BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 752
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 2, 2013
Counsel: Sandy Uribe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 752 (Jones-Sawyer) - As Introduced: February 21, 2013
SUMMARY : Expands eligibility to participate in work furlough
programs, currently available to misdemeanants and felons on
probation, to include felons sentenced to county jail pursuant
to realignment. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes a person sentenced to county jail for a felony to
participate in a work furlough program.
2)Makes technical, non-substantive changes.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows a county, upon approval by the board of supervisors, to
establish a work furlough program. [Penal Code Section
1208(a).]
2)Allows qualifying screened offenders to maintain employment,
attend school, or participate in a job training program while
serving a custody commitment. [Penal Code Section 1208(b).]
3)Limits participation in a work furlough program to
misdemeanants sentenced to county jail, or those imprisoned in
the county jail as a condition of probation, for failure to
pay a fine, or for contempt. [Penal Code Section 1208(b).]
4)Allows the work furlough administrator to determine whether a
particular prisoner is a fit subject for work furlough, job
training and/or education, unless the court at the time of
sentencing has ordered that the person not be granted work
furloughs. [Penal Code Section 1208(b).]
5)Allows the court to recommend a person for work furlough.
[Penal Code Section 1208(i).]
6)Provides that when the inmate is not employed, trained, or
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educated, he or she shall be confined in the work furlough
confinement facility. [Penal Code Section 1208(d).]
7)Awards a defendant good-time and work-time credits for
participation in a work furlough program. [Penal Code Section
1208(f).]
8)Permits the work furlough administrator to collect the
inmate's earning in order to pay for the inmate's board and
personal expenses, and administrative costs. [Penal Code
Section 1208(e).]
9)Provides that no eligible person shall be denied consideration
for, or be removed from, a work furlough program because of an
inability to pay all or part of the program fees. [Penal Code
Section 1208.2(g).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "This
legislation will allow those sentences that were changed to
local supervision under Realignment to be served in a Work
Furlough Program if the person is deemed suitable by the Work
Furlough Administrator.
"Work furlough programs allow an inmate to maintain employment
while serving a custody commitment. Appropriately screened
offenders will be allowed to maintain or secure employment,
attend school, or participate in a job training program as
well as other evidence-based programs that may be offered by a
Work Furlough program.
"Casework for offenders in a Work Furlough program may begin at
an earlier stage compared to being incarcerated in a local
jail and will assist them in their transition back into the
community, thus helping to reduce recidivism. The removal of
these offenders from the county jail will also help alleviate
over-crowding and free jail space for other offenders."
2)Work Furlough Programs : Work furlough is an alternative form
of punishment which allows participants to pursue legitimate
day-time activities while submitting to nightly incarceration.
Although commonly referred to as "work furlough," this
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alternative sentencing program also encompasses job training
and school furlough. The program enables defendants to
continue to work to support themselves while completing a jail
sentence ordered by the court. The program also allows
defendants to attend school or to receive job training while
serving a sentence.
A court cannot order a person to be accepted for work furlough;
the ultimate determination rests with the administrator of the
program. However, the court's recommendation that a person be
placed in the program must be given great weight. [People v.
Superior Court (Peterson) (1992) 12 Cal.App.4th 16, 25.]
Work furlough programs are distinguishable from work release
programs, which allow lower risk offenders to discharge their
sentences through supervised public service work as an
alternative to confinement. (See Penal Code Section 4024.2.)
3)Criminal Justice Realignment Act : Criminal justice
realignment created two classifications of felonies: those
punishable in county jail and those punishable in state
prison. Realignment limited which felons can be sent to state
prison, thus requiring that more felons serve their sentences
in county jails. The new law applies to qualified defendants
who commit qualifying offenses and who were sentenced on or
after October 1, 2011. Specifically, sentences to state
prison are now mainly limited to registered sex offenders and
individuals with a current or prior serious or violent
offense. In addition to the serious, violent, registerable
offenses eligible for state prison incarceration, there are
approximately 70 felonies which have be specifically excluded
from eligibility for local custody (i.e., the sentence for
which must be served in state prison).
4)Argument in Support : According to the Chief Probation
Officers of California , one of the sponsors of this bill, "AB
752 would allow those sentences that were changed to local
supervision under Realignment to be served in a Work Furlough
Program if the person is deemed suitable by the Work Furlough
Administrator.
"Work furlough programs allow an inmate to maintain employment
while serving a custody commitment. Appropriately screened
offenders will be allowed to maintain or secure employment,
attend school, or participate in a job training program as
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well as other evidence-based programs that may be offered by a
Work Furlough program. These programs are in important tool
to assist eligible inmates in their transition back into the
community, thereby helping reduce recidivism."
5)Argument in Opposition : According to the California District
Attorneys Association , "Our concern with this bill lies in the
fact that it is a further attempt to blur the line between
persons sentenced to county jail after a felony conviction
because of realignment and misdemeanants sentenced to county
jail. PC 1170(h) convictions that result in jail sentences
are identical to non-PC 1170(h) convictions that result in
state prison sentences with regard to the defendant actually
being sentenced (as opposed to having the imposition of
sentence suspended when probation is granted) and with regard
to both PC 1170(h) jail terms and state prison terms
qualifying as prison priors under PC 667.5(b).
"Felons sentenced to county jails under realignment are
similarly situated to felons sentenced to prison, with the
main difference being where they are incarcerated. As such,
the simple change to where a sentenced felon is housed
effectuated by realignment is not appropriate grounds to treat
that felon in the same manner in which a county jail
misdemeanant is treated."
6)Related Legislation : AB 632 (Fox) makes technical,
nonsubstantive changes to the work furlough provision. AB 632
is pending rereferral by the Assembly Rules Committee.
7)Prior Legislation :
a) SB 266 (Deddeh), Chapter 48, Statutes of 1989,
established the "Cobey Work Furlough Law."
b) AB 148 (Rainey), Chapter 787, Statutes of 1993, required
that all private work furlough facilities be administered
pursuant to written contract, as specified.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (Co-Sponsor)
AB 752
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Californians for Safety and Justice (Co-Sponsor)
Chief Probation Officers of California (Co-Sponsor)
American Civil Liberties Union
California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association
California Public Defenders Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Drug Policy Alliance
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Golden State Bail Agents Association
Los Angeles Regional Reentry Partnership
Women's Foundation of California
Opposition
California District Attorneys Association
Analysis Prepared by : Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744