BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 490 (Hancock)
Hearing Date: 05/26/2011 Amended: 05/10/2011
Consultant: Jolie Onodera Policy Vote: Public Safety 6-0
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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.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Narrowing of OIG Savings of $2,800 in 2011-12;
savingsGeneral
duties of $5,600 in 2012-13
Removal of peace officer Unknown; potential future cost
savings General
status of $16 per position
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Under existing law, the independent OIG is charged with
specified duties concerning the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR), including but not limited to reviewing
CDCR policies and procedures, conducting audits of investigatory
practices and other audits, being responsible for
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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
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newly created OICO. If the May Revision proposal is not adopted,
annual savings under the provisions of this bill are estimated
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).
The proposed amendments would conform to the action taken in
Senate Budget Subcommittee #5 on May 26, 2011. The amendments
are as follows:
1) Restore the structural framework, such as Office of the
Inspector General name and position of the Inspector
General, to the bill;
2) Reduce the scope of special reviews, investigations and
intake authorized for the office; and
3) Reduce warden vetting by eliminating the follow-up
reports and audits of wardens after they have been
appointed.
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