BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2251
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Date of Hearing: April 10, 2012
Counsel: Sandy Uribe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2251 (Feuer) - As Introduced: February 24, 2012
SUMMARY : Authorizes prosecutors to send victim contact
information to the California Department of Corrections (CDCR)
without the victim's consent for purposes of recouping
restitution. Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows the district attorney of the county from which the
defendant is committed to send CDCR the victim's contact
information and a copy of the restitution order for the sole
purpose of distributing the restitution collected on the
victim's behalf if the district attorney finds it is in the
best interest of the victim to send that information.
2)Permits this information to be sent without the victim's
consent.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States it is the unequivocal intention of the People of the
State of California that all persons who suffer losses as a
result of criminal activity shall have the right to
restitution from the persons convicted of the crimes for
losses they suffer. Restitution shall be ordered from the
convicted persons in every case, regardless of the sentence or
disposition imposed, in which a crime victim suffers a loss,
unless compelling and extraordinary reasons exist to the
contrary. ĘCal. Const., Art. I, sec. 28(b).]
2)Requires full victim restitution for economic losses
determined by the court. ĘPenal Code Section 1202.4.]
3)Requires that all monetary payments, monies, and property
collected from any person who has been ordered to make
restitution first be applied to pay the amounts ordered as
victim restitution. ĘCal. Const., Art. I, sec. 28(b)(13)(C).]
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4)Authorizes CDCR to collect restitution fines and restitution
orders from prisoners. ĘPenal Code Section 2085.5]
5)Directs the Secretary of CDCR to deduct a minimum of 20% or
the balance owing on the restitution-fine amount, whichever is
less, and up to a maximum of 50% from the wages and trust
account deposits of a prisoner, and to transfer that amount to
the California Victims Compensation and Government Claims
Board (CVDGCB) for deposit in the restitution fund. ĘPenal
Code Section 2085.5(a).]
6)States that when a prisoner owes victim restitution, the
Secretary of CDCR shall deduct a minimum of 20 percent or the
balance owing on the ordered amount, whichever is less, and up
to a maximum of 50 percent from the wages and trust account
deposits of a prisoner. The secretary shall transfer that
amount to the CVDGCB for direct payment to the victim, or
payment shall be made to the restitution fund to the extent
that the victim has received assistance pursuant to that
program. ĘPenal Code Section 2085.5(b).]
7)Directs CDCR to collect the restitution order first when a
prisoner owes both a restitution fine and a restitution order.
ĘPenal Code Section 2085.5(g).]
8)Allows CDCR to withhold an administrative fee from the
offender's earnings to be held in a special deposit account
for the purposes of reimbursing administrative and support
costs of the restitution program. ĘPenal Code Section
2085.5(c).]
9)Allows the probation department to send CDCR the victim's
contact information and a copy of the restitution order for
purposes of distributing restitution collected on behalf of
the victim, but only if the victim consents. ĘPenal Code
Section 1203c(d)(1).]
10)States that in any case in which a victim cannot be located,
the restitution revenues received by the CVCGCB on the
victim's behalf shall be held in trust in the restitution fund
until the end of the state fiscal year subsequent to the state
fiscal year in which the funds were deposited or until the
time that the victim has provided current address information,
whichever occurs sooner. Amounts remaining in trust at the
end of the specified period of time shall revert to the
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restitution fund. ĘPenal Code Section 2085.5(k)(2).]
11)States that any victim failing to provide a current address
within the period of time specified in existing law may
provide documentation to the CDCR, which in turn shall verify
that moneys were in fact collected on behalf of the victim.
Upon receipt of that verified information from the CDCR, the
CVCGCB shall transmit the restitution revenues to the victim
in accordance with the provisions of law. ĘPenal Code Section
2085.5(k)(3).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "AB 2251 amends
Penal Code §1203c to allow prosecutors to send victim contact
information to California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, so long as it is to ensure victim collection
of restitution, is in the best interest of the victim, and
will remain confidential. Prosecutors are only allowed to
release this information without the consent of the victim
under the conditions that the victim is owed restitution and
that their information is kept confidential by CDCR. Because
this information is only to be released to the CDCR for the
purpose of disbursing court ordered restitution, the bill
ensures the rights and privacy of victims while upholding
justice as ruled by the court and protected by the California
constitution.
"This bill will ensure that victims of crime receive their
court-ordered restitution. The bill will streamline CDCR's
efforts to uphold victims' constitutional right to receive
restitution directly from the persons convicted of the crimes
that caused them to suffer losses as a result of convicted
persons' criminal activity. By making a simple amendment to
the Penal Code, AB 2251 is a clear step toward realizing that
right for all victims of crime in California."
2)Victim Compensation Fund : Victims of criminal acts may
recover compensation from the state restitution fund under
specified circumstances. The fund is administered by the
CVCGCB. (Government Code Sections13950 to 13969.7.) A
restitution order does not preclude a victim's right to
financial assistance from the fund, but the amount of such
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assistance is reduced by the amount the victim actually
receives for the same loss under the restitution order.
ĘPenal Code Section1202.4(j).] Restitution payments are
ordered to be deposited to the fund to the extent that it
provided compensation to the victim. ĘPenal Code Section
1202.4(f)(2).] More broadly, when the fund pays a victim, it
is subrogated to the victim's rights against persons liable
for restitution. ĘPenal Code Section 1202.4(f)(2); Government
Code Section 13963(a).]
3)Drafting Inconsistency ? Under existing law, when the
probation department forwards the victim's contact information
to CDCR for purposes of distributing victim restitution, the
victim's consent is required. ĘPenal Code Section
1203c(d)(1).] Should the language of this bill be amended to
require victim consent in order to allow the prosecutor to
disclose victim contact information, just as is required when
the probation department forwards this information to CDCR?
4)Arguments in Support : According to the Los Angeles County
District Attorney's Office , a sponsor of this bill, "In order
to facilitate the collection of restitution, CDCR collects
monies from inmate accounts to pay victims of crime on direct
restitution. Currently there is a substantial backlog of
cases where CDCR has collected restitution from an inmate that
goes back a number of years. The list of cases where
restitution has actually been collected numbers at about
3,200. There are also cases where CDCR has not yet collected
from an inmate account, but they are aware that there is a
restitution order and will begin to collect from the inmate
when money is in the account. These cases number well over
20,000. In all of these cases, no victim contact information
has been provided to CDCR. CDCR has a court order mandating
the payment of restitution but no way to pay because they do
not have victim contact information. ?
"Current law states that, "If the victim consents, the probation
officer of the county from which the person is committed may
send to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation the
victim's contact information and a copy of the restitution
order for the purpose of distributing the restitution
collected on behalf of the victim." The statute is silent as
to the ability of prosecutors to provide this information to
the CDCR.
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"AB 2251 resolves this problem by amending Penal Code §1203c to
allow prosecutors to send victim contact information to CDCR
without their consent, as long it is to ensure victim
collection of restitution, is in the best interest of the
victim, and will remain confidential."
5)Prior Legislation :
a) SB 432 (Runner), Chapter 49, Statutes of 2009,
authorized a county probation department, when restitution
has been ordered, to provide a copy of the restitution
order and victim contact information to CDCR.
b) AB 1505 (La Suer), Chapter 555, Statutes of 2006,
authorized CDCR to collect restitution on behalf of a
victim, and allowed a victim to collect restitution without
filing a claim with the CVCGCB.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Crime Victims Action Alliance (Co-Sponsor)
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office (Co-Sponsor)
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California Correctional Peace Officers Association
California District Attorneys Association
Crime Victims United of California
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744