BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 2357 (Galgiani) - Inmates: temporary removal.
Amended: June 19, 2012 Policy Vote: Public Safety 6-0
Urgency: Yes Mandate: No
Hearing Date: June 25, 2012
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 2357, an urgency measure, would specify that
the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) may temporarily remove an inmate from
prison or any other adult institution under the jurisdiction of
the department for the purpose of permitting the inmate to
participate in or assist with the gathering of evidence relating
to crimes. This bill would specify that the inmate would not be
charged the costs associated with a temporary removal from
prison for this purpose.
Fiscal Impact: Potential ongoing increased custody and
transportation costs to the CDCR in the range of $50,000 to
$100,000 (General Fund) for 25 to 50 annual authorizations for
temporary removal from prison. Costs would vary dependent on the
number and duration of temporary removals authorized.
Background: Existing law authorizes the Secretary of the CDCR to
temporarily remove any inmate from prison or any other
institution for the detention of adults under CDCR jurisdiction,
including removal for the purpose of attending college classes.
Existing law provides that, unless the inmate is removed for
medical treatment, the removal shall not be for a period longer
than three days. Existing law also authorizes the Secretary to
require the inmate to reimburse the state, in whole or in part,
for expenses incurred by the state in connection with the
temporary removal, other than for medical treatment.
Proposed Law: This bill would specify that the Secretary of the
CDCR may temporarily remove an inmate from prison for no longer
than three days for the purpose of permitting the inmate to
participate in or assist with the gathering of evidence relating
to crimes. This bill would prohibit the Secretary from requiring
AB 2357 (Galgiani)
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the inmate to reimburse the state for expenses incurred by the
state in connection with the temporary removal to participate in
or assist with the gathering of evidence relating to crimes.
This bill contains an urgency clause stating, "In order to
enable law enforcement agencies to obtain important evidence
regarding serious crimes, including murder and kidnapping, from
inmates as soon as possible, it is necessary that this act take
effect immediately."
Staff Comments: This bill could result in increased custody and
transportation costs to the CDCR associated with the temporary
removal of inmates to assist with the gathering of evidence
relating to crimes to the extent increased requests from law
enforcement are received and authorized as a result of this
measure.
The CDCR has indicated that currently prisoners are granted
temporary leave from prison under certain circumstances, for
example, to attend family funerals. As existing law authorizes
the Secretary of the CDCR to temporarily remove any inmate from
prison, including but not limited to removal for the purposes of
attending college classes and as noted in the example above, it
appears the CDCR currently has the authority to temporarily
remove an inmate from prison to assist with the gathering of
evidence relating to crimes.
Transportation and custody costs are estimated to cost
approximately $2,000 per incidence of temporary removal over
three days. It is unknown at this time how many requests will be
made by law enforcement for temporary removal of inmates to
assist in the gathering of evidence, but costs could potentially
be in the range of $50,000 to $100,000 (General Fund) for 25 to
50 authorized temporary removals from prison. Actual costs would
vary commensurate with the number of requests authorized and the
duration of each temporary removal.