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 _________________________________________________________________ ____ 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. _________________________________________________________________ ____ 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 _________________________________________________________________ ____ 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.