BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 681
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 681 (Melendez)
As Amended April 9, 2013
Majority vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 4-1
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|Ayes:|Melendez, Jones-Sawyer, | | |
| |Quirk, Waldron | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Mitchell | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Increases from $3 to $5 the fee charged for each
inmate-initiated medical visit of an inmate confined in a county
or city jail.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that a sheriff, director of corrections, or chief of
police is authorized to charge a fee in the amount of $3 for
each inmate initiated medical visit of an inmate confined in a
county or city jail.
2)States that the fee shall be charged to the inmate's personal
account at the facility. If the inmate has no money in his or
her personal account, there shall be no charge for the medical
visit.
3)Provides that an inmate shall not be denied medical care
because of a lack of funds in his or her personal account.
4)Provides that the medical provider may waive the fee for any
inmate-initiated treatment and shall waive the fee for any
life-threatening or emergency situation, defined as those
health services required for alleviation of severe pain or for
immediate diagnosis and treatment of unforeseen medical
conditions that if not immediately treated could lead to
disability or death.
5)States that follow-up medical visits, at the direction of the
AB 681
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medical staff, shall not be charged to the inmate.
6)Provides that the Director of the Department of Corrections is
authorized to charge a fee in the amount of $5 for each
inmate-initiated medical visit of an inmate confined in the
state prison.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "A sheriff, director of
corrections, or chief of police is authorized to charge a fee in
the amount of $3 for each inmate co-pay in a county or city
jail. This amount was set in 1994 and has not been increased
since. Since the cost of a medical visit for a county inmate is
so low it causes some inmates to abuse the system, for example,
some common reasons to seek a non-medical visit are drug
seeking, wanting to see a specific person, wanting to get out of
his/her cell, and now with overcrowding some inmates just want
to have some privacy. AB 681 will increase the co-pay which
will better align the amount charged to them with the cost of
care while deterring unnecessary and frivolous use of medical
services."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0000106