BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 884 Page 1 ASSEMBLY THIRD READING AB 884 (Bonilla) As Amended May 15, 2013 Majority vote PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Ayes:|Ammiano, Melendez, | | | | |Jones-Sawyer, Mitchell, | | | | |Quirk, Skinner, Waldron | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY : Allows county boards of parole to impose parole terms of up to three years on jail inmates instead of the current maximum two-year terms. EXISTING LAW : 1)Provides for county parole programs. 2)Requires each county parole board to establish written rules and regulations for inmates serving county-jail sentences to apply for parole. 3)Allows the sentencing judge to deny parole eligibility at sentencing if the time to be served in county jail is a condition of felony probation. 4)Permits the parole applicant to appear and to speak on his or her own behalf at the hearing at which the application is being considered by the county parole board. 5)Authorizes only the county parole board to grant or deny parole; but allows the sentencing judge to make recommendation regarding the application. The board should give the recommendation careful consideration. 6)Limits the term of county parole to two years. 7)Limits the term for state parole to five years in the case of inmates imprisoned for a life term for an offense other than first or second degree murder, and to three years for all other inmates. AB 884 Page 2 8)Limits the term for post release community supervision to three years. FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 884 strengthens the parole oversight authority of county parole boards and allows for additional flexibility in the county board oversight of non-violent, non-sexual, non-serious parolees." County Parole : Any inmate confined in, or committed to, a county or city jail, a work furlough facility, an industrial farm, or an industrial road camp for any criminal offense is able to apply for county parole. The purpose of the parole system is to assist county jail inmates to reintegrate into society as constructive individuals as soon as they are able. Since inmates are not confined for the full term of their sentences, the program also alleviates the cost of keeping the inmates in jail. According to the California State Sheriffs' Association, the sponsor of this bill, very few counties are currently utilizing county parole. Of the counties that do, they require a minimum part of the sentence to have been served before considering an application for county parole. Currently, county parole may be granted for up to two years with conditions that are deemed fit by the board. Inmates placed on county parole are supervised by a parole officer of the county board of parole commissioners. When it is believed that a parolee has violated the conditions of his or her supervised release, the written order of the parole board is considered sufficient warrant to authorize officers to return the parolee to custody. In addition, a parolee who leaves the county can be imprisoned as an escapee. Each county parole board consists of the sheriff, or his or her designee; the probation officer, or his or her designee; and a member of the public chosen by the presiding judge of the superior court. The public member must be an individual who does not hold public office. AB 884 Page 3 Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill. Analysis Prepared by : Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0000580