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 | | ------------------------------------------------------------ UNFINISHED BUSINESS Bill No: SB 1462 Author: Leno (D) Amended: 8/24/12 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 SENATE FLOOR : 23-15, 5/30/12 AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Corbett, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Hancock, Hernandez, Kehoe, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Lowenthal, Negrete McLeod, Padilla, Price, Rubio, Simitian, Steinberg, Vargas, Wolk, Wright, Yee NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Blakeslee, Cannella, Correa, Dutton, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines, Harman, Huff, La Malfa, Pavley, Walters, Wyland NO VOTE RECORDED: Runner, Strickland ASSEMBLY FLOOR : Not available SUBJECT : County sheriffs: release of prisoners: medical release SOURCE : Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department California State Sheriffs Association CONTINUED SB 1462 Page 2 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 prisoner's compassionate release or release to medical probation, the sheriff would be required to secure a placement option for the prisoner, as specified. Assembly Amendments (1) require the county board of supervisors to adopt a process to find the nonfederal share of Medi-Cal cost for a prisoner who would otherwise be incarcerated and (2) make other clarifying changes. 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 SB 1462 Page 3 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 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. SB 1462 Page 4 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 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 SB 1462 Page 5 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 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 for the period of time that the offender would have otherwise been incarcerated. This bill specifies that before implementing Sections 26605.6 and 26605.7, the county board of supervisors shall adopt a process to fund the nonfederal share of Medi-Cal costs for the period of time that a prisoner would have otherwise been incarcerated or for the period of time that a probationer is on medical probation. The county board of supervisors shall notify the State Department of Health Care Services of the process. 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 SB 1462 Page 6 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 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. SB 1462 Page 7 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 8/28/12) 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 OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/28/12) 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, SB 1462 Page 8 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 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:n 8/28/12 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END ****