BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1445|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1445
Author: Mitchell (D), et al.
Amended: 7/6/12 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/12/12
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Harman, Liu, Price, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 71-0, 3/15/12 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Jails: county inmate welfare funds
SOURCE : Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department
DIGEST : This bill (1) extends the operative period for
two years to January 1, 2015, for a pilot program allowing
specified county sheriffs to use inmate welfare fund money
to provide former county jail inmates with reentry services
upon their release; (2) adds the counties of Marin, Napa,
San Luis Obispo, and Ventura to this pilot program to
extend the period of time in which inmate welfare fund
money could be used for these purposes from 14 to 30 days
after the inmate's release; and (3) provides that, for
purposes of this pilot program, inmate welfare fund money
may not be used to provide services required to be provided
by the county or sheriff and may not supplant any existing
funding for services provided by the county or sheriff.
Senate Floor Amendments of 7/6/12 require the sheriff to
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include specified data on these expenditures within an
already required annual report on the inmate welfare fund,
required to be submitted to the county board of
supervisors.
ANALYSIS : Existing law authorizes a county sheriff to
establish, maintain and operate a store in connection with
the county jail and for this purpose may purchase
confectionary, tobacco and tobacco users' supplies, postage
and writing materials, and toilet articles and supplies and
sell these goods, articles, and supplies for cash to
inmates. (Penal Code Section 4025(a).)
Existing law provides that the sale prices of the articles
offered for sale at the store shall be fixed by the
sheriff. Any profit shall be deposited in the inmate
welfare fund to be kept in the treasury of the county.
(Penal Code Section 4025(b).)
Existing law provides that any money, refund, rebate, or
commission received from a telephone company or pay
telephone provider shall be deposited in the inmate welfare
fund when the money, refund, rebate, or commission is
attributable to the use of pay telephones which are
primarily used by inmates while incarcerated. (Penal Code
Section 4025(d).)
Existing law provides that the money and property deposited
in the inmate welfare fund shall be expended by the sheriff
primarily for the benefit, education, and welfare of the
inmates confined within the jail. Any funds that are not
needed for the welfare of the inmates may be expended for
the maintenance of county jail facilities. Maintenance of
county jail facilities may include, but is not limited to
the salary and benefits of personnel used in the programs
to benefit the inmates including, but not limited to,
education, drug and alcohol treatment, welfare, library,
accounting, and other programs deemed appropriate by the
sheriff. Inmate welfare funds shall not be used to pay
required county expenses of confining inmates in a local
detention system, such as meals, clothing, housing, or
medical services or expenses, except that inmate welfare
funds may be used to augment those required county expenses
as determined by the sheriff to be in the best interests of
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inmates. An itemized report of these expenditures shall be
submitted annually to the board of supervisors. (Penal
Code Section 4025(e).)
Existing law authorizes the sheriff to expend money from
the inmate welfare fund to provide indigent inmates prior
to the release from the county jail or other adult
correctional facility under the sheriff's jurisdiction with
essential clothing and transportation expenses. (Penal
Code Section 4025(i).)
Existing law creates a pilot program in the counties of
Alameda, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, San
Bernardino, San Francisco, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa
Clara, and Stanislaus. In each county the sheriff, or, in
the County of Santa Clara, the chief of correction, may
expend money from the inmate welfare fund to provide
indigent inmates after release from the county jail or any
other adult detention facility under the jurisdiction of
the sheriff, or, in the County of Santa Clara, the chief of
correction, assistance with the reentry process within 14
days after the inmate's release. The assistance provided
may include, but is not limited to, work placement,
counseling, obtaining proper identification, education, and
housing. This pilot program will expire on January 1,
2013, unless extended.
This bill:
1.Adds the counties of Marin, Napa, San Luis Obispo, and
Ventura to this pilot program.
2.Extends the period of time in which inmate welfare fund
money could be used to provide former county jail inmates
with reentry services from 14 days to 30 days from the
date of their release.
3.Provides that, for purposes of this pilot program, inmate
welfare fund money may not be used to provide services
required to be provided by the county or sheriff and may
not supplant any existing funding for services provided
by the county or sheriff.
4.Requires, if a county elects to participate in the pilot
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program, a county sheriff or county officer responsible
for operating a jail to include specified additional
information in the itemized report of expenditures to the
board of supervisors, including the number of inmates the
program served.
5.Extends the sunset on this program two years to January
1, 2015.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/10/12)
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (source)
California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies
California Communities United Institute
California Narcotic Officers' Association
California Peace Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California Public Defenders Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Crime Victims Action Alliance
Drug Policy Alliance
Mental Health America of California
Napa County Board of Supervisors
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
Sacramento County Sheriff's Department
Ventura County Board of Supervisors
OPPOSITION : (Verified 7/10/12)
Friends Committee on Legislation
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California Public Defenders
Association states:
The inmate welfare fund re-entry pilot project
operating in 11 counties under Penal Code section
4025.5 was created to provide post-release assistance
to indigent inmates the areas of work placement,
counseling, education, housing and obtaining
identification cards. Such areas are absolutely
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essential to paving the way for formerly incarcerated
persons to become self-sufficient and contributing
members of the community. Helping an indigent inmate
obtain an identification card prior to or shortly
after release makes smart fiscal sense and will
enhance public safety. The extension of inmate
welfare fund use from 14 days post-release to 30 days
increases the likelihood of a seamless transition in
crucial areas of housing and employment thereby
reducing the risk of homelessness.
Many job applications and public benefits, including
SSI, Medi-Cal and Medi-Caid, as well as CalFRESH,
CalWORKs and public housing vouchers, all require
presentation of a valid California ID in order to
process requests. The process of obtaining an
identification card in custody is cumbersome and does
not happen on a regular basis prior to release. Even
when forms are filled out properly, the processing of
applications for a California ID can take months.
Many other applications for identification cards are
kicked back months later because a certain space was
not filled out or is illegible. The risk of
homelessness is reduced if a formerly imprisoned
person is able to present identification when seeking
to rent an apartment, reside in a sober living home,
or participate in a residential drug treatment
program.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The Friends Committee on
Legislation states:
While we are very supportive of assisting indigent
prisoners with re-entry, we think that funding these
services from the Inmate Welfare Fund is
inappropriate. As incarceration first and foremost
involves the deprivation of personal liberty, we
believe there is a moral and ethical obligation for
local jails to fund these essential services. Monies
deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund derive from the
disenfranchised and economically disadvantaged family
members of the incarcerated in the form of
exorbitantly expensive rates they pay on collect phone
calls from their incarcerated loved ones.
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If county Inmate Welfare Funds are enjoying large cash
surpluses, we should consider reducing the costs of
these collect calls. Under realignment some local
prisoners will be serving lengthy jail sentences.
Therefore, there is certain to be considerable need
for those modest amenities that make life in jail a
little less unbearable.
AB 1445 presents a slippery slope. We are in essence
privatizing the provision of re-entry services and
creating the expectation that the Inmate Welfare Fund
is a potential funding source for a whole range of
services.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 71-0, 3/15/12
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos,
Carter, Cedillo, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Dickinson,
Donnelly, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes, Furutani, Beth Gaines,
Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman,
Halderman, Hall, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber,
Hueso, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Ma, Mansoor,
Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nestande,
Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan, Perea, Portantino, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao,
Wagner, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Davis, Eng, Fletcher, Gorell, Harkey,
Huffman, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, V. Manuel Pérez
RJG:n 8/8/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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