BILL ANALYSIS Ó Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair SB 490 (Hancock) Hearing Date: 05/23/2011 Amended: 05/10/2011 Consultant: Jolie Onodera Policy Vote: Public Safety 6-0 _________________________________________________________________ ____ BILL SUMMARY: SB 490 would restructure the Office of Inspector General (OIG), narrow its duties and responsibilities, and rename the OIG as the Office of Independent Correctional Oversight (OICO). Specifically, this bill would: 1) Remove the Inspector General and other prospective employees from peace officer status but instead provide them with non-peace officer authority relating to powers of arrest, serving warrants, and access to criminal history information, as specified ; 2) Require the Governor to appoint a director for the OICO; 3) Continue the purpose and duties of the OIG Bureau of Independent Review through the OICO, including oversight reviews pertaining to specified correctional issues; 4) Require the OICO to continue the OIG function of conducting inspections to periodically review delivery of medical care at each state prison; 5) Revise the existing misdemeanor for a person assisting in any OIG audit or investigation to divulge information to reflect the succession to the OICO director; 6) Deletes obsolete provisions and makes conforming changes. _________________________________________________________________ ____ Fiscal Impact (in thousands) Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund Narrowing of OIG Unknown; significant savings of $2,000 General duties to $4,000 annually; or cost of over $2,000 if May Revision proposal to reduce OIG workload is adopted Removal of peace officer Unknown; potential future cost savings General status of $16 per position _________________________________________________________________ ____ STAFF COMMENTS: This bill may meet the criteria for referral to the Suspense File. Under existing law, the independent OIG is charged with specified duties concerning the Department of Corrections and SB 490 (Hancock) Page 3 Rehabilitation (CDCR), including but not limited to reviewing CDCR policies and procedures, conducting audits of investigatory practices and other audits, being responsible for contemporaneous oversight of internal affairs investigations and the disciplinary process, and conducting investigations of the CDCR, as requested by either the Secretary of the CDCR or a Member of the Legislature. The Inspector General may also initiate an investigation or an audit on his or her own accord. This bill would restructure the OIG's functions and would rename it to the Office of Independent Correctional Oversight (OICO). This bill would refocus the operations of the OIG by doing the following: 1) replacing the Inspector General with a director, appointed by the Governor, subject to Senate confirmation with a term reduced from 6 to 4 years; 2) distilling the duties of the office to the following current Bureau of Independent Review functions, warden vetting; and the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board (C-ROB); 3) continuing the medical inspection program to periodically review delivery of medical care at each state prison; and, 4) focusing discretionary oversight review to the following five categories: Security procedures, including contraband interdiction Inmate, ward, and parolee administrative appeals and grievances Prison Rape Elimination Act procedures Inmate-patient health care delivery Fiscal controls for contracts and grants Staff notes as part of the Governor's May Revision released on May 16, 2011, the Administration proposes to reduce state operations by eliminations consolidations, reductions, and efficiencies. Specifically, a savings of $6.4 million General Fund in 2011-12 is estimated due to a proposal to eliminate all OIG workload except performing use-of-force and employee discipline oversight for the CDCR. The proposed workload reduction includes the elimination of the C-ROB and would also achieve savings related to the transfer of the performance of medical inspections from the OIG to the Office of State Audits and Evaluations. The provisions of this bill do not reduce workload to the extent proposed in the May Revision, as the C-ROB and medical inspection functions would remain with the newly created OICO. If the May Revision proposal is not adopted, annual savings under the provisions of this bill are estimated SB 490 (Hancock) Page 4 to be significant in the amount of $2 million to $4 million, depending on the scope and complexity of oversight reviews still under the OICO's purview. Should the May Revision proposal be adopted, however, the provisions of this bill would result in significant costs potentially in excess of $2 million. This bill would repeal the provisions in existing law making OIG personnel peace officers. Instead, this bill would amend existing law to give them arrest and search warrant authority, and access to summary criminal history information, as specified. Budget trailer bill SB 78 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) 2011 included in the state peace officer classification employees of the OIG who were hired as peace officers prior to April 1, 2011. This bill does not affect these grandfathering provisions. SB 78 bill also allowed continued peace officer status for OIG employees designated by the Inspector General whose primary duty would be conducting investigations. This bill would chapter out this provision, thereby eliminating any statutory authority for peace officer status for these positions, resulting in potential future annual cost savings of approximately $16,000 per position (the difference in annual salary, benefits, and special pay of $121,000 for a peace officer deputy inspector general vs. a non-peace office deputy inspector general cost of $105,000).