BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 2121 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 2121 (Gray) As Amended July 1, 2014 Majority vote ----------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |76-0 |(May 19, 2014) |SENATE: |33-0 |(August 20, | | | | | | |2014) | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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; AB 2121 Page 2 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 AB 2121 Page 3 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." AB 2121 Page 4 Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of this bill. Analysis Prepared by : Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0004377