a recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation of sentence. 4)Recasts existing provision of law that require the Governor, at the beginning of each legislative session to report to the Legislature each case of reprieve, pardon, or commutation, stating the name of the person convicted, the crime of which the person was convicted, the sentence and its date, and the date of the reprieve, pardon or commutation and the reason for granting the same, and makes these reports available to the public. AB 648 Page 2 EXISTING LAW : 1)Provides that subject to application procedures provided by statute, the Governor, on conditions the Governor deems proper, may grant a reprieve, pardon, and commutation, after sentence except in cases of impeachment. The Governor shall report to the Legislature each reprieve, pardon, and commutation granted, stating the pertinent facts and the reason for granting it. The Governor may not grant a pardon or commutation to a person twice convicted of a felony except on recommendation of the Supreme Court, four judges concurring. 2)Requires that at least 10 days before the Governor acts upon any application for a pardon, written notice of the intention to apply therefor, signed by the person applying, shall be upon the district attorney in the county where the conviction was had, and proof, by affidavit, of the service must be presented to the Governor. 3)Provides that the Board of Prison Terms (BPT) may report to the Governor from time to time, the names of all persons imprisoned in any state prison, who in its judgment ought to have a commutation of sentence, or be pardoned or set at liberty on account of good conduct, or unusual term of sentence, or any other cause, including evidence of intimate partner battering and its effects. 4)States that in the case of a person twice convicted of a felony, the application for pardon or commutation of sentence shall be made directly to the Governor, who shall transmit all papers and documents relied upon in support of and in opposition to the application to the BPT. 5)Provides that when an application is made to the Governor for pardon or commutation of sentence, or when an application is forwarded to the BPT, he or she may require the judge of the court before which the conviction was had, or the district attorney by whom the action was prosecuted, to furnish him or it, without delay, with a summarized statement of the facts proved on the trial, and of any other facts having reference to the propriety of granting or refusing said application, together with his recommendations for or against his granting of the same and his reason for such recommendation. AB 648 Page 3 FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee: 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. COMMENTS : According to the author, "The California Constitution grants the Governor broad authority to grant reprieves, pardons, or commutations subject to statutory procedures. This long-standing authority to perform acts of clemency is a constitutional prerogative that provides important checks and balances. However, current statutory law governing procedures does not provide for notice to district attorneys or victims or an opportunity to be heard during the consideration of an application for commutation. "AB 648 would remedy that omission by requiring the applicant of a pardon or commutation request to notify the district attorney of the county where the conviction occurred 30 days before the Governor acts. The district attorney would then notify the victim and their family. Both parties would have an opportunity to submit a written recommendation for or against the commutation request to the Governor. Under current law district attorneys are notified of a pardon request by the applicant only 10 days prior to a decision. "The measure also strengthens transparency and oversight of the process by requiring the Governor to submit a report to the Legislature each year in writing on the pardon, reprieve and commutation requests received that were granted. AB 648 also requires inclusion of the application request. The report and applications will be available to the public as well." Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this bill. Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0000277 AB 648 Page 4