BILL ANALYSIS Ó
------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1462|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1462
Author: Leno (D)
Amended: 5/25/12
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 4/17/12
AYES: Hancock, Calderon, Liu, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Anderson, Harman
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/24/12
AYES: Kehoe, Alquist, Lieu, Price, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Dutton
SUBJECT : County sheriffs: release of prisoners:
medical release
SOURCE : Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department
California State Sheriffs Association
DIGEST : This bill authorizes a sheriff to release a
prisoner from a county jail after conferring with a jail
physician if the sheriff determines the prisoner would not
reasonably pose a threat to public safety and the prisoner
is deemed to have a life expectancy of six months or less.
This bill also authorizes the court, at the request of a
sheriff, to grant medical probation to any prisoner
sentenced to a county jail who is physically incapacitated,
as specified, if that incapacitation did not exist at the
time of sentencing, or to a prisoner who would require
acute long-term inpatient rehabilitation services. Before a
CONTINUED
SB 1462
Page
2
prisoner's compassionate release or release to medical
probation, the sheriff would be required to secure a
placement option for the prisoner, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law includes a form of "compassionate
release" whereby, if the Secretary of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation or the Board of Parole
Hearings, or both, determine that a prisoner is either:
Terminally ill with an incurable condition caused
by an illness or disease that would produce death
within six months, as determined by a physician
employed by the department; or
The prisoner is permanently medically incapacitated
with a medical condition that renders him or her
permanently unable to perform activities of basic
daily living, and results in the prisoner requiring
24-hour total care, including, but not limited to,
coma, persistent vegetative state, brain death,
ventilator-dependency, loss of control of muscular or
neurological function, and that incapacitation did not
exist at the time of the original sentencing;
and that the conditions under which the prisoner would be
released or receive treatment do not pose a threat to
public safety, the secretary or the board may recommend to
the court that the prisoner's sentence be recalled and that
the court shall have the discretion to resentence or recall
if the court finds that the facts described above exist.
(Penal Code § 1170(e)(1) and (e)(2).)
Existing law also includes "medical parole," whereby any
state prisoner other than those sentenced to death, life
without parole or who is otherwise barred by an initiative
statute, who the head physician of the institution where
the prisoner is located determines is permanently medically
incapacitated with a medical condition that renders him or
her permanently unable to perform activities of basic daily
living, and results in the prisoner requiring 24-hour care,
and that incapacitation did not exist at the time of
sentencing, shall be granted medical parole if the Board of
Parole Hearings determines that the conditions under which
the prisoner would be released would not reasonably pose a
SB 1462
Page
3
threat to public safety. (Penal Code § 3550.)
Existing law provides that the sheriff has the authority,
after conferring with a physician who is neither a county
employee nor under a preexisting contract with the county,
to release from a county correctional facility for transfer
to a medical facility or residential care facility, a
prisoner whose physical condition, in the opinion of the
examining physician, is such that he or she is rendered
incapable of causing harm to others upon or after release
from custody. Prior to authorizing the release, however,
the sheriff shall first determine that all of the following
conditions exist:
The prisoner, upon diagnosis by the examining
physician, is deemed to be so severely physically
incapacitated that he or she poses no threat to the
safety of others.
The examining physician has no reasonable
expectation that the prisoner's physical condition
will improve to the extent that he or she could pose a
threat to the safety of others.
The prisoner's medical needs would be better served
in a medical facility or residence other than a county
correctional facility.
Prior to the release of any prisoner pursuant to this
section, the sheriff shall notify the presiding judge of
the superior court of his or her intention to transfer a
severely incapacitated prisoner to a medical facility or
residence for the provision of medical care and other
services. This notification shall include:
The prisoner's name.
The offense or offenses for which the prisoner was
incarcerated, if applicable, and the pending charges,
if applicable.
The date of sentence, if applicable.
The physician's diagnosis of the prisoner's
SB 1462
Page
4
condition.
The physician's prognosis for the prisoner's
recovery.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing
the sheriff to refuse to receive and incarcerate a
defendant or sentenced individual who is not in need of
immediate medical care or who has a terminal medical
condition. (Gov. Code § 26605.5.)
This bill provides that the sheriff, or his or her
designee, has the authority, after conferring with a
physician who has oversight for providing medical care at
the county jail, or that physician's designee, to release
from a county correctional facility, a prisoner sentenced
to the county jail if the sheriff determines that the
prisoner would not reasonably pose a threat to public
safety and the prisoner, upon diagnosis by the examining
physician, is deemed to have a life expectancy of six
months or less.
Before the release of any prisoner, the sheriff would be
required to notify the presiding judge of the superior
court of his or her intention to release the prisoner. This
notification shall include:
The prisoner's name.
The offense or offenses for which the prisoner was
incarcerated, if applicable, and the pending charges,
if applicable.
The date of sentence, if applicable.
The physician's diagnosis of the prisoner's
condition.
The physician's prognosis for the prisoner's
recovery.
The prisoner's address after release.
This bill provides that before a prisoner's compassionate
SB 1462
Page
5
release from a county jail pursuant to this section, the
sheriff, or his or her designee, shall secure a placement
option for the prisoner in the community and, in
consultation with the county welfare department or another
applicable county agency, examine the prisoner's
eligibility for federal Medicaid benefits or other medical
coverage that might assist in funding the prisoner's
medical treatment while in the community.
This bill further provides that for any prisoner released
pursuant to the provisions of this bill who is eligible for
Medi-Cal, the county shall continue to pay the nonfederal
share of the prisoner's Medi-Cal costs.
This bill states that it may not be construed as
authorizing the sheriff to refuse to receive and
incarcerate a defendant or sentenced individual who is not
in need of immediate medical care or who has a terminal
medical condition.
This bill further provides that the sheriff, or his or her
designee, after conferring with the physician who has
oversight for providing medical care, or the physician's
designee, may request the court to grant medical probation
or to resentence a prisoner to medical probation in lieu of
jail time for any prisoner sentenced to the county jail
under either of the following circumstances:
The prisoner is physically incapacitated with a
medical condition that renders the prisoner
permanently unable to perform activities of basic
daily living, which has resulted in the prisoner
requiring 24-hour care, if that incapacitation did not
exist at the time of sentencing.
The prisoner would require acute long-term
inpatient rehabilitation services.
This bill provides that during the time on probation, the
probation officer or court may, at any time, request a
medical reexamination of the person by a physician who has
oversight for providing medical care to prisoners in the
county jail, or the physician's designee. If the court
determines, based on that medical examination, that the
SB 1462
Page
6
person's medical condition has improved to the extent that
the person no longer qualifies for medical probation, the
court may return the person to the custody of the sheriff.
Prior Legislation
SB 1399 (Leno), Chapter 405, Statutes of 2010, which passed
the Senate (22-15) on August 31, 2010.
AB 1539 (Krekorian), Chapter 740, Statutes of 2007.
AB 1946 (Steinberg), 2004, Vetoed.
AB 675 (Migden), 2001, Vetoed.
AB 29 (Villaraigosa), Chapter 751, Statutes of 1997.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
No state costs. Increased annual costs to provide
long-term care services of $1.5 million federal
statewide, to the extent 30 prisoners are granted medical
probation and determined eligible for Medi-Cal.
Estimated costs are based on an average annual cost of
$100,000 per individual. Statewide costs could be higher
or lower commensurate with the actual number of prisoners
granted medical probation and the medical costs specific
to each individual.
Major annual savings in the millions of dollars to local
jails as a result of eliminating costly security and
medical costs for these prisoners. In Los Angeles County
alone, annual savings of $7.3 million is estimated for
ten individuals identified as potentially eligible for
medical probation (based on an average daily
security/base medical rate of $2,000 per prisoner).
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/25/12)
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (co-source)
California State Sheriffs' Association (co-source)
California Catholic Conference
California Probation, Parole, and Correctional Association
California Public Defenders Association
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
SB 1462
Page
7
OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/25/12)
California District Attorneys Association
Crime Victims Action Alliance
Crime Victims United of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : Legal Services for Prisoners with
Children states:
Our organization has long advocated for compassionate
and medical release of people in our state prisons.
This bill mirrors the process for people who will now
be held in California's county jails as the result of
criminal justice realignment. For all of the reasons
we have always supported this type of early release,
we support it now. In addition, people being held in
county jails have, by definition, been convicted of
non-serious, non-violent, non-registerable sex
offenses. There is absolutely no reason to keep
incapacitated or dying prisoners in county jails.
These prisoners are very difficult to care for,
extremely expensive to house and unlikely to commit a
new offense. There is no public safety reason to keep
them behind bars and every reason to allow them to
stay in the community in an atmosphere of dignity and
safety.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Crime Victims United of
California (CVUC) states:
As you well know, CVUC is opposed to establishing
programs that would provide medical parole for
offenders. The push to continually reduce sentences
is unfair to victims and the broader public who expect
accountability for an offender's actions. Current law
already provides for a variety of sentence reduction
credits that allow many inmates to serve only 50% of
their sentences. Victims, their families, and the
broader public should be able to feel a sense of
justice that offenders will serve their time and be
held accountable for their crimes.
As it relates specifically to the provisions of SB
SB 1462
Page
8
1462, CVUC is also concerned about the ability for
victims to be heard relative to the decision regarding
release of their offender. The language within the
bill provides no clear opportunity for victims to be
heard relative to the decision regarding release of
their offender. The language within the bill provides
no clear opportunity for victims to be heard as is
their right under Marsy's Law (Prop.9).
RJG:nl 5/25/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****