BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1512|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1512
Author: Stone (D)
Amended: 6/2/14 in Senate
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.
Senate Floor Amendments of 6/2/14 clarify the intent of the bill
by outlining factors a county should consider prior to entering
into an agreement to transfer an inmate to a nonadjacent county.
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
CONTINUED
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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
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July 1, 2015, and, as of January 1, 2016, is repealed, unless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becomes inoperative and is repealed.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
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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.
2.Excludes pre-trial inmates from being transferred through
county-to-county transfers.
3.States legislative intent regarding inmate transfer agreements
between nonadjacent counties.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 6/3/14)
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 6/3/14)
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
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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.
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
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NO VOTE RECORDED: Frazier, Gray, Logue, V. Manuel Pérez
JG:nl 6/3/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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