Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 69

Introduced by Senator Galgiani

August 20, 2013

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 69—Relative to prisoners.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 69, as introduced, Galgiani. Prisoners: overcrowding.

This measure would urge the Attorney General to instruct law enforcement agencies to refer to the relevant United States Attorneys’ Offices in this state all firearm, ammunition, and robbery cases for their review before commencing state prosecution. The measure would urge the Attorney General to seek a reduction in the prisoner population in the state prisons of at least 20,000 inmates by shifting these inmates to federal prisons, and report the results of these efforts.

Fiscal committee: yes.

WHEREAS, In Brown v. Plata (2011) 131 S.Ct. 1910, the United
States Supreme Court affirmed a lower federal district court panel’s
order that California reduce its prison population by approximately
10,000 inmates; and

WHEREAS, In dissenting from the decisions affirming the
order, Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas noted that the
release of such a large number of inmates would create serious
public safety concerns; and

WHEREAS, The State of California is required to spend
hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to house prisoners in
private facilities or out of state, or by reopening or building new
facilities, thus depriving the people of the state the use of that
money for other services; and

WHEREAS, The State of California has an obligation to adopt
measures to stabilize and ultimately reduce the factors that have
resulted in the increased prison population by, among other things,
the adoption of substance abuse treatment measures, mental health
care, and other measures that do not compromise public safety;
and

WHEREAS, The Legislature and the voters have taken steps to
reform the state’s sentencing practices and increase prison capacity
through numerous measures, and making these adjustments,
including measures to reduce recidivism and to prevent crime, will
take several years; and

WHEREAS, The State of California is a “donor” state to the
United States Treasury, in that California pays far more in taxes
to the United States Treasury than it receives in federal
expenditures and grants; and

WHEREAS, A large number of prisoners within the California
prison system have also committed violations of federal law, such
as being a “prohibited person” in violation of ammunition or
firearms laws, or violating the Hobbs Act, and under federal
sentencing guidelines, the Armed Career Criminal Act, and the “3
Strikes and You’re Out” law, federal sentences imposed and served
for these and other crimes meet or exceed sentences imposed under
California law; and

WHEREAS, In the prosecution of violations of federal firearms
laws, Hobbs Act violations, and other federal crime provisions,
the United States Attorney’s Offices in the Central and Eastern
Districts of California rank near the bottom in the number of
prosecutions for the 93 United States District Courts, despite the
fact there is no indication that these two districts have an
inordinately low number of cases subject to prosecution under
those laws compared to other districts; and

WHEREAS, Pursuant to Section 13 of Article V of the
California Constitution, subject to the powers and duties of the
Governor, the Attorney General is the chief law officer of the state,
and has direct supervision over every district attorney and sheriff
and over those other law enforcement officers as may be designated
by law in all matters pertaining to the duties of their respective
offices; and

WHEREAS, The current state prison overcrowding is the direct
result of federal authorities creating the circumstances where the
overcrowding now exists, resulting in the need for extraordinary
measures being taken to prevent the release of a large number of
dangerous offenders into society; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby urges the Attorney
General in her supervisory capacity to instruct all law enforcement
agencies within the state to create procedures that require all law
enforcement agencies to first refer to the relevant United States
Attorney’s Offices in this state all firearm, ammunition, and
robbery cases for their review before commencing state
prosecution; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby urges the Attorney General
to seek the reduction of the state’s prison population by at least
20,000 inmates by shifting these present and future offenders into
the federal prison system, thus giving the state sufficient time to
address the order of the federal district court and to “right size”
and reform the state’s prison system; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature urges the Attorney General to
report the results of this procedure to the Legislature with detailed
statistics as to the results of this procedure by county District
Attorneys and United States Attorneys’ Offices; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
this resolution to the Attorney General of the State of California,
the Governor of the State of California, all 58 county District
Attorneys within the State of California, the President and Vice
President of the United States, the Attorney General of the United
States, and all United States Attorneys’ Offices within the State
of California.