BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 494 Page 1 Date of Hearing: April 10, 2013 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mike Gatto, Chair AB 494 (VM Perez) - As Amended: April 1, 2013 Policy Committee: Public SafetyVote: 7-0 Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: SUMMARY This bill restates academic education objectives for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Specifically, this bill: 1)Requires CDCR literacy programs be designed to reflect the goals of the department's 2012 master plan, "The Future of California Corrections: A Blueprint to Save Billions of Dollars, End Federal Oversight, and Improve the Prison System (Blueprint)." 2)Requires CDCR to help inmates who read at a ninth-grade level or higher obtain a general education development (GED) certificate or high school diploma. 3)Requires the CDCR to offer college programs through voluntary education programs. 4)Requires the CDCR to give priority in offering academic programming to those inmates with a "criminogenic: AB 494 Page 2 AB 494 Page 3 need for education. FISCAL EFFECT No direct state costs as the requirements in the bill are consistent with current departmental policy and practice. COMMENTS 1)Rationale . The intent of the author and proponents is to update and expand the statute that requires CDCR to implement educational programs designed to ensure a ninth grade reading level, to reflect the goals of the recent CDCR Blueprint. 2)The CDCR Blueprint states, "Academic education will be offered throughout an inmate's incarceration and will focus on increasing an inmate's reading ability to at least a AB 494 Page 4 ninth-grade level. For inmates reading at ninth-grade level or higher, the focus will be on helping the inmate obtain a general education development certificate. College programs will be offered through the voluntary education program. While education will be offered to all inmates, priority will be given to those with a criminogenic need for education." Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081