BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1835
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 24, 2012
Counsel: Milena Blake
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 1835 (Fletcher) - As Amended: April 12, 2012
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Amends provisions of the Sex Offender Registration
Act. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes any person who is trained to administer the State
Authorized Risk Assessment Tool for Sex Offenders (SARATSO)
dynamic tool and future violence tool, to have access to all
relevant records pertaining to a registered sex offender,
including, but not limited to:
a) Criminal histories;
b) Sex offender registration records;
c) Police reports;
d) Probation and presentencing reports;
e) Judicial records and case files;
f) Juvenile records;
g) Psychological evaluations and psychiatric hospital
reports;
h) Sexually violent predator treatment program reports;
and,
i) Records that have been sealed by the courts of the
Department of Justice.
2)Requires an individual released from prison who is on
postrelease community supervision who is reclassified as a
High Risk Sex Offender, be transferred to the jurisdiction of,
and parole supervision by the California Department of
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Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). The individual shall
be granted credit towards his or her parole supervision for
any time on the postrelease supervision for any time spent on
postrelease community supervision.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires individuals convicted of specified sex offenses to
register with the chief of police, sheriff, or a chief of
police of a public university if he or she is residing on
campus, within five working days of coming into, or changing
his or her residence within any city or county. (Penal Code
Section 290.)
2)Specifies that any person who is required to register as a sex
offender because of a misdemeanor conviction, who violated any
provision of the Sex Offender Registration Act, is guilty of a
misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for
not more than one year. ĘPenal Code Section 290.018(a).]
3)Specifies that any person who is required to register as a sex
offender because of a felony conviction or has a previous
misdemeanor conviction for failure to comply with the
provisions of the Sex Offender Registration Act, who violates
any provision of the Sex Offender Registration Act, is guilty
of a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for
16 months, or two or three years. ĘPenal Code Section
290.018(b).]
4)Establishes the STATIC-99 risk assessment scale as the SARATSO
static tool for adult males. ĘPenal Code Section
290.04(b)(1).]
5)Requires the SARATSO Review Committee to ensure that the
SARATSO reflects the most reliable, objective, and
well-established protocols for predicting sex offender risk of
recidivism, has been scientifically validated and cross
validates, and is, or is reasonably likely to be, widely
accepted by the courts. ĘPenal Code Section 290.04(a)(2).]
6)Requires the static SARATSO, as specified, shall be
administered as follows ĘPenal Code Section 290.06(a)]:
a) CDCR shall assess every eligible person who is
incarcerated in state prison. Whenever possible, the
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assessment shall take place at least four months, but no
sooner than 10 months, prior to release from incarceration.
b) CDCR shall assess every eligible person who is on parole
if the person was not assessed prior to release from state
prison. Whenever possible, the assessment shall take place
at least four months, but no sooner than 10 months, prior
to termination of parole.
c) CDCR shall assess every person on parole transferred
from any other state or by the federal government to this
state who has been, or is hereafter convicted in any other
court, including any state, federal, or military court, of
any offense that, if committed or attempted in this state,
would be required to register. The assessment required by
this paragraph shall occur no later than 60 days after a
determination by the Department of Justice that the person
is required to register as a sex offender in California.
d) The State Department of Mental Health shall assess every
eligible person who is committed to that department.
Whenever possible, the assessment shall take place at least
four months, but no sooner than 10 months, prior to release
from commitment.
e) Commencing January 1, 2010, CDCR and the State
Department of Mental Health shall send the scores obtained
from the SARATSO to the Department of Justice Sex Offender
Tracking Program no later than 30 days after the date of
the assessment. The risk assessment score of an offender
shall be made part of his or her file maintained by the
Department of Justice Sex Offender Tracking Program.
f) Each probation department shall, prior to sentencing,
assess every person required to register as a sex offender.
g) Each probation department shall assess every eligible
person under its supervision who was not otherwise
assessed. The assessment shall take place prior to the
termination of probation, but no later than January 1,
2010.
7)States that any person required to register as a sex offender
who has not otherwise been evaluated, may be evaluated upon
request of the law enforcement agency where the individual is
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required to register, or upon request of the individual
required to register. ĘPenal Code Section 290.06(b).]
8)Authorizes any person authorized by statute to administer the
SARATSO, and any person acting as an expert, as specified, to
train, monitor, or review scoring of persons who administer
the SARATSO, shall be granted access to all relevant records
pertaining to a registered sex offender. (Penal Code Section
290.07.)
9)Requires the every sex offender who is currently on probation
or parole to participate in an approved sex offender treatment
program. ĘPenal Code Section 290.09(a).]
10)Requires the sex offender treatment program to assess each
registered sex offender on formal probation or parole using
the SARATSO dynamic tool, when a dynamic risk factor changes,
and shall do a final dynamic assessment within six months of
the offender's release from supervision. The management
professional shall also assess the sex offenders in the
program with the SARATSO future violence tool. ĘPenal Code
Section 290.09(b)(1).]
11)Requires the certified sex offender management professional,
as soon as possible but not later than 30 days after the
assessment, to provide the person's score on the SARATSO
dynamic tool and the future violence tool to the person's
parole agent or probation officer. Within five working days of
receipt of the score, the parole or probation officer shall
send the score to the Department of Justice, and the score
shall be accessible to law enforcement through the Department
of Justice's Internet Web site for the California Sex and
Arson Registry. ĘPenal Code Section 290.09(b)(2).]
12)Requires the certified sex offender management professional
to communicate with the offender's probation officer or parole
agent on a regular basis, but at least once a month, about the
offender's progress in the program and dynamic risk assessment
issues, and shall share pertinent information with the
certified polygraph examiner. ĘPenal Code Section 290.09(c).]
13)Authorizes CDCR to retain jurisdiction and parole supervision
over individuals convicted of specified felonies, and those
who are classified as a High Risk Sex Offender. ĘPenal Code
Section 3000.08(a).]
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FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "AB 1835 will
assist in the implementation of the Containment Model
component of Chelsea's Law. First, it will provide minor
technical cleanup to limit the potential liability of sex
offender management professionals. Second, the bill will
address potential legal issues which would arise should a sex
offender be erroneously identified as low-risk and transferred
to post-release community supervision. Current law is unclear
as to whether that individual may legally be transferred to
state supervision as a parolee."
2)Background : According to information provided by the author,
"AB 1844, 'Chelsea's Law,' was passed in 2010 to bring
comprehensive reform to the many ways California deals with
sex offenders. Among the changes in the bill was the creation
and implementation of a dynamic risk assessment model, various
sentencing and parole changes, and also a framework for a
statewide 'containment model' approach to managing recidivism
among the sex offender population.
"2012 marks the implementation of much of the containment model
outlined in Chelsea's Law, including the improved risk
assessment models and the requirement for probationers and
parolees to participate in sex offender management programs.
As a component of the containment model, sex offenders are
required to undergo polygraph testing to ensure proper
compliance with the terms of their parole or probation."
3)Related Legislation : SB 576 (Calderon), Chapter 361, Statutes
of 2011, restored the penalty of 15-years-to-life under the
"one strike" sex law for great bodily injury committed during
the course of a rape in concert which was inadvertently
deleted in a prior legislative session as a result of a
drafting error.
4)Previous Legislation : AB 1844 (Fletcher), Chapter 219,
Statutes of 2010, enacted "Chelsea's Law," which increases
penalties for forcible sex acts against minors, creates a
penalty of life without the possibility of parole for
specified sex acts against minors, creates safe zones around
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parks, and mandates lifetime parole for specified sex
offenses.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
State Coalition of Probation Organizations
Opposition
American Civil Liberties Union
Analysis Prepared by : Milena Blake / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744