BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2251
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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 2251 (Feuer and Blumenfield)
          As Amended  June 18, 2012
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |77-0 |(April 16,      |SENATE: |33-0 |(June 25,      |
          |           |     |2012)           |        |     |2012)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:    PUB. S.  


           SUMMARY  :  Authorizes prosecutors to send victim contact 
          information to the California Department of Corrections and 
          Rehabilitation (CDCR) without the victim's consent for purposes 
          of recouping restitution.  

           The Senate amendments  :

          1)Prohibit the district attorney from sending the victim's 
            contact information to the CDCR when the victim affirmatively 
            objects.

          2)Provides that the district attorney is not required to inform 
            the victim of the right to object.

           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. 

          2)Requires full victim restitution for economic losses 
            determined by the court.  

          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 








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            victim restitution.  

          4)Authorizes CDCR to collect restitution fines and restitution 
            orders from prisoners.  

          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 (CVCGCB) for deposit in the restitution fund.  

          6)States that when a prisoner owes victim restitution, the 
            Secretary of CDCR shall deduct a minimum of 20% or the balance 
            owing on the ordered amount, whichever is less, and up to a 
            maximum of 50% from the wages and trust account deposits of a 
            prisoner.  The secretary shall transfer that amount to the 
            CVCGCB 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. 

          7)Directs CDCR to collect the restitution order first when a 
            prisoner owes both a restitution fine and a restitution order. 
             

          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.  

          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.  

          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 
            restitution fund.  









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          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.  

           AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill authorized prosecutors to 
          send victim contact information to the CDCR without the victim's 
          consent for purposes of recouping restitution.  Specifically, 
          the bill:  

          1)Allowed 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)Permitted this information to be sent without the victim's 
            consent.
           
          FISCAL EFFECT  :  Unknown.  This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the 
          Legislative Counsel.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "AB 2251 amends Penal Code 
          Section 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 








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          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."

          Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion 
          of this bill.
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 


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