BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de León, Chair
SB 57 (Lieu) - Electronic monitoring: removing or disabling GPS
devices.
Amended: May 7, 2013 Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
Urgency: No Mandate: Yes
Hearing Date: May 20, 2013 Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 57 would prohibit a person who is required to
register as a sex offender and who is subject to parole
supervision from removing or disabling, as specified, an
electronic GPS or other monitoring device affixed as a condition
of parole. This bill would provide for the following penalties:
Upon a first violation, the parole authority shall revoke
the person's parole and impose a mandatory 180-day period of
incarceration in county jail, to be served in actual
custody.
Upon a second violation, the parole authority shall revoke
the person's parole and impose a mandatory 365-day period of
incarceration in county jail, to be served in actual
custody.
Upon a third or subsequent violation, the person shall be
guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state
prison for 16 months, two years, or three years.
Fiscal Impact:
Increased annual local incarceration costs for first and
second violations of the GPS removal/disabling prohibition.
For every 25 percent of annual violations (562 parolees),
mandatory 180-day jail terms could potentially increase
in-custody time by 90 days, resulting in costs of $4 million
(Local) assuming a daily jail rate of $77. CDCR data for
2012 indicates over 2,250 sex offender parolees absconded,
representing over 4,100 incidences prompting the issuance of
warrants for parolee arrests.
Unknown, potential future increase in state incarceration
costs to the extent a number of sex offender parolees commit
third and subsequent violations of this measure. To the
extent one percent of the total sex offender parolee
population eventually resulted in third or subsequent
violations, costs of $4.2 million to $6.3 million (General
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Fund) could result, assuming a 16-month to two-year term in
state prison.
Potential ongoing increase in state parole costs for sex
offenders convicted of third or subsequent violations of
this measure who would be subject to parole in lieu of
community supervision. For every one percent of the sex
offender parolee population noted above, increased parole
costs of about $340,000 (General Fund) per year.
Unknown potential offsetting cost savings to the criminal
justice system, including the courts, law enforcement, and
state and local facilities to the extent the enhanced
penalties reduce the incidence of offenders violating parole
and/or committing new crimes.
Background: The implementation of Public Safety Realignment in
October 2011 prompted changes to the process of community
supervision of felons being released from state prison.
Post-release (county-level) community supervision for offenders
upon release from prison includes current non-serious,
non-violent offenders (regardless of prior offenses), as well as
sex offenders. All revocations are capped at 180 days to county
jail, with day for day credit earning. The CDCR continues to
have jurisdiction over all offenders on state parole prior to
July 1, 2011. In addition, state parole continues for offenders
whose committing offense is a serious or violent felony,
offenders convicted of a third strike, persons classified as
high risk sex offenders, or persons classified as mentally
disordered offenders.
With respect to state parole violations, no person who is on
parole (with the exception of persons previously sentenced to a
life term) may be revoked to prison for a violation of any
condition of the person's parole. All revocations are to be
served in county jail for up to a maximum of 180 days.
Various news reports regarding the number of sex offender
parolees removing or disabling their GPS devices describe
parolees who were released from local custody before having
fully served their ordered sanctions for parole violations. The
CDCR parolee population data indicate that as of December 31,
2012, there were 58,656 parolees, 9,756 persons (16.6 percent)
of whom were required to register as sex offenders.
Data from the CDCR on warrants issued for absconding sex
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offender parolees reflect the following: (1) the number of sex
offender parolees for whom warrants have been issued for
absconding over the past three years, and (2) the rate based on
the average annual sex offender parolee population for each of
those years. This data suggests that while the number of sex
offender parolees generating warrants for absconding has
increased, the overall rate has not increased significantly. In
contrast, (3) annual data for the number of warrants sought for
sex offender parolees has increased significantly in the past
year, as reflected by (4) the rate based on the average annual
sex offender parolee population in each of the past three years.
This data would suggest that while the rate of sex offender
parolees committing these violations has not increased
substantially, the number of sex offender parolees who
repeatedly commit these violations has increased.
Warrant Data for Absconding Sex Offender Parolees (SOP)
--------------------------------------------------------------
| | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
|--------------------------------+---------+---------+---------|
| Average SOP Population | 8,543 | 9,674 | 10,076 |
|--------------------------------+---------+---------+---------|
| (1) Number of SOPs for Whom | 1,821 | 1,995 |2,276 |
| Absconding Warrants Sought | | | |
|--------------------------------+---------+---------+---------|
| (2) Rate per SOP population | 21.3% | 20.6% | 22.6% |
|--------------------------------+---------+---------+---------|
| (3) Total Number of Absconding | 2,351 | 2,672 | 4,153 |
| Warrants for SOPs | | | |
|--------------------------------+---------+---------+---------|
| (4) Rate per SOP population | 27.5% | 27.6% |41.2% |
--------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed Law: SB 57 would prohibit a person who is required to
register as a sex offender and who is subject to parole
supervision from removing or disabling, as specified, an
electronic GPS or other monitoring device affixed as a condition
of parole. This bill would provide for the following penalties:
Upon a first violation, the person's parole shall be
revoked and he or she shall be incarcerated in the county
jail for a period of 180 days. Notwithstanding any other
law, he or she shall not be entitled to earn any time
credits and shall be required to serve the entire 180-day
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period in actual custody.
Upon a second violation, the person's parole shall be
revoked and he or she shall be incarcerated in the county
jail for a period of 365 days. Notwithstanding any other
law, he or she shall not be entitled to earn any time
credits and shall be required to serve the entire 365-day
period in actual custody.
Upon a third or subsequent violation, the person shall be
guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state
prison for 16 months, two years, or three years.
Provides for the following exceptions:
o The removal or disabling of the monitoring device by a
physician, emergency medical services technician, or by
any other emergency response or medical personnel when
doing so is necessary during the course of medical
treatment of the person.
o The removal or disabling of the monitoring device is
authorized or required by a court, or by the law
enforcement, probation, parole authority, or other entity
responsible for placing the monitoring device upon the
person.
Provides that any sex offender released from state prison
after serving a term for a third or subsequent violation of
the GPS removal provisions in this bill are subject to
parole supervision by the CDCR and are not eligible for
community supervision by a local agency.
Prior Legislation: SB 566 (Hollingsworth) 2009 would have
established a penalty structure for persons who have been
lawfully ordered to submit to a GPS or electronic monitoring
device, and willfully interfere with the device, with penalties
ranging from misdemeanors to felonies depending upon the offense
underlying the GPS sanction. This bill was held in the Senate
Committee on Public Safety.
Staff Comments: By imposing mandatory county jail terms for
first and second violations of this measure, this bill could
result in potentially significant increased local incarceration
costs. It is unknown to what degree the imposition of the
six-month and one-year mandatory jail terms will serve as a
deterrent to sex offenders disabling and/or removing their GPS
devices, but ongoing costs could be mitigated somewhat for a
population of offenders. There are also potentially a number of
sex offenders who will continue to violate the bill's
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provisions, and would later be subject to the felony prison
sentence.
Existing law provides that the maximum time a parole violator
can serve in a county jail is 180 days. In addition, current
parolees are eligible for "day-for-day" credits. This bill
prohibits the earning of custody credits for a violation of
parole, and therefore, increases the potential in-custody time
for a first violation up to 90 days. Assuming an average daily
jail cost of $77 per day, the provisions of this bill could
potentially increase the cost of county jail incarceration for
first-time parole violators up to $6,930 per violator.
For a second violation, this bill imposes a mandatory 365 days
of actual custody for a sex offender parolee with no credit
earnings. This is potentially an increase of 275 actual custody
days per offender and is in excess of what counties were funded
for parole violators under Public Safety Realignment. Assuming
an average daily jail cost of $77 per day, this bill could
potentially increase the cost of county jail incarceration for
second-time parole violators up to $21,175 per violator.
It is unknown how many persons will be convicted of third and
subsequent violations of this measure, though to the extent the
mandatory jail terms serve as a deterrent for most of the sex
offender parolee population, the number of cases is likely to be
somewhat mitigated. Assuming 1 percent of the total sex offender
parolee population would commit a third or subsequent offense,
increased state incarceration costs could range from $4.2
million to $6.3 million (General Fund) per year, assuming a
16-month or two-year sentence. To the extent the number of
individuals impacted is greater/less or the average sentence
imposed is longer/shorter than estimated, annual costs would be
impacted accordingly.
California's prison system continues to operate under federal
oversight as it addresses the issues of prison overcrowding and
constitutionally adequate health and mental health care in its
33 facilities. On April 11, 2013, the three-judge panel denied
the state's motion to vacate/modify the inmate population cap
and ordered the state to provide a list of proposed population
reduction measures within 21 days of the order (May 2, 2013). To
the extent this measure exacerbates prison overcrowding due to
lengthier prison terms, this bill creates future cost pressure
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(General Fund) to potentially utilize additional contract beds,
out-of-state facilities, or capital outlay in order to comply
with the court-ordered population limit.
To the extent the provisions of this bill serve to reduce the
incidence of additional crimes committed by these offenders,
potential future cost savings to the criminal justice system,
including the courts, law enforcement, state and local
incarceration, could result.