BILL NUMBER: SB 466 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Senator DeSaulnier
(Coauthor: Senator Wolk)
FEBRUARY 21, 2013
An act to add Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 11480) to Title 1
of Part 4 of the Penal Code, relating to the California Institute
for Criminal Justice Policy.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 466, as introduced, DeSaulnier. California Institute for
Criminal Justice Policy.
Existing law requires the California Law Revision Commission to
study, and limits the commission to studying, topics approved by
resolution of the Legislature. Existing law requires the commission
to examine statutes to discover defects and recommend reforms.
This bill would establish the California Institute for Criminal
Justice Policy. This bill would request the University of California
to house the institute. This bill would require the institute to
conduct a cost-benefit, evidence-based analysis for each pending
legislative measure relating to criminal justice and supply the
analysis to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees in the
Legislature as soon as practicable and not later than 60 days after
receiving a request to produce an analysis from a committee.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 11480) is added to
Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal Code, to read:
CHAPTER 4. CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICY
11480. The Legislature finds and declares all the following:
(a) For the past 30 years, California's criminal justice system
has experienced ongoing problems, including dangerous prison
overcrowding. In 2006, California's prison population reached 173,000
inmates, at 202 percent of design capacity. State spending on
corrections increased by 31 percent in the last decade resulting in
reduced funding for higher education, health and social services, and
the courts and local law enforcement.
(b) Parole reform in 2009 and the 2011 Public Safety Realignment
significantly reduced prison populations for the first time in
decades. Nonetheless, prisons are still over capacity, jail expansion
is increasing across the state, and too few justice system entities
have embraced evidenced-based practices to increase safety and reduce
criminal justice costs.
(c) California needs an independent data-driven institution to
promulgate best practices in criminal justice and guide the state in
a transition from a problem-plagued justice system to evidence-based
practices. A dedicated, independent institute can carry out
nonpartisan practical research to address the continuing issues in
the criminal justice system and delineate models for effective public
safety and justice systems.
(d) Instituting best practices in the criminal justice system will
ultimately save the state money through reduced litigation costs. A
2010 report by the Inspector General of California found that the
state paid more than $139 million between 1997 and 2010 in litigation
costs for 12 major class action cases associated with the treatment
of inmates and wards in the state. By addressing these issues in a
comprehensive manner, future lawsuits could be avoided, and the costs
of the existing on-going litigation could be mitigated.
11480.01. There is hereby established in the state government the
California Institute for Criminal Justice Policy.
The purposes of the institute shall include, but need not be
limited to, the facilitation of a comprehensive and coordinated
approach to delineate effective public safety and justice systems
through the use of evidence-based practices, the promulgation of cost
benefit analyses of criminal justice legislation to promulgate a
statewide plan for public safety, and the development of strategies
based on data and science that reduce recidivism and hold offenders
accountable.
11481. The Legislature requests that the University of California
house the California Institute for Criminal Justice Policy to
facilitate independent and nonpartisan research on issues related to
criminal justice and public safety by experts in the University of
California system and beyond.
11482. (a) The California Institute for Criminal Justice Policy
shall conduct a cost-benefit analysis for each pending legislative
measure relating to criminal justice.
(b) The California Institute for Criminal Justice Policy shall
include in an analysis a determination of the potential effectiveness
of the policy based on evidence in the field of criminal justice.
(c) The California Institute for Criminal Justice Policy shall
provide that analysis to the appropriate legislative policy and
fiscal committee as soon as practicable and not later than 60 days
after receiving a request to produce an analysis from a committee.