BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1617|
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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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