BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 165|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 165
Author: Gomez (D)
Amended: 4/6/15 in Assembly
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/26/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 4/20/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: State claims
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill, an urgency measure, appropriates
$504,743.99 from specified funds to the California Victim
Compensation and Government Claims Board (board) for the payment
of 110 state claims. This bill also appropriates $968,400 from
the General Fund to the board for the payment of three erroneous
conviction claims.
ANALYSIS: The State Board of Control was established in 1945.
It was revised and renamed the Victim Compensation and
Government Claims Board by AB 2491 (Jackson, Chapter 1016,
Statutes of 2000). Government Code Section 13928 requires the
board to ensure that all claims that have been approved by the
board, and for which no legally available appropriation exists,
are submitted for legislative approval at least twice during
each calendar year. In general, the board will approve claims
in November and February. Those claims are reported to the
chairs of the Appropriations Committees who introduce bills
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appropriating General Funds and special funds to pay the claims.
These bills may appropriate funds in amounts to the penny for
tens to hundreds of claims. Government Code Section 906
provides for the payment of interest on claims approved by the
board for which an appropriation has been made beginning 30 days
after the effective date of the law by which the appropriation
is enacted.
The re-issuance of stale-dated warrants is the most prevalent
claim approved by the board. For stale-dated warrants, the
State Controller must confirm that (1) the check was not cashed
and has not been issued and (2) more than three years have
elapsed 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.
This category also may include state treasury bonds that have
not been redeemed within 10 years of their maturity date (there
are no such claims in this bill), but the majority of warrants
are payroll or tax refund checks.
In addition to stale-dated warrants, existing law 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. Recent changes to these
provisions, SB 618 (Leno, Chapter 800, Statutes of 2013),
specifies that a person who has secured a declaration of factual
innocence from the court after having his or her conviction set
aside is eligible payment in a claim against the state. 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 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
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claimant must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence: (1)
the crime was not committed at all, or, if committed, was not
committed by the claimant; (2) the claimant did not contribute
to the arrest or conviction for the crime; and (3) 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.
This bill appropriates $504,743.99 in various state funds,
including $227,308.96 from the General Fund, to the board for
the payment of 110 state claims for reissuance of stale-dated
warrants. This bill also appropriates $968,400 to the board for
payment of three specified erroneous conviction claims. AB 165
is an urgency measure.
Background
Erroneous Conviction Claims:
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 habeas
corpus petition. Based new testimony, the Alameda County
District Attorney's Office believed that false evidence was
used against Mr. Ross and supported the petition. On February
20, 2013, the court granted the writ.
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
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District Attorney's Office conceded the merits of the petition
and on November 21, 2014, the court granted the petition and
reversed the conviction.
Brian Banks, binding finding of factual innocence, $142,200.
On January 22, 2003, sixteen-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.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Stale-dated warrants. General Fund appropriations in the amount
of $227,308.96 to pay 105 claims, and special fund
appropriations in the amount of $277,435.03 to pay five claims.
All of these claims are for reissuance of stale-dated warrants
(expired checks). The individual claim amounts range from $16
to $274,117.66.
Erroneous Convictions:
1)General Fund appropriation in the amount of $597,200 to pay
the claim of Susan Mellen, approved by the board on January
15, 2015.
2)General Fund appropriation in the amount of $229,000 to pay
the claim of Ronald Ross, approved by the board on September
18, 2014.
3)General Fund appropriation in the amount of $142,200 to pay
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the claim of Brian Banks, approved by the board on March 19,
2015.
SUPPORT: (Verified5/27/15)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/27/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 4/20/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder,
Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina,
Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen,
Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,
Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting,
Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
Prepared by:Mark McKenzie / APPR. / (916) 651-4101
5/27/15 12:59:18
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