BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 68
Author: Maienschein (R)
Amended: 4/11/13 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/14/13
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Block, De León, Knight, Liu, Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 4/18/13 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT : Parole
SOURCE : County of San Diego
San Diego District Attorneys Office
DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) to provide notice to the county of
commitment, and the county of proposed release, at least 30 days
prior to a medical parole hearing or a medical parole release,
as specified.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides that the Board of Parole Hearings or its successor
in interest shall be the state's parole authority.
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2. Provides that, except as specified, a prisoner who is found
to be permanently medically incapacitated, as specified,
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.
3. Requires a physician employed by CDCR who is the primary care
provider for a prisoner to recommend that the prisoner be
referred to the Board of Parole Hearings for consideration
for medical parole if the physician believes the prisoner
meets the medical criteria for medical parole.
This bill:
1. Requires CDCR give notice to the county of commitment, and
the county of proposed release of any medical parole hearing,
as specified, and of any medical parole release as specified.
2. Requires that notice be made at least 30 days prior to the
time any medical parole hearing or medical parole release is
scheduled for an inmate receiving medical parole
consideration, regardless of whether the inmate is sentenced
either determinately or indeterminately.
Background
SB 1399 (Leno, Chapter 405, Statutes of 2010) resulted in the
enactment of medical parole, which became operative in January
of 2011. The law provides that medical parole shall be granted
where (1) an inmate has been found by the head physician in the
institute where they are housed to be 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 (2) the
Board of Parole Hearings also makes a determination that the
conditions under which the prisoner would be released would not
reasonably pose a threat to public safety. According to the
Receiver's office, there have been 51 inmates granted medical
parole since its inception in 2011.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
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SUPPORT : (Verified 6/24/13)
County of San Diego (co-source)
San Diego District Attorney's Office (co-source)
California District Attorneys Association
California Parole, Probation and Correctional Officers
Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California State Association of Counties
California State Sheriffs' Association
Chief Probation Officers of California
County of San Bernardino
Crime Victims Action Alliance
Crime Victims United
Lassen County
Peace Officers Research Association of California
Rural County Representatives of California
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department
Urban Counties Caucus
OPPOSITION : (Verified 6/24/13)
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
Department of Finance
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Justice Now
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author:
There currently is a lack of communication between state
and local agencies as it relates to the medical parole of
prisoners. Current law only requires that a medical
parole notification be provided to the county where the
inmate was convicted and not to the counties to which
those inmates will be paroled. Because San Diego County
has highly specialized skilled nursing home facilities
that some prisoners require, some prisoners have been
medically paroled without any notice to County officials.
This legislation attempts to close that communication gap.
In the spring of 2011, the San Diego County District
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Attorney's office successfully argued against the release
of an inmate convicted of kidnapping, beating and raping a
woman in San Diego in 1998. Despite the fact that the
inmate was a quadriplegic, he verbally abused and
threatened the medical staff at the prison and was capable
of verbally ordering crimes be committed.
In late 2011, an inmate medically paroled to San Diego
made indecent gestures to female nurses in the skilled
nursing facility providing his care. Before these inmates
have the opportunity to commit additional crimes, the
County of San Diego would like the chance to review the
information on these individuals and weigh in on their
release before they return to our community.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : Justice Now writes, "Medical parole
is a measure intended to save valuable state resources through
the release of permanently medically incapacitated people from
prison, thereby relinquishing the state of financial burden
associated with their health care, guarding, and transportation
costs. We are extremely appreciative of the legislature's
recognition of the rare win-win opportunity to save precious
state resources while preserving public safety presented by the
medical parole of people permanently unable to perform the
activities of daily living who would not reasonably pose a
threat to their communities.
"AB 68 would create more barriers for people in prison seeking
release through medical parole. Rather than adopting statutory
language that will result in obstruction of process, and thus
its statutory intent as the process becomes underutilized, we
should be expanding medical parole to address continued
statewide prison overcrowding and the significant costs
associated with imprisoning an aging population."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 4/18/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom,
Blumenfield, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown,
Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway,
Cooley, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
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Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, V. Manuel Pérez,
Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
Torres, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams,
Yamada, John A. Pérez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Holden, Lowenthal, Mitchell, Vacancy
JG:d 6/24/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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