BILL NUMBER: AB 1276 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
CHAPTER 590
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 26, 2014
APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 26, 2014
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 20, 2014
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 27, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 18, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 13, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 24, 2013
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 16, 2013
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Bloom
(Principal coauthor: Senator Hancock)
FEBRUARY 22, 2013
An act to add Section 2905 to the Penal Code, relating to youth
offenders.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1276, Bloom. 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 that corresponds to specified
placement score ranges and establishes classification committees for
making these determinations.
This 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 consider placing a
youth offender at a lower security level than corresponds with his
or her classification score, or placing a youth offender in a
facility that permits increased access to programs, based on the
Institutional Classification Committee review and other factors,
including, among others, the youth offenders recent in-custody
behavior. The bill would require the department to transfer a youth
offender to a lower security level facility if the department
determines, based on a specified review, that he or she may
appropriately be placed at a lower security level facility. The bill
would require a youth offender who is denied a lower security level,
or who did not qualify for a placement permitting increased access to
programs, 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. The bill would make these provisions
operative July 1, 2015.
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.
There are often negative influences at higher custody level
facilities. In addition, younger inmates tend to be more vulnerable
to physical and sexual assault at those facilities.
(4) 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.
(c) A youth offender shall be considered for placement at a lower
security level than corresponds with his or her classification score
or placement in a facility that permits increased access to programs
based on the Institutional Classification Committee review and
factors including, but not limited to, the following:
(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 toward self-improvement with
a goal of being a law-abiding member of society upon release.
(d) If the department determines, based on the review described in
subdivisions (b) and (c) that the youth offender may be
appropriately placed at a lower security level, the department shall
transfer the youth offender to a lower security level facility. If
the youth offender is denied a lower security level, then he or she
shall be considered for placement in a facility that permits
increased access to programs. If the department determines a youth
offender may appropriately be placed in a facility permitting
increased access to programs, the youth offender shall be transferred
to such a facility.
(e) 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.
(f) 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.
(g) 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.
(h) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2015.