BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 608|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 608
          Author:   DeSaulnier (D)
          Amended:  As introduced
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 4/12/11
          AYES:  Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price, 
            Steinberg

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  6-3, 5/2/11
          AYES:  Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Pavley, Price, Steinberg
          NOES:  Walters, Emmerson, Runner


           SUBJECT  :    Prison Industry Authority:  sales to nonprofits

           SOURCE  :     K to College


           DIGEST  :    This bill authorizes the Prison Industry 
          Authority to offer their goods and services for sale to 
          nonprofit organizations.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law establishes the Prison Industry 
          Authority (PIA) and states that the purposes of the 
          authority are to:

           Develop and operate industrial, agricultural, and 
            service enterprises employing prisoners in institutions 
            under the jurisdiction of the Department of 
            Corrections, which enterprises may be located either 
            within those institutions or elsewhere, all as may be 
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            determined by the authority.

           Create and maintain working conditions within the 
            enterprises as much like those which prevail in private 
            industry as possible, to assure prisoners employed 
            therein the opportunity to work productively, to earn 
            funds, and to acquire or improve effective work habits 
            and occupational skills.

           Operate a work program for prisoners which will 
            ultimately be self-supporting by generating sufficient 
            funds from the sale of products and services to pay all 
            the expenses of the program, and one which will provide 
            goods and services which are or will be used by the 
            Department of Corrections, thereby reducing the cost of 
            its operation.  (Penal Code Section 2801.)

          Existing law authorizes the PIA to operate industrial, 
          agricultural, and service enterprises which will provide 
          products and services needed by the state, or any political 
          subdivision thereof, or by the federal government, or any 
          department, agency, or corporation thereof, or for any 
          other public use.  Products may be purchased by state 
          agencies to be offered for sale to inmates of the 
          department and to any other person under the care of the 
          state who resides in state-operated institutional 
          facilities.  Fresh meat may be purchased by food service 
          operations in state-owned facilities and sold for onsite 
          consumption.  (Penal Code Section 2807(a).)

          Existing law further states that all things authorized to 
          be produced by the PIA shall be purchased by the state, or 
          any agency thereof, and may be purchased by any county, 
          city, district, or political subdivision, or any agency 
          thereof, or by any state agency to offer for sale to 
          persons residing in state-operated institutions, at the 
          prices fixed by the PIA.  State agencies shall make maximum 
          utilization of these products, and shall consult with the 
          staff of the PIA to develop new products and adapt existing 
          products to meet their needs.  (Penal Code Section 
          2807(b).)

          Existing law provides that notwithstanding Section 2807 of 
          the Penal Code, the Director of the Department of General 

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          Services or his/her designee may procure goods from the 
          private sector even though the goods may be available from 
          the PIA, when in his/her discretion, it is cost beneficial 
          to do so, and if the Director or his/her designee continues 
          to include the PIA in soliciting quotations for goods.  
          (Government Code Section 14612.)

          This bill provides that all goods and services provided by 
          PIA could be offered for sale to a nonprofit organization.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes   
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:

                          Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions                2011-12     2012-13    
           2013-14  Fund  

          Increased sales to                                     No 
          new state costs; potential significant                 
          Grant
            nonprofits        future costs savings due to reduced
                              incarceration, potential personal 
          income/sales
                              tax revenue loss

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  5/3/11)

          K to College (source)
          California Correctional Peace Officers Association
          Crime Victims Action Alliance
          Prison Industry Board

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office, 
          under current law, only government organizations may 
          purchase goods or services from PIA.  This bill allows 
          non-profit entities to purchase goods or services purveyed 
          by the PIA.  This change will support the philanthropic 
          endeavors of California non-profits, who in many cases 
          cannot afford to pay market prices. It also supports the 
          rehabilitative and vocational-training efforts of PIA, 
          which ultimately saves the state money by allowing more 

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          prisoners to earn sentence-reducing work credits.  The 
          sponsor of this bill, K to College, a non-profit based in 
          the East Bay, provides free school supplies to students 
          from disadvantaged backgrounds.  Historically, K to College 
          has used volunteers to assemble these school supply 
          packets.  However over time, volunteers were no longer able 
          to meet the increasing demand for the school supply 
          packets.  In response, in 2009, K to College worked with 
          Senator DeSaulnier's office to coordinate a program with 
          PIA workers at Folsom State Prison.  The Folsom State 
          inmates were able to assemble 150,000 school supply 
          packets, a project too large in scale to be accomplished by 
          volunteers.  In order to make this program and others like 
          it sustainable, California statute must be amended in order 
          to explicitly allow non-profits to work with PIA.  

          RJG:do  5/3/11   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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