BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 513|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 513
Author: Hancock (D)
Amended: 8/22/13
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-1, 4/30/13
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Block, De Le�n, Liu, Steinberg
NOES: Knight
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/23/13
AYES: De Le�n, Walters, Gaines, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
SENATE FLOOR : 33-5, 5/28/13
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett,
Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Emmerson, Evans, Gaines,
Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Jackson, Lara,
Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Roth,
Steinberg, Walters, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Fuller, Huff, Knight, Nielsen, Torres
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 53-23, 8/26/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Diversion programs: sealed records
SOURCE : San Francisco County District Attorney
DIGEST : This bill provides that, two years after successfully
completing a prefiling diversion program administered by a
prosecuting attorney, an individual may petition the court for
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an order sealing the records of arrest and related court files
and records, as specified.
Assembly Amendments specify that this bill applies to a person
who has successfully completed a "prefiling diversion" program,
define "prefiling diversion," delete the 10 day notice that a
petition has to be served to the prosecuting attorney prior to a
hearing, and add that when a prosecution attorney receives a
petition that the court may hear the matter no less than 60 days
from receipt of that petition, as specified.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Includes various diversion programs under which a person
arrested for and charged with a crime is diverted from the
criminal prosecution system and placed in a program of
rehabilitation or restorative justice. Upon successful
completion of the program, any charges are filed and the
arrest is generally deemed to not have occurred, with
specified exceptions. Generally, diversion programs are
created and run at the discretion of the district attorney.
Some examples of diversion follow:
A. Pre-plea diversion for drug possession.
B. Misdemeanor diversion, excluding driving under the
influence, crimes requiring registration as a sex offender,
crimes involving violence, as specified.
C. Bad check diversion.
1.Defines misdemeanor diversion thus: "Pretrial diversion
refers to the procedure of postponing prosecution of an
offense filed as a misdemeanor either temporarily or
permanently at any point in the judicial process from the
point at which the accused is charged until adjudication."
This bill:
1.Provides that two years after a person has successfully
completed a prefiling diversion program, he/she may petition
the court for an order sealing the records of arrest and
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related court files and records.
2.Requires notice of the petition be given the prosecutor and
the arresting agency and allows the prosecutor to present to
the court evidence in opposition to the petition.
3.Provides that a copy of the petition shall be served on the
law enforcement agency and the prosecuting attorney of the
county or city having jurisdiction over the offense, who may
request a hearing within 60 days of receipt of the petition.
4.States that the court may hear the matter no less than 60 days
from the date the law enforcement agency and the prosecuting
attorney receive a copy of the petition.
5.Provides upon the granting of the order, the clerk of court
shall allow no access to the court file and records.
6.Requires the court give the petitioning person a copy of the
order and inform the petitioner that he/she may state that the
arrest never occurred.
7.Requires, with specified exceptions, the arrest record not be
used without the person's permission to deny a person any
employment, benefit or certificate.
8.Provides the order shall not be forwarded to the Department of
Justice (DOJ). The order shall not affect DOJ fingerprint and
criminal history records, or any document or record received
or maintained by DOJ.
9.Requires the person be informed that the arrest shall be
disclosed by DOJ in a peace officer application and that the
person must disclose the arrest in response to any direct
question on an application for a position as a peace officer.
10.Requires the person be advised that the arrest will be
disclosed by DOJ or the court in connection with the person's
eligibility for any subsequent diversion program.
11.Defines "prefiling diversion" as a diversion from prosecution
that is offered to a person by the prosecuting attorney in
lieu of, or prior to, the filing of an accusatory pleading in
court, as specified.
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Related Legislation
SB 599 (Perata, Chapter 792, Statutes of 2003), authorizes a
court to order the sealing of records of any person who
successfully completed a drug diversion or deferred entry of
judgment program.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Potential first year increase in court costs in the
range of $125,000 to $250,000 (General Fund*) for increased
petitions requesting a sealing order on court records.
This estimate is based on the population of individuals who
have successfully completed a diversion program and will be
eligible to petition the court upon enactment of this
measure.
To the extent the provisions of this bill increase the
benefits realized by diversion program participants and
prompt increased participation in these programs, there
could be potential future cost savings of a significant
amount to the criminal justice system, both to the courts
in averted prosecutorial hearings as well as to local
incarceration, that could more than offset the ongoing
court costs incurred for petitions to seal records.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/27/13)
San Francisco County District Attorney (source)
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Public Defenders Association
City and County of San Francisco
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay
Area
Los Angeles County District Attorney
National Employment Law Project
Santa Barbara County District Attorney
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
Yolo County District Attorney
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ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office:
Existing law provides that in any case where a person
successfully completes a drug diversion program or deferred
entry of judgment program the person can have his/her
arrest record and related court record sealed by the court
in the interest of justice. However, existing law lacks a
similar mechanism for individuals who successfully complete
a prosecutor-administered diversion program such as
Neighborhood Courts to have their arrest record sealed. SB
513 addresses this disparity.
Research has shown that the presence of an arrest record
can reduce opportunities for employment. Research has also
shown that stable employment significantly lowers
recidivism and promotes public safety. By allowing an
opportunity for arrest sealing, SB 513 removes unnecessary
barriers to obtain a job and promotes economic stability in
our communities. The sealing order does not prohibit law
enforcement from access to the record.
In San Francisco, individuals who commit certain
misdemeanor and infraction offenses may be diverted by the
District Attorney's Office to Neighborhood Courts, an
innovative alternative to prosecution. The individual is
referred prior to his/her case being charged in criminal
court. Neighborhood Court cases are heard by volunteer
community members, without judges or attorneys. The
community members apply restorative justice principals to
the hearings - working with the individual to develop a
plan for that person to repair the harm that he/she has
caused. If the person completes the agreed upon plan,
their case is not charged in criminal court. In 2012, the
San Francisco District Attorney's Office sent over 700
cases to Neighborhood Courts, and 73% of those cases were
successfully completed without the need to bring them into
our overburdened criminal justice system. This model
program currently is being replicated in Yolo County.
Santa Barbara County also operates a pre-charging diversion
model.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 53-23, 8/26/13
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Bocanegra,
Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
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Campos, Chau, Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong,
Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell, Gray,
Hall, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine,
Lowenthal, Medina, Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian,
Olsen, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Rendon, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, John A.
P�rez
NOES: Allen, Bigelow, Ch�vez, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly, Fox,
Beth Gaines, Grove, Harkey, Jones, Linder, Logue, Maienschein,
Mansoor, Melendez, Morrell, Patterson, Quirk-Silva, Salas,
Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hagman, Nestande, Vacancy, Vacancy
JG:ej 8/27/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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