BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 1445 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 1445 (Mitchell) As Amended July 6, 2012 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |71-0 |(March 15, |SENATE: |38-0 |(August 20, | | | |2012) | | |2012) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: PUB. S. SUMMARY : Extends until January 1, 2015, the sunset date on a pilot program that authorizes the sheriff in specified counties to expend money from the inmate welfare fund to provide indigent inmates, after release from county jails or any other adult detention facilities under the jurisdiction of the sheriff, with assistance with the re-entry process. The Senate amendments : 1)Add Napa County to the pilot program. 2)Clarify that money from the inmate welfare fund shall not be used to provide services that are required to be provided by the sheriff, and require the sheriff to include specified additional information regarding the operation of the program in the itemized report of expenditures which must be submitted to the board of supervisors under existing law. 3)Add the sunset date of January 1, 2015. EXISTING LAW : 1)Creates a pilot program in Alameda, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Francisco, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, and Stanislaus Counties that authorizes sheriffs in those counties to expend money from the inmate welfare fund to provide indigent inmates, after release from county jails or any other adult detention facilities under the jurisdiction of the sheriffs, with assistance with the re-entry process within 14 days of the inmates' release. Provides that re-entry assistance may include, but is not limited to, work placement, counseling, obtaining proper identification, education and housing. AB 1445 Page 2 2)Provides that the sheriff shall receive all persons committed to jail by competent authority. The board of supervisors shall provide the sheriff with necessary food, clothing, and bedding for prisoners, which shall be of a quality and quantity at least equal to the minimum standards prescribed by the Board of Corrections (BOC) for the feeding, clothing, and care of prisoners in county and local jails. 3)Authorizes a county sheriff to establish, maintain and operate a store in connection with the county jail and for this purchase 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. 4)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. 5)Provides that 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 county jail. 6)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. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY , this bill deleted the January 1, 2013, sunset date on a program that authorizes the sheriff in specified counties to expend money from the inmate welfare fund to provide indigent inmates, after release from county jails or any other adult detention facilities under the jurisdiction of the sheriff, with assistance with the re-entry process. Additionally, this bill: 1)Extended from 14 days to 30 days the time in which the sheriff may provide assistance with the re-entry process after the inmate's release from the county jail or any other adult detention facility. AB 1445 Page 3 2)Added the counties of Marin, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura to the program. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 1445 will expand a successful program to aid re-entry of former inmates. Studies have shown that successful employment after release is one of the best predictors of effective reintegration of former offenders. The program authorized by this bill will provide continuity of critical services such as substance abuse treatment and counseling. Furthermore, interventions as simple as help obtaining proper identification improve the chances of obtaining employment, and thus aid successful re-entry to the community. "Successful public safety realignment will require reductions in recidivism rates that can only be achieved by facilitating re-entry. The pilot program has successfully reduced recidivism rates of individuals receiving post-release assistance. The time frame for assistance should be extended from 14 to 30 days after release, and the program made permanent." Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0004526