BILL ANALYSIS �
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 530
Author: Wright (D)
Amended: 8/30/13
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-2, 4/23/13
AYES: Hancock, Block, De Le�n, Liu, Steinberg
NOES: Anderson, Knight
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 5/23/13
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
SENATE FLOOR : 26-10, 5/29/13
AYES: Beall, Block, Calderon, Corbett, Correa, DeSaulnier,
Evans, Galgiani, Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Jackson,
Lara, Leno, Lieu, Liu, Monning, Padilla, Pavley, Price, Roth,
Steinberg, Torres, Wright, Yee
NOES: Anderson, Berryhill, Cannella, Emmerson, Fuller, Gaines,
Huff, Nielsen, Walters, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: De Le�n, Knight, Wolk, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-27, 9/4/13 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Criminal offenders: rehabilitation
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill provides that a potential employer may not
ask for, seek, or utilize as a factor in determining any
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condition of employment, information about a conviction that has
been judicially dismissed or ordered sealed, as specified.
Assembly Amendments authorize in a trial court hearing an
application for a certificate of rehabilitation as specified, if
the court believes relief services the interests of justice.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides that no employer, whether a public agency or private
individual or corporation, shall ask an applicant for
employment to disclose, through any written form or verbally,
information concerning an arrest or detention that did not
result in conviction, or information concerning a referral
to, and participation in, any pretrial or post trial
diversion program, nor shall any employer seek from any
source whatsoever, or utilize, as a factor in determining any
condition of employment including, hiring, promotion,
termination, or any apprenticeship training program or any
other training program leading to employment, record of
arrest or detention that did not result in conviction, or any
record regarding a referral to, and participation in, any
pretrial or post trial diversion program.
2. Provides for a process for a court to allow a defendant to
withdraw his or her plea or set aside verdict of guilty and
dismiss the accusation or information if the defendant has
fulfilled the conditions of probation for the entire period
of probation, or who has been discharged prior to the
termination for the period of probation, or in any other case
in which the interests of justice, determines that a
defendant should be granted relief available.
3. Sets forth the requirements for a person to file a petition
for a certificate of rehabilitation, and provides that unless
and until the period of rehabilitation has passed, the
petitioner shall be ineligible to file his/her petition for a
certificate of rehabilitation with the court. Any
certificate of rehabilitation that is issued and under which
the petitioner has not fulfilled the requirements shall be
void.
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This bill:
1. Provides that an employer may not ask about or use as a
factor in determining condition of employment the fact that
the person has a conviction that has been judicially
dismissed or ordered sealed.
2. Provides that an employer is not prohibited from asking an
applicant about a criminal conviction or seeking from any
source information regarding a criminal conviction of, or
entry into a pretrial diversion, or similar program by the
applicant if because of any state or federal law any of the
following apply:
A. The employer is required by law to obtain
information regarding a conviction of an applicant.
B. The applicant will be required to possess or use a
firearm in the course of his/her employment.
C. An individual who has been convicted of a crime is
prohibited by law from holding the position sought by
the applicant, regardless of whether that conviction
has been expunged, judicially ordered sealed,
statutorily eradicated, or judicially dismissed
following probation.
D. The employer is prohibited by law from hiring an
applicant who has been convicted of a crime.
3. Authorizes a trial court hearing an application for a
certificate of rehabilitation before the applicable period of
rehabilitation has elapsed to grant the application if the
court, in its discretion, believes relief serves the
interests of justice.
Comments
According to the author's office, this bill intends to close
some loopholes and provide additional tools and changes to
existing law to make effective the existing state policy to
remove employment barriers to those who have committed crimes
that have been expunged by the courts. Court approved
expungement was intended to allow a job applicant the ability to
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not have to report minor crimes expunged. The way this is
currently reported employers can still determine a crime has
been committed. This bill corrects this as well as give the
courts additional discretion in the interest of justice to grant
certificates of rehabilitation that do not meet the current time
requirements. If we want to break the revolving door cycle of
crime we must give folks a fair chance at a job without the
discrimination of having a criminal record.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Potential increased annual costs to the Department of
Industrial Relations of about $95,000 (Special Fund*) to
review and investigate an increased number of employment
complaints for violations of the right not to disclose an
expunged conviction.
Potential increased annual costs to the DOJ of $90,000
(General Fund) for increased requests for conviction-related
data in response to an increased number of petitions.
Potential increased annual costs to the courts in the hundreds
of thousands to millions of dollars (General Fund**) to review
and respond to an increased number of petitions for
certificates of rehabilitation. For every 500 petitions (less
than 10 petitions per county) filed per year, annual costs to
the courts to hold hearings are estimated at $1 million,
assuming a hearing cost of $2,000.
* Labor Enforcement Compliance Fund
**Trial Court Trust Fund
SUPPORT : (Verified 9/4/13)
A New Way of Life Reentry Project
American Civil Liberties Union
Ascend
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Public Defenders Association
Clean Slate Practice of the East Bay Community Law Center
Congress of Racial Equality of California
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East Bay Community Law Center
Foundation for Continuing Justice
Higbee & Associates
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay
Area
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
National Employment Law Project
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
OPPOSITION : (Verified 9/4/13)
California District Attorneys Association
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 50-27, 9/4/13
AYES: Alejo, Ammiano, Atkins, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta,
Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau,
Chesbro, Cooley, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Frazier,
Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hall, Roger
Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal, Medina,
Mitchell, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Pan, Perea, V. Manuel
P�rez, Quirk, Rendon, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Weber, Wieckowski,
Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NOES: Achadjian, Allen, Bigelow, Ch�vez, Conway, Dahle,
Donnelly, Fox, Beth Gaines, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Harkey,
Jones, Linder, Logue, Maienschein, Mansoor, Morrell, Nestande,
Olsen, Patterson, Quirk-Silva, Salas, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Melendez, Vacancy, Vacancy
JG:d 9/5/13 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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