BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 165
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
165 (Gomez)
As Amended April 6, 2015
2/3 vote. Urgency.
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+-----------------------+--------------------|
|Appropriations |16-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, Bonta, | |
| | |Calderon, Chang, Daly, | |
| | |Eggman, Gallagher, | |
| | |Eduardo Garcia, | |
| | |Holden, Jones, Quirk, | |
| | |Rendon, Wagner, Weber, | |
| | |Wood | |
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SUMMARY: This bill, one of two annual state claims bills
introduced pursuant to California Victim Compensation and
Government Claims Board (board) determinations and carried by the
Appropriations Committee chairs, appropriates $504,744 to pay 110
claims against the state as approved by the board, and $968,400 to
pay the costs of three erroneous conviction cases.
FISCAL EFFECT:
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1)Appropriates $504,744 ($227,309 General Fund (GF); $277,435
special funds) to the board for payment of 110 claims, all of
which are stale-dated warrants ranging from $16 to $274,118.
2)Appropriates $968,400 GF for payment of board-approved claims
for three erroneous conviction cases.
COMMENTS:
1)Rationale. The Government Code Section 13928 requires the board
to ensure that all claims approved by the board, for which no
legally available appropriation exists, are submitted for
legislative approval at least twice during each calendar year.
In general, the board approves claims in November and February.
The re-issuance of stale-dated warrants (expired checks) is the
most prevalent claim approved by the board. For stale-dated
warrants, the State Controller must confirm the check was not
cashed and that more than three years has passed since the check
was issued and the monies have reverted to the General Fund or
to the relevant special fund. For these warrants an
appropriation is needed to reissue the payment.
In addition to stale-dated warrants, Penal Code Section 4900 et
seq. authorizes a person convicted and imprisoned for a felony
to submit a claim to the board for pecuniary injury sustained as
a result of erroneous conviction and imprisonment. Pursuant to
SB 618 (Leno), Chapter 800, Statutes of 2013, if a person has
secured a declaration of factual innocence from the court after
having his or her conviction set aside, the finding is grounds
for payment of a claim against the state and upon application by
the petitioner, the board shall, without a hearing, recommend to
the Legislature an appropriation to cover the claim. Likewise,
if the court finds the petitioner has proven his or her
innocence by a preponderance of the evidence, or the court
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grants a writ of habeas corpus concerning a person who is
unlawfully imprisoned, or when the court vacates a judgment for
a person on the basis of new evidence concerning a person who is
no longer unlawfully imprisoned, and the court finds the
evidence points unerringly to innocence, the board shall, upon
application by the claimant, without a hearing, recommend to the
Legislature an appropriation to cover the petitioner's claim.
Otherwise, a claimant is required to introduce evidence in
support of his or her claim at a hearing before the board, and
the Attorney General may introduce evidence in opposition. The
claimant must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence: a) the
crime was not committed at all, or, if committed, was not
committed by the claimant; b) the claimant did not contribute to
the arrest or conviction for the crime; and c) the claimant
sustained pecuniary injury though the erroneous conviction and
imprisonment.
If a claimant meets the burden of proof, the board shall
recommend to the Legislature an appropriation of $100 per day of
incarceration served in a state prison subsequent to the
claimant's conviction.
2)Support. This bill, supported by the board, the Department of
Finance, and the administration, has no opposition.
3)Erroneous Conviction Claims.
a) Ronald Ross, binding finding of factual innocence,
$229,300. Mr. Ross was convicted of premeditated attempted
murder and assault with a firearm in 2006. In February 2012,
more than five years after his conviction, Mr. Ross filed a
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habeas corpus petition. Based on new testimony, the Alameda
County District Attoney's Office believed that false evidence
was used against Mr. Ross and supported the petition. On
February 20, 2013, the court granted the writ.
b) Susan Mellen, binding finding of factual innocence,
$597,200. In 1998, Ms. Mellen was convicted of first degree
murder, and the jury found true to special circumstances
allegation that she tortured the victim. On September 18,
2014, Innocence Matters filed a habeas corpus petition
asserting Ms. Mellen was factually innocent. On October 10,
2014, the Los Angeles District Attorney's Office conceded the
merits of the petition and on November 21, 2014, the court
granted the petition and reversed the conviction.
c) Brian Banks, binding finding of factual innocence,
$142,200. On January 22, 2003, 16-year-old old Brian Banks
was charged with forcible rape, forcible sodomy, and
kidnapping. On August 20, 2003, Mr. Banks pled no contest to
the charge of forcible rape and was sentenced to six years in
prison. In 2006, Mr. Banks filed a habeas corpus petition,
but it was denied based on vagueness, failure to state a
claim, and failure to raise issues on direct appeal. On
August 15, 2011, Mr. Banks filed a habeas corpus petition and
the court granted the petition on May 24, 2012, reversing the
rape conviction and all charges were dismissed.
4)Prior Legislation. The two 2014 claims bills, AB 1617 (Gatto),
Chapter 303, Statutes of 2014, appropriated $2.2 million and
passed this house 76-0 and passed the Senate 35-0; and SB 1031
(De León), Chapter 313, Statutes of 2014, appropriated $1.1
million and passed the Assembly on a vote of 61-15 and the
Senate on a vote of 27-3.
Analysis Prepared by: Pedro Reyes / APPR. /
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(916) 319-2081 FN: 0000140