BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUDGET AND FISCAL REVIEW
Mark Leno, Chair
Bill No: AB 1481
Author: Committee on Budget
As Amended: June 25, 2012
Consultant: Joe Stephenshaw
Fiscal: Yes
Hearing Date: June 25, 2012
Subject: Budget Act of 2012: Public Safety Omnibus
Summary: Provides the statutory changes necessary to
implement the Public Safety portions of the 2012 Budget
Act.
Background: This is the Public Safety Omnibus Trailer
Bill. It contains the necessary changes to enact the
budget act of 2012-13, as follows:
1.Court Fees
Eliminates statutory sunsets on court fee increases
imposed in 2010 (SB 857) which results in continued
revenue of approximately $110 million per year for trial
courts. These include the surcharge on first paper
filing fees, the summary judgment motion fee, the pro hac
vice fee, the court operations assessment (previously the
security fee), and the telephone appearance fee.
Increases revenue for courts by approximately $57 million
per year, as follows: 1) the complex case fee increases
from $550 to $1000 ($7.1million); 2) the motion fee
increases from $40 to $60 ($8.3 million); 3) the first
paper filing fee increases from $395 to $435 ($21.1
million); 4) the jury deposit, makes nonrefundable and
moves up payment timeline, ($11.7 million); 5) a new will
deposit fee of $50 ($2.2 million); 6) a new court
reporter fee of $30 for services under an hour ($5.5
million); and 7) a 20 percent increase ($120 first
filing, $65 response) in the appellate court filing fees
($1 million).
2.Court Funding and Operations
Makes the following changes relative to trial court
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funding and operations: 1) restricts spending, from the
Trial Court Trust Fund, on the Court Case Management
System and, beginning January 1, 2013, for any purpose
other than allocation to trial courts unless authorized
by statue; 2) requires negotiation prior to changing
court transcription fees; 3) specifies that, prior to
June 30, 2014, a trial court may carry over all
unexpended funds from the courts operating budget from
the prior fiscal year; 4) specifies that, commencing June
30, 2014, a trial court may carry over unexpended funds
in an amount not to exceed one percent of the court's
operating budget from the prior year; 5) establishes a
statewide reserve of two percent of trial court funding
to be distributed to courts throughout the year, as
specified; and 6) establishes the State Trial Court
Improvement and Modernization Fund as the successor fund
of the Trial Court Improvement Fund and the Judicial
Administration Efficiency and Modernization Fund.
3.Trial Court Security
Makes necessary modifications to reflect the new
realignment funding structure of trial court security.
In addition, recasts existing law with the addition of a
dispute resolution process when the Presiding Judge of a
county and a Sheriff cannot agree on a security plan.
4.California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(CDCR) Organizational Structure
Makes various technical changes to statute, primarily to
ensure that the correct titles of CDCR's officers are
reflected in code. These changes also remove an outdated
cap on the amount of compensation that can be paid to
certain CDCR employees and makes the Executive Director
of the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) a
confirmable position.
5.Declare Surplus and Authorize the Sale of the Southern
Youth Correctional Reception Center and Clinic (SYCRCC)
Authorizes the Director of General Services to sell or
lease the Southern Youth Correctional Reception Center
and Clinic to the County of Los Angeles at market value,
until January 1, 2015. After that date, if not sold or
leased to the County of Los Angeles, this bill authorizes
the sale or lease of that property to any other person or
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entity subject to a competitive bid process. This bill
provides that the proceeds of the sale or lease be
expended on bond payments, as specified, and other costs
including costs for the review of the sale of the
property and bond counsel.
6.Lawsuit Settlement Expenditure Authority
Specifies that any money recovered by the CDCR from a
union paid leave settlement shall be available to the
department for expenditure in the fiscal year it is
received. Further specifies that if not enacted by July
1, 2012, then any funds received in fiscal year 2011-12
shall be available for expenditure in fiscal year
2012-13. The bill requires the department to report the
amounts of the recoveries to the Department of Finance.
7.Retired Annuitant Usage Clarification
Specifies that a retired annuitant may not be paid more
than the monthly maximum paid to other staff doing
similar work and restricts the hours a retired annuitant
can work yearly to 960 regardless of the number of
employers.
8.Female Offender Alternative Custody Program Expansion
Currently, CDCR is authorized to offer an alternative
custody program to female inmates, pregnant inmates, or
inmates who were primary care givers immediately prior to
incarceration and who do not have a current or prior
serious, violent, or sex offense conviction requiring
registration. This bill expands the alternative custody
program to most female offenders who do not have a
current violent or serious conviction or a current or
prior sex offense conviction requiring registration.
This bill would also specify that when available and
appropriate evidence based practices shall be prioritized
in setting individual treatment and rehabilitation plans
for female inmates placed in the alternative custody
program.
9.Community Prisoner Mother Program Expansion
Currently, the CDCR is authorized to place inmates with
young children in a community treatment program, as
specified. This bill would allow the Secretary of the
CDCR to consider certain inmates for placement into the
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program on a case-by-case basis, including those
convicted of certain violent offenses, controlled
substance offenses, and inmates with an Immigration and
Customs Enforcement hold.
10.Community Corrections Performance Incentive Grants
SB 678 of 2009 (Leno) established the Community
Corrections Performance Incentive Act (CCPIA). The
program measures the reduction in prison population
resulting from improved probation success and shares the
state savings with probation. This bill would amend the
CCPIA statute to account for certain changes due to
public safety realignment. Specifically, the bill would
require certain reporting to delineate between felony
probation failures to prison and county jail. The
amendments also raise the minimum grant from $100,000 to
$200,000 and specify that the amount provided to the
courts for administrative costs may also be used for
implementing and administering the 2011 Public Safety
Realignment.
11.Medical Parole Medi-Cal Reimbursements
SB 1399 (Leno) established the medical parole program
providing that, as specified, any prisoner who the head
physician for the institution where the prisoner is
located determines is permanently medically incapacitated
with a medical condition that renders the prisoner
permanently unable to perform activities of basic daily
living, and results in the prisoner requiring 24-hour
care, and that incapacitation did not exist at the time
of sentencing, shall be granted medical parole, if the
Board of Parole Hearings determines that the conditions
under which the prisoner would be released would not
reasonably pose a threat to public safety. This language
would codify the existing Medi-Cal reimbursement process
related to the medical parole program.
12.Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees
Continues the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill
Parolees Program, which is a supportive housing program
that provides wraparound services to mentally ill
parolees who are at risk of homelessness, and improves
the program by strengthening the housing component and
prioritizing contracts with providers that can help
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provide a continuum of care after the offender is off of
parole. This program was previously required as a
condition of AB 900 (Solorio).
13.Use of Generic Pharmaceuticals for Inmates
Mandates certain aspects of CDCR's pharmacy program,
including the use of generic drugs except where a doctor
determines that a name brand medication is required, as
specified.
14.CDCR Reporting Requirement
Requires the department to submit, as specified,
estimated expenditures for each state or contracted
facility housing offenders and for the cost of
supervising offenders on parole by region, for inclusion
in the annual Governor's Budget and the May Revision.
Require the departmental estimates, assumptions, and
other supporting data to be forwarded annually to the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the public safety
policy committees and fiscal committees of the
Legislature.
15.Future of Corrections Plan (Blueprint) Accountability
Requires the CDCR, as directed by the Department of
Finance, to work with the appropriate budget and policy
committees of the Legislature and the Legislative
Analyst's Office to establish appropriate oversight,
evaluation, and accountability measures, to be adopted as
part of the Blueprint, as specified. The bill would
require a periodic review, conducted by the Department of
Finance's Office of State Audits and Evaluations that
assesses the implementation of the fiscal components of
the plan, including the CDCR's progress in meeting
timelines, benchmarks, and targeted performance goals.
The bill would require that the Office of State Audits
and Evaluations report annually to the Governor and the
Legislature on its findings and recommendations.
16.Office of the Inspector General (OIG) Oversight
Stipulates that the OIG shall conduct an objective,
metric-oriented oversight and inspection program to
review reforms at CDCR outlined in the Blueprint.
Specifically, they shall examine the increase in inmate
participation in programs; adherence to the standard
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staffing model; establishment and adherence to a new
inmate classification system; establishment of and
adherence to a new prison gang management system; and,
implementation and adherence to the comprehensive
housing plan.
17.Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC)
Cleans up implementing language for the BSCC, which goes
into effect July 1, 2012, by specifying that the Governor
may appoint the executive director who is the head of the
board and abolishing the Office of Gang and Youth
Violence Policy in the California Emergency Management
Agency and transferring the responsibility to the BSCC.
18.County and Court Data
Would task the BSCC, in consultation with the
Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), the California
State Association of Counties, the California State
Sheriffs Association, and the Chief Probation Officers of
California to develop and implement a first phase
baseline data collection instrument to reflect the impact
of 2011 Public Safety Realignment. This bill also
requires the AOC to collect relevant data from the
courts.
19.BSCC Jail Standards
Existing law requires the BSCC to establish minimum
standards for local correctional facilities and for state
correctional facilities. This bill removes the
requirement that they establish state standards. The
effect is that the BSCC will have jurisdiction over local
correctional facilities only.
20.County to County Inmate Transfer
Under existing law counties can contract with nearby
counties for the housing of adult misdemeanants and any
persons required to serve a term of imprisonment in a
county adult detention facility as a condition of
probation. This bill expands county authority, allowing
them to enter into an agreement with any county or
multiple counties for the purpose of housing any adult
offender serving a term in a county jail. The expanded
authority sunsets on July 1, 2015.
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21.Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) Jurisdiction and Fees
Makes the following changes related to the states
jurisdiction of juvenile offenders: 1) Existing law
states that the maximum age of jurisdiction for youths
committed to the DJJ in the CDCR, or on parole from one
of those facilities is 25. This bill lowers that age to
23. 2) Existing law terminates juvenile parole as of
July 1, 2014. This bill moves that date up to January 1,
2013. 3) Existing law requires counties to pay the
state $125,000 per year to incarcerate a youth in the
DJF. This bill reduces that figure to $0 as of January
1, 2012, and imposes a $24,000 per year fee for any
offender committed on or after July 1, 2012.
22.DJJ Time-Adds
Currently, DJJ staff has the ability to extend the date
that a juvenile offender, under their care, appears
before the Juvenile Parole Board for consideration of
parole. This bill would eliminate that authority, thus
standardizing the process for parole consideration for
DJJ commitments.
23.Sunset of the Civil Addicts Program
The civil narcotics program allows a judge to, in lieu of
incarceration locally, send a person guilty of
misdemeanor crimes, who is addicted to, or is in imminent
danger of becoming addicted to, narcotics, to the
narcotic detention, treatment, and rehabilitation
facility within the CDCR. This bill provides that
commencing July 1, 2012, no new commitments may be made
pursuant to those provisions, and that the provisions
become inoperative as of April 1, 2014 and are repealed
as of January 1, 2015.
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