BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 756 (Price)
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 756 would:
1) Provide that if a person fails to register as a sex
offender as required, the district attorney in the
jurisdiction where the person was to be paroled or on
probation may request that a warrant be issued for the
person's arrest and shall have the authority to prosecute
that person for a registration violation, as specified;
2) Provide that if a person required to register as a sex
offender is not on parole or probation at the time of
release, the district attorney in a jurisdiction, as
specified, shall have the authority to prosecute;
3) Require persons subject to registering as a sex offender,
if requested while at a residence, to present proof of
current residence upon request by a law enforcement agency,
and would provide that a violation of this requirement is a
misdemeanor.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
New prosecutions/ Unknown; potentially
significantGeneral/Local
incarcerations state/local incarceration costs in the
hundreds of thousands of dollars
New misdemeanor Unknown; non-reimbursable local
costsLocal
for enforcement and incarceration offset
to a degree by fine revenue
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
Current law requires persons convicted of certain sex-related
offenses to register within five working days of coming into a
city or county, with specified law enforcement officials in the
city or county where he or she is residing, and imposes criminal
penalties, misdemeanors or felonies, generally depending upon
the underlying offense, for persons who violate registration
requirements.
SB 756 (Price)
Page 3
This bill would clarify jurisdiction for prosecuting a sex
offender who was not on parole or probation at the time of
release for failing to register, whether in the jurisdiction in
which the person last registered, in the jurisdiction where the
person intends to reside, or in the jurisdiction where the
offense was committed. This clarification of jurisdiction for
prosecuting offenders not on parole or probation at the time of
release is not estimated to result in increased costs that would
otherwise have been incurred under existing law.
This bill also would also expressly authorize the district
attorney in the jurisdiction where a sex offender was to be
paroled or on probation to request that a warrant be issued for
the offender's arrest and shall have the authority to prosecute
that person for a registration violation. Existing law generally
provides that an inmate who is released on parole shall be
returned to the county that was the last legal residence of the
inmate prior to his or her incarceration.
If a parolee who has never registered in any jurisdiction
absconds after release from custody, current law does not
provide for the issuance of a warrant for the offender's arrest
and prosecution in any particular jurisdiction. By authorizing
the issuance of a warrant for an offender's arrest in another
jurisdiction could result in additional prosecutions for
registration violations that would not otherwise have occurred.
To the extent additional prosecutions lead to re-incarceration
will result in additional state and local costs. The cost of
re-incarceration due to a parole violation could result in state
costs of $45,000 per offender for the initial year of
re-incarceration due to intake costs for a risk assessment and a
medical evaluation. There are approximately 3,000 new sex
offenders released from state prison per year. It is unknown how
many offenders would be prosecuted and re-incarcerated, but if
less than a percent (10 sex offenders) were to abscond from
registration and be successfully prosecuted, additional costs of
$450,000 could result in a single year.
The bill finally would require that a person, if requested while
at a residence, shall present proof of residence upon request by
a law enforcement agency investigating compliance with the
requirements of the Sex Offender Registration Act. Violation of
this requirement would be a misdemeanor. Creation of a new crime
will result in non-reimbursable mandated local law enforcement
SB 756 (Price)
Page 4
costs offset to a degree by fine revenue.