BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
AB 966 (Bonta) - Prisoner Protections for Family and Community
Health Act.
Amended: January 6, 2014 Policy Vote: Public Safety 5-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: June 23, 2014
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 966 requires the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) to develop a five-year plan to expand the
availability of condoms in California prisons, based on CDCR's
2011 report recommendations and the pilot program conducted at
Solano State Prison.
Fiscal Impact:
Minor, absorbable one-time costs (General Fund) to develop
the five-year plan.
Potential future cost pressure of about $175,000 (General
Fund) to implement a statewide program. While the bill does
not require plan implementation, to the extent CDCR chooses
to do so, based on reported data from the pilot project,
potential first-year costs for a statewide program would
cost approximately $175,000 based on a cost per inmate of
$1.50 in the first year, including the initial cost of the
dispensers, decreasing to $90,000 statewide, based on a cost
of $0.76 per inmate for subsequent years. To the extent the
plan imposes a phased-in approach to implementation, initial
costs could be less.
Potential out-year significant savings in medical-related
costs to the CDCR and community at large to the extent the
plan is implemented and the availability of condoms results
in fewer cases of HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that very few
HIV infections (less than four cases) would need to be
prevented for a cost-neutral program.
Background: Existing law declares that the spread of HIV/AIDS
within prison and jail populations presents a grave danger to
inmates within those populations, law enforcement personnel, and
other persons in contact with a prisoner infected with the AIDS
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virus, both during and after the prisoner's confinement (PC §
7500). According to 2013 data from the California Correctional
Health Care Services (CCHCS), there were 1,055 inmates infected
and receiving treatment for HIV/AIDS in California's prisons.
Based on the average annual cost of care of $29,500 (including
medication and laboratory tests, but exclusive of clinical staff
and additional diagnostic studies), the annual cost to treat
these inmates is estimated at over $31 million.
State regulations prohibit all sex acts, illegal and consensual,
between inmates (Title 15, California Code of Regulations §
3007). Existing law provides that any person who participates in
an act of sodomy with any person of any age while confined in
any state prison or local detention facility shall be punished
by imprisonment in state prison or county jail for up to one
year (PC § 286(e)). In addition, any person participating in an
act of oral copulation while confined in any state prison or
local detention facility shall be punished by imprisonment in
the state prison or county jail for up to one year (PC §
288a(e)).
AB 1334 (Swanson) 2008 would have required the CDCR to allow
nonprofit and health care agencies to enter prisons to provide
sexual barrier protection devices, including condoms. The
Governor's veto message noted that although it is unlawful to
engage in sexual activity while incarcerated, condom
distribution in prison is "not an unreasonable public policy and
is consistent with the need to improve our prison health care
system and overall public health."
Additionally, the Governor's veto message directed the CDCR to
determine the risk and viability of such a program by
identifying one state prison facility for the purpose of a pilot
program. As a result, a pilot program was implemented in Solano
State Prison for one year from November 5, 2008, through
November 4, 2009. Several agencies covered all costs for the
program and volunteered staff time and expertise. The Center for
Health Justice, a nonprofit organization, purchased the condom
dispensing machines and condoms, monitored and refilled the
dispensers throughout the pilot period, and provided education
for staff and inmates.
Various researchers from the Division of Correctional Health
Care Services and the State Department of Public Health provided
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evaluation services and finalized their conclusions in a
September 2011 report entitled, "Evaluation of a Prisoner Condom
Access Pilot Program Conducted in One California State Prison
Facility." The report concluded that there was no evidence that
providing condoms posed an increased risk to safety or security,
or resulted in injury to staff or inmates in a general
population prison facility setting. The report concluded that
providing condoms from dispensing machines is feasible and of
relatively low cost to implement and maintain. Finally, the
report concluded that providing condoms would likely reduce the
transmission of HIV, sexually transmitted diseases, and
hepatitis in CDCR prisons, thereby reducing medical costs to
both the CDCR and the community.
Proposed Law: This bill requires the CDCR to develop a five-year
plan to expand the availability of condoms in all California
prisons based on the recommendations contained in the
"Evaluation of a Prisoner Condom Access Pilot Program Conducted
in One California State Prison Facility," report and in light of
the successful pilot project conducted at California State
Prison, Solano.
Prior Legislation: AB 999 (Bonta) 2013 was similar to this
measure but required not only the development of a plan, but
also the implementation of the plan. This bill was vetoed by the
Governor with the following message:
I am returning Assembly Bill 999 without my signature. This bill
would require the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to develop a plan to expand the availability of
condoms to all California prisons. The Department currently
allows family visitors to bring condoms for the purpose of the
family overnight visitation program. While expansion of the
program may be warranted, the Department should evaluate and
implement this expansion carefully and within its existing
authority.
AB 1334 (Swanson) 2008 would have authorized any nonprofit or
health care agency to distribute sexual barrier protection
devices to inmates in state prisons. This bill was vetoed by the
Governor.
AB 1677 (Koretz) 2006 was virtually identical to AB 1334. This
measure was vetoed by the Governor who stated the provisions of
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the bill were in conflict with the Penal Code.
Staff Comments: This bill requires the CDCR to develop a
five-year plan based on
the recommendations contained in the specified report, but does
not require implementation of the plan. The costs to develop the
plan are estimated to be minor and absorbable given the volume
of available data from the report and pilot project.
While the bill does not require implementation of the plan, the
development of the plan does create cost pressure to eventually
do so. To the extent the CDCR does implement the plan at some
point in the future, based on reported data from the pilot
project, first-year costs for a statewide program would cost
approximately $175,000 based on a cost per inmate of $1.50 in
the first year (based on the inmate population of approximately
116,500 as of May 2014), including the initial cost of the
dispensers, decreasing to $90,000 statewide, based on a cost of
$0.76 per inmate for subsequent years. Should implementation of
the program be contingent upon sufficient donations for the
non-administrative costs of the program, including the
dispensers and condoms, first-year costs would be offset by the
level of donations. To the extent sufficient donations are not
received each year, the costs of the program would be borne by
the CDCR.
To the extent the availability of condoms results in fewer cases
of HIV/AIDS within state prisons, the potential for out-year
savings in medical-related costs to the CDCR and the community
at large is significant. Based on the CCHCS annual cost of
inmate care for HIV of $29,500, it is estimated that very few
HIV infections (less than 4 cases) would need to be prevented
for a cost-neutral program.