BILL ANALYSIS Ó ------------------------------------------------------------ |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 648| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ THIRD READING Bill No: AB 648 Author: Block (D) and Fletcher (R) Amended: 7/6/11 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/28/11 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price, Steinberg SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-0, 7/11/11 AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Pavley, Price, Runner, Steinberg NO VOTE RECORDED: Lieu ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 68-0, 4/25/11 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Clemency SOURCE : The Office of the San Diego County District Attorney DIGEST : This bill requires an application for commutation of sentence be served on the district attorney (DA) 10 days before the Governor can act. In addition, this bill (1) authorizes the DA to submit a written recommendation to the Governor regarding the commutation; (2) requires the DA to make reasonable efforts to notify the victim(s) of the crime or related crimes, as well as the victims' families, who may also submit a recommendation to the Governor regarding the commutation; and (3) recasts CONTINUED AB 648 Page 2 existing law that requires the Governor to report to the Legislature at the beginning of each session, information on each case of reprieve, pardon, and commutation, and require the report to be made available to the public. ANALYSIS : Existing law 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. (Article 5, Section 8(a) of the California Constitution) Existing law 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 DA in the county where the conviction was had, and proof, by affidavit, of the service must be presented to the Governor. (Penal Code ÝPEN] Section 4804) Existing law 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. (PEN Section 4801(a)) Existing law 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. (PEN Section 4802) Existing law 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/she may require CONTINUED AB 648 Page 3 the judge of the court before which the conviction was had, or the DA 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. (PEN Section 4803) This bill requires that at least 10 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 served upon the DA in the county where the conviction was had, and proof, by affidavit, of the service shall be presented to the Governor. This bill provides that the DA may submit a written recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation of sentence. This bill requires the DA to make a reasonable effort to notify the victim(s) of the crime(s) related to the application and the victim's families who may also submit a recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation of sentence. This bill 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. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: Yes According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund CONTINUED AB 648 Page 4 Notification to victims Unknown; likely minor state- General and families reimbursable costs Public availability of Minor and absorbable costs to the General report to Legislature Governor's Office SUPPORT : (Verified 7/12/11) The Office of the San Diego County District Attorney (source) Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs California District Attorneys Association California Fraternal Order of Police California Narcotic Officers' Association California Police Chiefs Association County of San Diego Crime Victims United Long Beach Police Officers Association Los Angeles County Peace Officers Association Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department San Bernardino Sheriff-Coroner San Diego County Police Chiefs' and Sheriff's Association Santa Ana Police Officers Association Victim Assistance Coordinating Council ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The San Diego County District Attorney, the sponsor of this bill notes: "We want to be very clear that this legislation is not, in any way, attacking the Governor's power to grant pardons, reprieves or commutations. We simply want to change the process required by the applicant. Assembly Bill 648 will provide the DA of jurisdiction 10 days to respond to the Governor's intended commutation. The notice is by the person applying to have his/her sentence commuted and must occur whether or not the Governor intends to grant the commutation sought." ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 68-0, 4/25/11 AYES: Achadjian, Allen, Ammiano, Beall, Bill Berryhill, CONTINUED AB 648 Page 5 Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Atkins, Cedillo, Donnelly, Furutani, Gorell, Hueso, Lara, Mansoor, Mendoza, Olsen, Vacancy RJG:kc 7/13/11 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED