BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 625
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          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 625 (Quirk)
          As Introduced February 20, 2013
          Majority vote 

           JUDICIARY           9-0                                         
           
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          |Ayes:|Wieckowski, Wagner,       |     |                          |
          |     |Alejo, Chau, Dickinson,   |     |                          |
          |     |Garcia, Maienschein,      |     |                          |
          |     |Muratsuchi, Stone         |     |                          |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
          |     |                          |     |                          |
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           SUMMARY  :  Seeks to authorize notaries public to reasonably rely  
          on the presentation of an inmate identification card issued by  
          the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), if the  
          inmate is in custody, to establish the identity of the inmate  
          described in and executing a written instrument.  Specifically,  
           this bill  :  

          1)Authorizes a notary public to take acknowledgement of a  
            written instrument in reasonable reliance upon the  
            presentation of an inmate identification card issued by the  
            CDCR, if the inmate is in custody, without requiring the  
            identification card to be current or have been issued within  
            the past five years, and without certain additional  
            identifying information, including a photograph and  
            description of the person named on it, is signed by the  
            person, and has a serial or other identifying number.  

          2)Authorizes a notary public to accept as verification of an  
            affiant's identity, when executing a jurat and the statement  
            sworn or subscribed to is contained in a document that  
            purports to identify the affiant, an inmate identification  
            card issued by the CDCR, if the inmate is in custody.  

          3)Makes the following findings and declarations:

             a)   The state and its counties have a financial and public  
               safety interest in ensuring the children of people  
               convicted of felonies and sentenced to state prison time  
               have access to appropriate schooling and medical treatment.  








                                                                  AB 625
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                Eighty percent of imprisoned women are mothers and the  
               vast majority were the primary care provider of minor  
               children at the time of their arrest and imprisonment.   
               These minor children's access to school and medical  
               treatment may be unnecessarily interrupted should their  
               incarcerated parent lack timely and affordable access to a  
               notary public necessary for them to complete paperwork to  
               establish temporary guardianship for their children.

             b)   The state and its counties have a financial and public  
               safety interest in ensuring people convicted of felonies  
               and sentenced to state prison time are able to successfully  
               reenter their communities upon completion of their  
               sentences and live a crime-free life.  Evidence-based  
               research demonstrates a clear connection between decreased  
               recidivism rates and strength of familial bonds during  
               periods of incarceration.  These bonds are weakened when  
               minor children are unnecessarily prevented from visiting  
               incarcerated parents due merely to the incarcerated  
               parents' lack of timely and affordable access to a notary  
               public required to complete required visitation forms.

             c)   The state has taken significant measures to assure due  
               process and accuracy in determining the identity of people  
               convicted of felonies and held in control of the CDCR, and  
               in tracking these individuals' appropriate identity through  
               issuance and monitoring of state inmate identification  
               cards.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :  None
                                          
           COMMENTS  :  This bill, sponsored by Justice Now, seeks to  
          authorize notaries public to reasonably rely on the presentation  
          of an inmate identification card issued by the CDCR, if the  
          inmate is in custody, to establish the identity of the inmate  
          described in and executing a written instrument.  According to  
          the sponsor, a legal services and human rights organization that  
          works with people inside California women's prisons:

               In California, roughly 195,000 children have a parent  
               in state prison.  Eighty percent of people in women's  
               prisons are mothers.  According to the California  
               Research Bureau, approximately two-thirds of mothers  
               in prison were the primary care provider for their  








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               children before imprisonment.  In order for parents in  
               prison to arrange temporary guardianship, approve  
               visits for their children, and take care of a wide  
               range of family matters, access to notary services is  
               absolutely necessary.  All people in prison have the  
               right to access notary services.  

          According to a report published in 2008 by the CDCR, titled The  
          Master Plan for Female Offenders, incarcerated women, who are  
          mothers, are less likely to have a partner on the outside that  
          can help care for and raise their children.  This is in stark  
          contrast to incarcerated fathers who are more likely to have a  
          partner that can care for and raise their children.  The  
          incarceration of a parent can be traumatic and life altering for  
          children.  Uninterrupted access to guardianship, school and  
          medical treatment are necessary in order for a child of an  
          incarcerated parent to retain a sense of "normalcy" in their  
          lives.  Once a parent is incarcerated, these arrangements can be  
          legally made through a notary public.

          According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice  
          Statistics, more than half of mothers and father in state  
          prisons report having received no in-person visits from their  
          children since their admission.  In addition, parents with  
          multiple children may receive visits from some children, but not  
          from others.  

          Currently, under Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations,  
          Section 3019, inmates must carry on their person any  
          identification or privilege card issued for identification  
          purposes.  Under the current statutory scheme, an inmate  
          identification card that is current or issued within the  
          previous five years by the CDCR if the inmate is in custody is  
          an allowable form of identification only if it contains certain  
          identifying information, including a photograph and description  
          of the person named on it, is signed by the person, and has a  
          serial or other identifying number.  This bill would make an  
          inmate identification card presumptively an allowable form of  
          identification, without the additional identifying information,  
          for a credible witness to prove the identity of an individual  
          who executes a written instrument.  
           
          According to the sponsor, as it currently stands, CDCR issues a  
          separate form of identification to inmates for notary purposes.   








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          CDCR has taken significant measures to assure due process and  
          accuracy in determining the identity of people sentenced to  
          prison.  "As such, the process of creating and issuing  
          additional specialized IDs is costly, unnecessary and delays  
          access to service.  By removing an unnecessary step and  
          streamlining the process through which people in prison seek  
          important notary services, this bill will help reduce barriers  
          to maintaining family bonds as well as save the state money and  
          resources."

          Supporters emphasize that this bill will ensure timely access to  
          valuable notary services, while incarcerated, by allowing use of  
          a CDCR inmate identification card.  This bill will help  
          incarcerated parents visit with their children by authorizing  
          notaries public to reasonably rely on the presentation of an  
          inmate identification card, which is already issued by the CDCR,  
          if the inmate is in custody, to establish the identity of the  
          inmate described in and executing the written instrument.  This  
          bill will also benefit all state prisoners who must rely upon  
          notary services.  
           

          Analysis Prepared by :    Drew Liebert / JUD. / (916) 319-2334 


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