BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 139|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 139
Author: Alquist (D)
Amended: 8/26/11
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 5/3/11
AYES: Hancock, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 39-0, 6/2/11
AYES: Alquist, Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Calderon,
Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Dutton,
Emmerson, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Hancock, Harman,
Hernandez, Huff, Kehoe, La Malfa, Leno, Lieu, Liu,
Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Rubio,
Simitian, Steinberg, Strickland, Vargas, Walters, Wolk,
Wright, Wyland, Yee
NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 09/07/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Corrections: state prisons: searches
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : The purpose of this bill is to (1) require,
until January 1, 2014, the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) to oversee and conduct periodic and
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random searches of employees and vendors entering the
secure perimeter of a state prison under the jurisdiction
of CDCR for contraband, as specified; (2) require CDCR to
provide a written report to the Legislature at least
quarterly regarding these searches, as specified.
Assembly Amendments (1) delete provisions that includes the
Inspector General (2) streamline required search notices,
and (3) add a January 1, 2014 sunset date.
ANALYSIS : Existing law defines "contraband" in a prison
as "anything which is not permitted, in excess of the
maximum quantity permitted, or received or obtained from an
unauthorized source." (15 Cal. Code of Regs. Section
3000.) Possession of a cellular telephone or any other
electronic communications device by an inmate is
specifically prohibited. (15 Cal. Code of Regs. Section
3000(c)(19).)
Existing law creates the office of the Inspector General
and requires the Inspector General to review departmental
policy and procedures, conduct audits of investigatory
practices and other audits, be responsible for
contemporaneous oversight of internal affairs
investigations and the disciplinary process, and conduct
investigations of the CDCR, as requested by either the
Secretary of the CDCR or a Member of the Legislature,
pursuant to the approval of the Inspector General under
policies to be developed by the Inspector General. The
Inspector General may, under policies developed by the
Inspector General, initiate an investigation or an audit on
his/her own accord. (Penal Code Section 6126(a)(1).)
This bill requires CDCR to oversee and conduct periodic and
random searches of employees and vendors entering the
secure perimeter of a state prison under the jurisdiction
of the department for contraband. These searches would
include random searches of property, personal or otherwise,
brought into the prison by those individuals. CDCR must
provide the Inspector General with no less than five
working day's notice prior to the dates of those random
searches the department plans to conduct.
This bill provides that the searches be conducted at each
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institution at least once per month. However, the
secretary, or his/her designee, may cancel a search at an
institution in a given month provided both of the following
criteria are met:
For every canceled search at an institution per month,
an additional search shall be conducted at another
institution within that same month.
No institution may go three consecutive months without
a search.
This bill requires CDCR to provide a written report to the
Legislature at least quarterly detailing the following:
The names of the prisons where the searches took place.
The dates of the searches.
The shifts during which the searches took place.
The number of employees searched.
The number of vendors searched.
The number of cell phones discovered.
The number of items of portable computer equipment
found, including, but not limited to, iPods, MP3
players, DVD players, CD players, CDs, and portable
video game players.
Tobacco products found.
Illegal substances found, listed by type of substance.
The provisions of this bill sunset on January 1, 2014.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/7/11)
California District Attorney Association
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Life Support Alliance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
the number of cell phones confiscated in prison in 2006 was
261. Last year, 8,675 cell phones were confiscated. That
constitutes an increase of 3224 percent. Recent stories in
the news report inmates paying $500 to $1500 per phone.
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A 2010 KCRA Channel 3 report quoted an Avenal spokesman
saying inmates with cell phones "can order hits. They can
organize escapes." An Associated Press story discusses how
Mexican drug traffickers call prisons gangs in the United
States via cell phones when they "need someone killed or
kidnapped or drugs distributed in the United States."
The California Senate Rules Committee for the last several
years has focused on cell phones entering prisons during
the confirmation hearings of CDCR officials.
In May of 2009, the Office of the Inspector General sent a
special report entitled "Inmate Cell Phone Use Endangers
Prison Security and Public Safety" to CDCR Secretary
Matthew Cate. Among other things the report found,
"Inmates' access to cell phone technology facilitates their
ability to communicate amongst themselves and their
associates outside of prison, to plan prison assaults, plot
prison escapes, and orchestrate a myriad of other illegal
activities. In addition, these devices can provide an
inmate unrestricted and unmonitored access to the Internet,
whereby they can communicate with unsuspecting victims,
including minors."
The report also found that, "In addition to staff, other
conduits for smuggling cell phones include visitors,
outside accomplices, minimum support facility inmates
working outside perimeter fences, and contracted
employees."
In July of 2008 CDCR's Department of Internal Affairs
conducted surprise screenings for two days called "Project
Disconnect." During these searches, one employee's vehicle
was searched and fifty cell phones, labeled with the
inmates' names, were found. Since November of 2009, CDCR
has continued the random once a month searches of employees
entering every prison in California with "Operation
Disconnect."
This bill codifies the activities of "Operation Disconnect"
into law and includes vendors as those subject to the
search. While cell phones are targeted, this bill aims to
halt all contraband entering prisons. This bill requires
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the OIG to oversee the searches to ensure the integrity of
the process. Finally, this bill requires that CDCR and the
Office of the Inspector General submit a report to the
Legislature detailing the finding of the searches as well
as a general comment section.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 09/07/11
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Atkins, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Butler, Campos, Carter, Cedillo,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eng,
Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Beth Gaines, Galgiani,
Garrick, Gatto, Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall,
Harkey, Hayashi, Roger Hernández, Hill, Huber, Hueso,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lara, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mansoor, Mendoza, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Olsen, Pan,
Perea, V. Manuel Pérez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner,
Smyth, Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner,
Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ammiano, Charles Calderon, Furutani,
Gorell
RJG:do 9/8/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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