BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2251 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 2251 (Feuer and Blumenfield) As Amended June 18, 2012 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(April 16, |SENATE: |33-0 |(June 25, | | | |2012) | | |2012) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 AB 2251 Page 2 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. AB 2251 Page 3 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 AB 2251 Page 4 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 FN: 0004122