BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1986
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1986 (Davis)
As Amended March 29, 2012
Majority vote
ELECTIONS 5-2 APPROPRIATIONS 12-5
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|Ayes:|Fong, Bonilla, Hall, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Blumenfield, |
| |Mendoza, Swanson | |Bradford, Charles |
| | | |Calderon, Campos, Davis, |
| | | |Gatto, Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Solorio |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Donnelly, Logue |Nays:|Harkey, Donnelly, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Makes various modifications to a provision of
existing law that requires the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to provide information to
the Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) regarding the last
known residence of each inmate incarcerated in a state adult
correctional facility. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires the CDCR to provide information to the CRC regarding
the census block of the last known place of residence for each
inmate incarcerated in a state adult correctional facility,
instead of providing information about the ZIP Code of the
last known place of residence.
2)Requires CDCR, when providing information to the CRC regarding
the last known places of residence of inmates incarcerated in
state adult correctional facilities, to exclude all inmates in
state custody for whom a last known place of residence within
California cannot be determined and all inmates in federal
custody in a facility in California.
3)Requests the CRC, when using information regarding the last
known place of residence for inmates that is furnished to the
CRC pursuant to existing law and this bill, to do all of the
following:
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a) Refrain from publishing information regarding a specific
inmate's last known place of residence;
b) Deem an inmate in state custody in a facility within
California for whom the last known place of residence is
either outside of California or cannot be determined, or an
inmate in federal custody in a facility within California,
to reside at an unknown geographical location in the state
and to exclude such inmates from the population count for
any district, ward, or precinct; and,
c) Adjust race and ethnicity data in districts, wards, and
precincts that contain prisons in a manner that reflects
reductions in the local population as inmates are included
in the population count of the district, ward, or precinct
of their last known place of residence.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires the CDCR, not sooner than April 1, 2020, and not
later than July 1, 2020, to furnish to the CRC information
regarding the last known residence of each inmate incarcerated
in a state adult correctional facility, except an inmate whose
last known residence is outside California. Requires CDCR, in
2030 and in each year ending in the number zero thereafter, to
provide this information to the CRC not sooner than the
decennial census day and not later than 90 days thereafter.
2)Requires the information furnished by the CDCR to include, for
each inmate, a unique identifier, other than the inmate's name
or CDCR number, and last known address information that is
sufficiently specific to determine the congressional, State
Senatorial, State Assembly, or Board of Equalization (BOE)
district in which the inmate's last known residence is
located. Provides that the information may include, but not
be limited to, ZIP Code information or street address
information from which a ZIP Code can be derived.
3)Requests the CRC to deem each incarcerated person as residing
at his or her last known residence, rather than at the
institution of his or her incarceration, and to use the
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information furnished to it by the CDCR in carrying out its
redistricting responsibilities.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill's modifications to current law should, at
most, have a minor net fiscal impact to CDCR and the CRC.
COMMENTS : Last year, the Legislature approved and the Governor
signed AB 420 (Davis), Chapter 548, Statutes of 2011, which
requests the CRC, when adjusting district boundaries for the
state Legislature, Congress, and the BOE, to deem an
incarcerated person as residing at his or her last known
residence, rather than the institution of his or her
incarceration. AB 420 was intended to end the practice whereby
incarcerated individuals are counted, for redistricting
purposes, as residing at the prison in which they are
incarcerated, instead of at the locations where they last
resided prior to incarceration. 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 that
typically are 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, and seeks to ensure that information provided to the
CRC by the CDCR is not considered a public record.
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Ethan Jones / E. & R. / (916) 319-2094
FN: 0003448
AB 1986
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