BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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                                    THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1617
          Author:   Gatto (D)
          Amended:  6/11/14 in Assembly
          Vote:     27 - Urgency


           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  6-0, 8/14/14
          AYES:  De León, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Walters

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  76-0, 8/4/14 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    State claims

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill appropriates $745,043 from specified funds  
          to the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims  
          Board (Board) for the payment of 136 state claims.  This bill  
          also appropriates $1,450,200 from the General Fund to the Board  
          for the payment of three erroneous conviction claims.

           ANALYSIS  :    The State Board of Control was established in 1945.  
           It was revised and renamed the Victim Compensation and  
          Government Claims Board (AB 2491, Jackson, Chapter 1016,  
          Statutes of 2000).  Government Code 13928 requires the Board to  
          ensure that all claims that have been approved by the Board, and  
          for which no legally available appropriation exists, are  
          submitted for legislative approval at least twice during each  
          calendar year.  In general, the Board will approve claims in  
          November and February.  Those claims are reported to the chairs  
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          of the Appropriations Committees who introduce bills  
          appropriating General Funds and special funds to pay the claims.  
           These bills may appropriate funds in amounts to the penny for  
          tens to hundreds of claims.  Government Code 906 provides for  
          the payment of interest on claims approved by the Board for  
          which an appropriation has been made beginning 30 days after the  
          effective date of the law by which the appropriation is enacted.

          The re-issuance of stale-dated warrants is the most prevalent  
          claim approved by the Board.  For stale-dated warrants, the  
          Controller must confirm that (1) the check was not cashed and  
          has not been issued, and (2) more than three years have elapsed  
          since the check was issued and the monies have reverted to the  
          General Fund or to the relevant special fund.  For these  
          warrants an appropriation is needed to reissue the payment.   
          This category also may include state treasury bonds that have  
          not been redeemed within ten years of their maturity date (there  
          are no such claims in this bill), but the majority of warrants  
          are payroll or tax refund checks.

          Existing law, Penal Code Section 4900 et seq., authorizes a  
          person convicted and imprisoned for a felony to submit a claim  
          to the Board for pecuniary injury sustained as a result of  
          erroneous conviction and imprisonment.  Pursuant to SB 618  
          (Leno, Chapter 800, Statutes of 2013), if a person has secured a  
          declaration of factual innocence from the court after having  
          his/her conviction set aside, the finding is grounds for payment  
          of a claim against the state and upon application by the  
          petitioner, the Board shall, without a hearing, recommend to the  
          Legislature an appropriation to cover the claim.  Likewise, if  
          the court finds the petitioner has proven his/her innocence by a  
          preponderance of the evidence, or the court grants a writ of  
          habeas corpus concerning a person who is unlawfully imprisoned,  
          or when the court vacates a judgment for a person on the basis  
          of new evidence concerning a person who is no longer unlawfully  
          imprisoned, and the court finds the evidence points unerringly  
          to innocence, the Board shall, upon application by the claimant,  
          without a hearing, recommend to the Legislature an appropriation  
          to cover the petitioner's claim.

          If these provisions do not apply, the claimant is required to  
          introduce evidence in support of his/her claim at a hearing  
          before the Board, and the Attorney General may introduce  
          evidence in opposition.  The claimant must prove, by a  

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          preponderance of the evidence, that the crime was either not  
          committed at all, or, if committed, was not committed by the  
          claimant; that the claimant did not contribute to the arrest or  
          conviction for the crime; and that the claimant sustained  
          pecuniary injury though the erroneous conviction and  
          imprisonment.  If a claimant meets the burden of proof, the  
          Board shall recommend to the Legislature that an appropriation  
          of $100 per day of incarceration served in a state prison  
          subsequent to the claimant's conviction.

          This bill appropriates $745,043 from specified funds to the  
          Board for the payment of 136 state claims.  This bill also  
          appropriates $1,450,200 from the General Fund to the Board for  
          the payment of three erroneous conviction claims.

           Comments

           Out of a total of 136 claims, 134 of them are for stale-dated  
          warrants, with individual claims ranging from $60 to $43,476.   
          The two remaining claims are $234 for a dental coverage  
          overcharge, and $172 for overpaid mobile home registration fees.
           
          Erroneous Conviction Claims  .

          1.Jose Luis Diaz, binding finding of factual innocence,  
            $305,300.

            Convicted of rape and related charges in 1984, Diaz served 10  
            years in state prison.  In 2012, the Santa Clara D.A. filed a  
            petition for writ of habeas corpus based on new evidence that  
            pointed unerringly to the claimant's innocence.  On March 4,  
            2014, the court granted the writ and ruled that a Board  
            hearing to determine these facts was not required pursuant to  
            Penal Code Section 851.86.

          2.Johnny Williams, binding finding of factual innocence,  
            $461,600.

            Convicted of lewd and lascivious conduct against a child,  
            Williams served almost 13 years in state prison.  In 2012, the  
            California DNA Project and the Northern California Innocence  
            Project filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus asking that  
            the conviction be reversed based on DNA evidence.  (Sperm  
            samples from the victim's t-shirt conclusively excluded  

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            Williams as the source.)

            On March 8, 2013, the Alameda County D.A. conceded Williams'  
            factual innocence and the Alameda County Superior Court  
            reversed the conviction and ordered Williams released from  
            custody and all parole conditions.  A Board hearing to  
            determine these facts was not required as the court findings  
            are binding pursuant to Penal Code Section 851.86.

          3.Francisco Carillo, binding factual findings and credibility  
            determinations by the court, $683,300.

            Convicted of murder and six counts of attempted murder related  
            to a 1991 gang-related drive-by shooting, Carillo served  
            almost 19 years in prison.  In 2010, Carillo filed a petition  
            for writ of habeas corpus with the L.A. Superior Court on the  
            basis that five of the six eyewitnesses had recanted.  The  
            judge found that the five witnesses who recanted were  
            credible, and that the remaining witness who identified  
            Carillo as the shooter was not credible.  The court also  
            determined that Carillo's testimony that he was home with his  
            father the night of the shooting was credible.  The D.A.  
            conceded Carillo met his burden of proof and on March 16,  
            2011, Carillo was released.  A Board hearing to determine  
            these facts was not required as the court findings are binding  
            pursuant to Penal Code Section 490(b) 86.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  Yes   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  No

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

            Stale-dated warrants  :  General Fund appropriations in the  
            amount of $450,950 to pay 121 claims, and appropriations  
            according to a specified schedule from various funds in the  
            amount of the amount of $294,033 to pay15 claims.  All but two  
            of these claims are for reissuance of stale-dated warrants  
            (expired checks).  The two remaining claims are $234 for a  
            dental coverage overcharge, and $172 for overpaid mobile home  
            registration fees.  The individual stale-dated warrant claim  
            amounts range from $60 to $47,142.

            Erroneous convictions  :  General Fund appropriations in the  
            amount of $1,450,200 to pay the claims of Francisco Carillo  

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            ($683,000), Jose Luis Diaz ($305,300), and Johnny Williams  
            ($461,600).

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  76-0, 8/4/14
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,  
            Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,  
            Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,  
            Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden,  
            Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,  
            Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,  
            Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Perea, John A. Pérez, V.  
            Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Rodriguez, Salas,  
            Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski,  
            Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Gorell, Patterson, Ridley-Thomas, Vacancy

          JA:e  8/18/14   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  NONE RECEIVED

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