BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 1986
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          Date of Hearing:   May 2, 2012

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    AB 1986 (Davis) - As Amended:  March 29, 2012 

          Policy Committee:                              ElectionsVote:5-2

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill modifies provisions of recently enacted legislation 
          requiring the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 
          (CDCR) to provide information to the Citizens Redistricting 
          Commission (CRC) regarding the last known address of inmates 
          incarcerated in adult correctional facilities within the state. 
          Specifically, this bill:

          1)Requires CDCR to:

             a)   Provide the information regarding last known place of 
               residence by census block rather than ZIP Code.

             b)   Exclude all inmates in federal custody in a California 
               facility and all inmates in state custody for whom a last 
               known address cannot be determined.

          2)Requests the CRC to:

             a)   Refrain from publishing any information regarding any 
               inmates' last known place of residence.

             b)   Exclude any inmates per (1) (b) and any inmates' whose 
               last known residence is outside California from the 
               population count for any district, ward, or precinct.

             c)   Adjust race and ethnicity data in districts, wards, and 
               precincts containing state prisons to reflect reductions 
               for inmates included in the population count of other 
               districts, wards, and precincts.

           FISCAL EFFECT  








                                                                  AB 1986
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          The bill's modifications to current law should, at most, have a 
          minor net fiscal impact to CDCR and the CRC.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Background and Purpose  . AB 420 (Davis)/Chapter 548 of 2011, 
            requested the CRC to count inmates, for purposes of 
            redistricting, in their last known address rather than their 
            place of incarceration. Because the state uses population data 
            from the U.S. Census Bureau for redistricting purposes, 
            individuals who are incarcerated in California traditionally 
            have been counted at the place of incarceration when district 
            lines are drawn for the state Legislature, Congress, and the 
            Board of Equalization (BOE). Critics of that practice argue 
            that it artificially inflates the political influence of 
            districts where prisons are located, at the expense of other 
            voters.

            This bill makes a number of changes to the provisions of AB 
            420 in an attempt to allow for that bill to be more 
            effectively implemented.  Specifically, this bill requires 
            CDCR to provide residence information for inmates by census 
            blocks, instead of by ZIP Codes, since census blocks are the 
            unit of geography typically used to draw district lines.  
            Additionally, this bill seeks to provide greater guidance to 
            the CRC about how to deal with inmates for whom reliable 
            residence information is not available.

           2)CRC  . The CRC was established through Proposition 11 in 2008 to 
            establish district lines for the Assembly, Senate and BOE. 
            Proposition 20 of 2010 expanded the CRC's responsibility to 
            include establishing lines for the state's congressional 
            districts. Because Propositions 11 and 20 established the CRC 
            in the California Constitution, and gave it the independent 
            authority, it is unclear whether the Legislature can require 
            the CRC to adjust census figures for redistricting purposes.  
            AB 420, therefore, did not require the CRC to adjust census 
            figures, but rather requested that it do so.  AB 1986 
            similarly requested the CRC to comply with its modifications 
            to AB 420.

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081 










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