BILL NUMBER: AB 1276 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 13, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 24, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bloom
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to add Section 3051 2905 to
the Penal Code, relating to parole. youth
offenders.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1276, as amended, Bloom. Parole: juvenile offenders.
Youth offenders: security placement.
Existing law begins the term of imprisonment upon the actual
delivery of a defendant into the custody of the Secretary of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and requires the place
of reception to be an institution under the direction of the
Secretary. Existing regulations require that an inmate be assigned to
a facility with a security level which corresponds to specified
placement score ranges and establishes classification committees for
making these determinations.
This bill would prohibit a youth offender, as defined, from being
classified at the security level corresponding to his or her
placement score if his or her in-custody behavior indicates he or she
can be safely placed at a lower security level. The bill would
require the department to conduct a youth offender Institutional
Classification Committee review at reception to provide special
classification consideration for every youth offender. The bill would
require the department to house a youth offender at a lower security
level facility that corresponds with his or her placement score if
the department determines that it can safely do so. The bill would
require the department to place a youth offender in a housing
placement that permits increased access to programs if the department
determines that a youth offender is ready for that placement. The
bill would require that a youth offender who is denied a lower
security level and is placed in the highest security level to be
eligible to have his or her placement reconsidered at his or her
annual review until age 25. The bill would require the department to
revise existing regulations and adopt new regulations pursuant to
these provisions, as necessary.
Existing law generally regulates the granting and conditioning of
parole, and places the duty to monitor parolees on the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Adult Parole Operations.
Existing law specifies the procedures that the Board of Parole
Hearings must follow in granting, denying, or revoking parole.
This bill would require, except as otherwise provided by law, a
person who was convicted of a nonhomicide offense that was committed
before the person had attained 18 years of age to be eligible for
consideration for parole after serving 20 or 25 years in state
prison, as specified. The bill would state that it is the intent of
the Legislature to provide a meaningful opportunity to obtain release
according to the standards set forth by the California Supreme Court
in People v. Caballero.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares
all of the following:
(1) As stated by the United States Supreme Court in Miller v.
Alabama (2012) 132 S.Ct. 2455, "only a relatively small proportion of
adolescents" who engage in illegal activity "develop entrenched
patterns of problem behavior," and "developments in psychology and
brain science continue to show fundamental differences between
juvenile and adult minds," including "parts of the brain involved in
behavior control."
(2) Important neurological and developmental changes are occurring
in people who are in their late teens through early adulthood. The
Legislature recognizes that these factors enhance the prospect that,
as development progresses and youth mature into adults, these
individuals can become contributing members of society.
(3) One purpose of incarceration is rehabilitation, and young
adults can be especially influenced by positive or negative models.
(4) There are often negative influences at higher custody level
facilities. Amenable young adults incarcerated in state prisons
should have access to programs and living circumstances that increase
the likelihood of rehabilitation during these important
developmental stages.
(b) The purpose of this act is to establish a mechanism by which
the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will make individual
assessments of people entering prison under 22 years of age and
classify these individuals at lower custody level facilities whenever
possible.
SEC. 2. Section 2905 is added to the
Penal Code , to read:
2905. (a) For purposes of this section, a "youth offender" is an
individual committed to the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation who is under 22 years of age.
(b) (1) The department shall conduct a youth offender Institution
Classification Committee review at reception to provide special
classification consideration for every youth offender. The youth
offender Institutional Classification Committee shall consist of the
staff required by department regulations at any Institutional
Classification Committee, however at least one member shall be a
department staff member specially trained in conducting the reviews.
Training shall include, but not be limited to, adolescent and young
adult development and evidence-based interviewing processes employing
positive and motivational techniques.
(2) The purpose of the youth offender Institutional Classification
Committee review is to meet with the youth offender and assess the
readiness of a youth offender for a lower security level or placement
permitting increased access to programs and to encourage the youth
offender to commit to positive change and self-improvement. A youth
offender shall not be classified at the security level corresponding
with his or her placement score if his or her in-custody behavior
indicates he or she can be safely placed at a lower security level.
(c) A youthful offender shall be classified for placement at a
lower security level facility than corresponds with his or her
placement score or in a placement that permits increased access to
programs based on consideration of all of the following factors:
(1) Recent in-custody behavior while housed in juvenile or adult
facilities.
(2) Demonstrated efforts of progress toward self-improvement in
juvenile or adult facilities.
(3) Family or community ties supportive of rehabilitation.
(4) Evidence of commitment to working towards self-improvement
with a goal of being a law-abiding member of society upon release.
(d) The department shall transfer a youth offender to a lower
security level facility if the department determines, based on the
totality of the circumstances, that the youth offender would not
increase the safety risk of the lower security level facility. If the
department determines a youth offender is ready for a housing
placement permitting increased access to programs, the youth offender
shall be transferred to that housing. If the youth offender
demonstrates he or she is a safety risk to inmates, staff, or the
public, and does not otherwise demonstrate a commitment to
rehabilitation, the youth offender shall be reclassified and placed
at a security level that is consistent with department regulations
and procedures.
(e) A youth offender who at his or her initial Youth Offender
Institutional Classification Committee review is denied a lower
security level than corresponds with his or her placement score or
did not qualify for placement permitting increased access to programs
due to previous incarceration history and was placed in the highest
security level shall nevertheless be eligible to have his or her
placement reconsidered pursuant to subdivisions (b) to (d),
inclusive, at his or her annual review until reaching 25 years of
age. If at an annual review it is determined that the youth offender
has had no serious rule violations for one year, the department shall
consider whether the youth would benefit from placement in a lower
level facility or placement permitting increased access to programs.
(f) The department shall review and, as necessary, revise existing
regulations and adopt new regulations regarding classification
determinations made pursuant to this section, and provide for
training for staff.
SECTION 1. Section 3051 is added to the Penal
Code, to read:
3051. (a) Except as otherwise provided by law, a person who was
convicted of a nonhomicide offense that was committed before the
person had attained 18 years of age shall be eligible for
consideration for parole pursuant to this article after serving 25
years in state prison. However, if the person was sentenced to less
than 40 years of imprisonment, the person shall be eligible for
consideration for parole pursuant to this article after serving 20
years in state prison. Subsequent parole hearings shall be set
according to Section 3041.5.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to provide a meaningful
opportunity to obtain release according to the standards set forth by
the California Supreme Court in People v. Caballero (2012) 55
Cal.4th 262.
(c) This section does not prohibit the imposition of a life
sentence for juveniles convicted of homicide and does not prohibit or
modify the parole procedures for adult offenders. This section does
not limit the access of juvenile offenders to other programs and
appeals that they were eligible for prior to the enactment of this
section.