BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1512| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 1512 Author: Stone (D) Amended: 3/18/14 in Assembly Vote: 21 SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 5/13/14 AYES: Hancock, Anderson, De León, Liu, Mitchell, Steinberg NO VOTE RECORDED: Knight ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 3/20/14 - See last page for vote SUBJECT : Corrections: inmate transfers SOURCE : California State Sheriffs Association DIGEST : This bill extends the sunset date on provisions of law that allow a county where adequate facilities are not available for prisoners in its adult detention facilities to enter into agreements with one or more counties that have adequate facilities, as specified. ANALYSIS : Existing law: 1.Authorizes the board of supervisors of a county where, in the opinion of the sheriff or the director of the county department of corrections, adequate facilities are not available for prisoners who would otherwise be confined in its county adult detention facilities may enter into an agreement with the board or boards of supervisors of one or more counties whose county adult detention facilities are adequate CONTINUED AB 1512 Page 2 for and accessible to the first county, with the concurrence of that county's sheriff or director of its county department of corrections. When the agreement is in effect, commitments may be made by the court. 2.Requires a county entering into an agreement with another county to report annually to the Board of State and Community Corrections on the number of offenders who otherwise would be under that county's jurisdiction but who are now being housed in another county's facility and the reason for needing to house the offenders outside the county. 3.States that the above provisions shall become inoperative on July 1, 2015, and, as of January 1, 2016, is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before January 1, 2016, deletes or extends the dates on which it becomes inoperative and is repealed. 4.Authorizes the board of supervisors, starting July 1, 2015, of a county where adequate facilities are not available for prisoners who would otherwise be confined in its county adult detention facilities to enter into an agreement with the board or boards of supervisors of one or more nearby counties whose county adult detention facilities are adequate and are readily accessible from the first county, permitting commitment of misdemeanants, and any persons required to serve a term of imprisonment in county adult detention facilities as a condition of probation, to a jail in a county having adequate facilities that is a party to the agreement. That agreement shall make provision for the support of a person so committed or transferred by the county from which he or she is committed. When that agreement is in effect, commitments may be made by the court and support of a person so committed shall be a charge upon the county from which he or she is committed. This bill: 1.Extends the sunset date to July 1, 2018 on provisions of law that allow a county, where adequate facilities are not available for prisoners in its adult detention facilities, to enter into agreements with one or more counties that have adequate facilities, as specified. CONTINUED AB 1512 Page 3 2.Excludes pre-trial inmates from being transferred through county-to-county transfers. FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local: No SUPPORT : (Verified 5/13/14) California State Sheriffs' Association (source) Rural County Representatives of California Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Department Orange County Sheriff's Department Calaveras County Sheriff's Department Monterey County Sheriff's Department California State Association of Counties California District Attorneys Association OPPOSITION : (Verified 5/13/14) Concerned Citizens for Jail/Prison Reform - Monterey County American Friends Service Committee Californians United for a Responsible Budget American Civil Liberties Union California Coalition for Women Prisoners Friends Committee on Legislation in California California Attorneys for Criminal Justice Dignity and Power Now Legal Services for Prisoners with Children Los Angeles County Reentry Partnership Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California State Sheriffs' Association states: This bill is essential for counties to retain flexibility to reduce overcrowding in highly impacted county jail facilities. In addition, by temporarily extending the sunset date ? this measure allows county jails undergoing renovation and construction the necessary time to complete current projects, which will allow inmates to remain in the county. CONTINUED AB 1512 Page 4 ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The American Civil Liberties Union of California states: This is a problematic and fruitless way for counties to manage jail population. CDCR has transferred thousands of inmates to both county and out of state facilities, and our prisons remain overcrowded. Encouraging counties to do the same will be equally ineffective. Authorizing counties to transfer inmates out of county is also contrary to the goals of realignment and may fundamentally interfere with the defendant's access to his or her counsel. Moreover, there is significant evidence that inmate are more likely to successfully integrate into the community after release if they are kept close to home. However, this section allows counties to move inmates sentenced to county jail hundreds of miles away. This is precisely what happens when offenders are sentenced to state prison. Enacting these provisions will create nothing more than a county operated statewide prison system. ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 3/20/14 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Atkins, Bigelow, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Morrell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, John A. Pérez NO VOTE RECORDED: Frazier, Gray, Logue, V. Manuel Pérez JG:nl 5/14/14 Senate Floor Analyses SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE **** END **** CONTINUED AB 1512 Page 5 CONTINUED