BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 723
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Date of Hearing: April 10, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 723 (Quirk) - As Introduced: February 21, 2013
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes a person on post-release community
supervision (PRCS) status to apply for bail pending a revocation
hearing. The bill specifies that bail pending PRCS revocation is
the sole discretion of the court.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Assuming this bill is necessary to allow PRCS bail
applications, annual GF state trial court costs could be in
the range of $700,000. This assumes 5,500 petitions to revoke
PRCS, with 50% of these applying for bail pursuant to this
bill, requiring an average of 30 minutes of court time.
According to Judicial Council estimates, which assume longer
hearings, these costs could be higher.
It is not clear, however, that courts could not grant PRCS
bail applications under current law, which would mitigate the
costs of this bill. Moreover, it is possible - even likely -
that courts would not entertain many PRCS bail applications
given that revocation is a last resort and the time spent in
custody pending revocation is not likely to be much more than
a week.
2)To the extent this bill is successful in reducing jail
overcrowding, statewide local detention savings could be in
the range of $1.5 million, assuming 2,725 offenders avoid an
average of one week in county jail.
COMMENTS
AB 723
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1)Rationale . According to the author and the sponsor, the
American Bail Association, this bill clarifies the right of
persons on PRCS to pursue bail while facing revocation, which
helps alleviate jail overcrowding and assists in
rehabilitation.
According to the American Bail Coalition, "Unfortunately, it
is not clear under realignment that a bail procedure is set up
for those who violate the conditions of post-release community
supervision. To resolve this issue, AB 723 creates a process
for those who are incarcerated awaiting their revocation
proceeding to seek bail. The procedures would be the same as
pre-trial bail and as such would provide the opportunity under
the appropriate circumstances, with all due consideration for
public safety, for individuals to get back to their families,
jobs, etc. and not take up valuable bed space in our county
jails."
2)Opposition . According to the Chief Probation Officers of
California (CPOC), the length of time a person on PRCS would
await a revocation hearing is about five days, making this
type of short-term bail not practical. "While we share the
same concerns as it relates to available space in county
jails, CPOC takes into account that once an inmate has
violated the conditions of their release, they have already
exhausted and taken all steps with regard to treatment
services and other rehabilitative resources available to them.
In this scenario revocation is the last resort. The law
requires probation to exhaust all other options so by the time
they are in a revocation proceeding, they would not likely
qualify for bail."
The California District Attorneys Association contends the
bill is unnecessary and could encourage courts to grant bail
inappropriately. "We are concerned that such a statute would
encourage courts to grant bail in these cases. We fear this
prospect given that it is likely that a person facing a PRCS
revocation petition has already received intermediate
sanctions and for whom revocation is a 'last resort,' making
release on bail pending that petition potentially
inappropriate."
3)PRCS is a creation of the 2011 correctional realignment . Under
AB 723
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realignment, counties assumed supervision of all offenders
released from prison, other than violent and serious
offenders, high risk sex offenders, mentally disordered
offenders, and third-strikers, all of whom are supervised by
state parole. Each county Board of Supervisors designates a
county agency to be responsible for PRCS. Once released to
PRCS, CDCR retains no jurisdiction. Offenders on PRCS are
subject to up to three years of local supervision, with
mandatory conditions of release, much like probation and
parole conditions. PRCS provides for intermediate sanctions
before PRCS is revoked for a violation, including flash
incarcerations for up to 10 days.
Whether on state parole or PRCS, no offender may be returned
to prison on a parole
revocation except for persons who received
life-with-possibility-of-parole. All parole revocations are
served in county jail and can only be up to 180 days.
PRCS revocations are heard by local courts, while parole
revocations remain under the jurisdiction of the Board of
Parole Hearings until July 1, 2013, at which time the parole
revocation process will become a local court-based process and
Board of Parole Hearings jurisdiction will be limited to
lifers, medical parole hearings, mentally disordered offenders
and sexually violent predators.
4)Prior Legislation . AB 1913 (Skinner), 2012, similar to this
bill, passed off of this committee's Suspense File and was
held on the Senate Appropriations Committee's Suspense File.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081