BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 2121
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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS
          AB 2121 (Gray)
          As Amended  July 1, 2014
          Majority vote
           
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          |ASSEMBLY:  |76-0 |(May 19, 2014)  |SENATE: |33-0 |(August 20,    |
          |           |     |                |        |     |2014)          |
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           Original Committee Reference:    PUB. S.  

           SUMMARY  :  Requires a sex-registrant parolee to report to his or  
          her parole agent within one working day of release to have a  
          Global Positioning System (GPS) device affixed to his or her  
          person.

           The Senate amendments  provide that parole revocation and  
          incarceration for failure to report to the parole officer are  
          not mandatory if the parole authority finds that in the  
          interests of justice those penalties are not appropriate in the  
          particular case.

           EXISTING LAW  : 

          1)Requires all persons paroled before October 1, 2011, to remain  
            under the supervision of the California Department of  
            Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) until jurisdiction is  
            terminated by operation of law or until parole is discharged.

          2)Requires the following persons released from prison on or  
            after October 1, 2011, be subject to parole under the  
            supervision of CDCR:

             a)   A person who committed a serious felony listed in Penal  
               Code Section 1192.7(c);

             b)   A person who committed a violent felony listed in Penal  
               Code Section 667.5(c); 

             c)   A person serving a Three-Strikes sentence;

             d)   A high risk sex offender; 

             e)   A mentally disordered offender; 








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             f)   A person required to register as a sex offender and  
               subject to a parole term exceeding three years at the time  
               of the commission of the offense for which he or she is  
               being released; and,

             g)   A person subject to lifetime parole at the time of the  
               commission of the offense for which he or she is being  
               released.

          3)Requires all other offenders released from prison to be placed  
            on post-release community supervision (PRCS) under the  
            supervision of a county agency, such as a probation  
            department.

          4)Authorizes CDCR to utilize continuous electronic monitoring,  
            including GPS, to electronically monitor the whereabouts of  
            persons on parole.

          5)Provides that every inmate who has been convicted for any  
            felony violation of a registrable sex offense or any attempt  
            to commit any of the above-mentioned offenses and who is  
            committed to prison and released on parole shall be monitored  
            by GPS for the term of his or her parole, or for the duration  
            or any remaining part thereof, whichever period of time is  
            less.

          6)Provides, as enacted by Proposition 83 of 2006, that every  
            inmate who has been convicted for any felony violation of a  
            registrable sex offense or any attempt to commit (one of the  
            enumerated sex offenses) and who is committed to prison and  
            released on parole shall be monitored by GPS for life.

          7)Prohibits a person who is required to register as a sex  
            offender and who is subject to parole supervision from  
            removing or disabling a GPS device affixed as a condition of  
            parole.

          8)Authorizes the court, upon revocation of parole, to do any of  
            the following:

             a)   Reinstate parole with modification of conditions, if  
               appropriate, including a period of incarceration;

             b)   Revoke parole and order the parolee to serve time in the  








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               county jail; or,

             c)   Refer the parolee to a re-entry program or other  
               evidence-based program.

          9)Limits confinement in the county jail for up to 180 days of  
            incarceration per revocation.

          10)Requires a mandatory 180-day term of incarceration in the  
            county jail for a sex offender on parole who removes or  
            disables a GPS device  

          AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY  , this bill:
           
           1)Clarified that a parolee who is required to register as a sex  
            offender must report to his or her parole agent to have a GPS  
            device affixed within one working day of release from custody,  
            or as instructed by a parole agent.

          2)Stated that a parolee who is required to register as a sex  
            offender is prohibited not only from removing or disabling the  
            GPS device, but also from rendering it inoperable or knowingly  
            circumventing its operation.
           
          FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "AB 2121 addresses a  
          dangerous oversight in the current statutes relating to paroled  
          sex offenders.  Last year, SB 57 [(Lieu), Chapter 776, Statutes  
          of 2013] was enacted to require that parolees who remove their  
          GPS monitoring device face a mandatory 180-day incarceration.   
          However, there is no statute that provides for any recourse  
          should a parolee fails to report to have the monitoring device  
          affixed in the first place or if the parolee willfully renders  
          the device inoperable without physically removing the device.
          "AB 2121 provides a uniform deterrent across the board  
          consistent with SB 57.  Any of these actions, which impede the  
          ability of law enforcement to adequately monitor paroled sex  
          offenders, shall result in the same mandatory 180-day  
          incarceration.  These actions share the same result, which is to  
          render the GPS monitor useless as a tool of law enforcement.   
          The bill recognizes this fact and applies an equal deterrent  
          accordingly, to ensure that law enforcement has the tools they  
          need to adequately protect and maintain public safety." 








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          Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion  
          of this bill.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 


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