BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 813
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 3, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
Mike Feuer, Chair
AB 813 (Fletcher) - As Introduced: February 17, 2011
PROPOSED CONSENT (As Proposed to be Amended)
SUBJECT : Sex Offender management Board: Immunities
KEY ISSUES :
1)Should members of the Sex Offender Management Board be immune
from liability for good faith conduct of their duties?
2)Should sex offender management professionals who provide sex
offender management programs and risk assessments for use by
probation departments or the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation be immune from civil liability for the criminal
acts of persons under required sex offender supervision or
treatment?
3)Should the Sex Offender Management Board be permitted to hold
closed meetings when discussing matters relating to the
application of a sex offender treatment provider for
certification?
FISCAL EFFECT : As currently in print this bill is keyed fiscal.
SYNOPSIS
According to the author, this non-controversial bill, which is
sponsored by the Sex Offender Management Board (Board), seeks to
clean up and clarify some provisions of last year's AB 1844 by
the same author. AB 1844 made numerous changes to laws
affecting the punishment and treatment of sex offenders and,
most pertinently for this bill, to the role of the Board in
hiring professionals and developing management programs and risk
assessments. This bill addresses this latter issue.
Specifically, the bill provides that members of the Board shall
be immune from liability for good faith conduct in performing
their duties. The bill also provides that sex offender
management professionals hired by the Board to develop programs
and risk assessments for probation departments and the
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California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
shall not be civilly liable for the criminal acts of persons who
are on parole, probation, or under judicially-mandated
supervision or treatment. The bill also clarifies that the
Board is not subject to open meeting requirements when
discussing the application of a sex offender treatment provider
for certification. The bill passed out of the Public Safety
Committee on consent. There is no known opposition. Two
technical amendments will be taken in this Committee and are
reflected in the analysis below.
SUMMARY : Gives members of the Sex Offender Management Board
(Board) and a sex offender management professional, as defined,
immunity from civil liability for the criminal acts of others,
as specified, and makes conforming and clarifying changes to the
existing provisions relating to the Sex Offender Management
Board. Specifically, this bill :
1)Permits the California Sex Offender Management Board to hold a
closed session for the purpose of discussing matters
pertaining to the application of a sex offender treatment
provider for certification.
2)Provides that members of the Board shall be immune from
liability for good faith conduct in performing their
statutorily prescribed duties.
3)Requires all persons submitting an application for
certification as a sex offender management professional to do
so under penalty of perjury.
4)Provides that sex offender management professionals who
provide sex offender management programs and risk assessments
to probation departments and the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) shall have immunity from
civil liability for criminal acts committed by persons on
parole, probation, or judicial commitment who receive
supervision or treatment under the sex offender management
program.
5)Makes minor technical corrections to existing law.
EXISTING LAW creates the Sex Offender Management Board within
the jurisdiction of the CDCR and empowers the Board to address
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any issues, concerns, and problems related to the community
management of adult sex offenders. The board would be required
to conduct a thorough assessment of current management practices
for adult sex offenders, and to submit a report to the
Legislature on that assessment. The board would also be
required to develop recommendations to improve community
management practices for those offenders, as specified. (Penal
Code Section 9000 et seq.)
COMMENTS : According to the author, this bill is intended as a
"clean-up" measure to legislation he successfully carried last
year, AB 1844 (Fletcher, Chapter 219, Statutes of 2010). That
legislation, known as "Chelsea's Law," provided a comprehensive
reform of various statutes dealing with the punishment,
treatment, and community management of sex offenders. Among
other things, that legislation required register sex offenders
to participate in community management programs and required the
Sex Offender Management Board (Board) to develop management and
risk assessment tools. This bill targets these provisions in
particular.
According to the author, because of the broad nature of last
year's bill, and its relatively late enactment, a number of
issues were overlooked in the process. In addition to a number
of fairly minor technical changes, this bill seeks to grant
legal immunities to Board members and sex offender management
professionals who do their prescribed duties in good faith. The
bill will also specify that professionals under contract to
develop management programs, conduct risk assessments, or
otherwise provide administrative or clinical services to the sex
offender program will not be held civilly liable for the
criminal acts by persons on parole or probation or judicially
required to receive supervision or treatment under a sex
offender management program. The bill would also require any
person submitting an application for certification as a sex
offender professional to do so under penalty of perjury, and it
provides the Board may hold closed meetings when discussing
matters relating to the application of a sex offender management
professional.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author, this bill "will
help the Sex Offender Management Board perform its role in
protecting public safety by providing technical amendments and
clarifications within the Penal Code, and by limiting legal
liability for treatment providers and the Board for good faith
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conduct performed pursuant to sex offender management."
AUTHOR'S TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS :
On page 17 line 32 change "209.09" to 290.09
On page 17 line 32 delete "criminally or"
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Sex Offender Management Board (sponsor)
California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association
Chief Probation Officers of California
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Thomas Clark / JUD. / (916) 319-2334