BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 487
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB
487 (Gonzalez)
As Enrolled August 31, 2015
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: | 77-0 |(May 4, 2015) |SENATE: |40-0 |(August 24, |
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|ASSEMBLY: | 78-0 |(August 27, | | | |
| | |2015) | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: PUB. S.
SUMMARY: Requires that when an inmate requests to advance a
parole hearing, notice be sent to the district attorney of the
county in which the offense was committed, in addition to the
victim.
AB 487
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The Senate amendments:
1)Remove a provision which would have required postponement of
any action taken on advancement of a parole hearing until
notice was made to the district attorney and victim, as
specified.
2)Add double-joining language to avoid chaptering out issues
with SB 230 (Hancock), Chapter 470, Statutes of 2015.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides guidelines for the Board of Parole Hearings to
schedule parole hearings for prisoners in California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for whom they are
appropriate.
2)Requires the board set a date to reconsider whether an inmate
should be released on parole that ensures a meaningful
consideration of whether the inmate is suitable for release on
parole.
3)Requires that within 10 days following any meeting where a
parole date has been set, the board shall send the prisoner a
written statement setting forth his or her parole date, the
conditions he or she must meet in order to be released on the
date set, and the consequences of failure to meet those
conditions.
4)Requires that within 20 days following any meeting where a
parole date has not been set, the board shall send the
prisoner a written statement setting forth the reason or
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reasons for refusal to set a parole date, and suggest
activities in which he or she might participate that will
benefit him or her while he or she is incarcerated.
5)Allows the Board of Parole Hearings discretion, after
considering the views and interests of the victim, advance a
parole hearing to an earlier date, when a change in
circumstances or new information establishes a reasonable
likelihood that consideration of the public and victim's
safety does not require the additional period of incarceration
of the prisoner.
6)Allows an inmate to request that the board exercise its
discretion to advance a hearing set pursuant to paragraph (3)
of subdivision (b) to an earlier date, by submitting a written
request to the board, with notice, upon request, and a copy to
the victim which shall set forth the change in circumstances
or new information that establishes a reasonable likelihood
that consideration of the public safety does not require the
additional period of incarceration of the inmate.
7)Mandates that the board shall have sole jurisdiction, after
considering the views and interests of the victim to determine
whether to grant or deny a written request to advance the
hearing, and its decision shall be subject to review by a
court or magistrate only for a manifest abuse of discretion by
the board. The board shall have the power to summarily deny a
request that does not comply with the provisions of this
subdivision or that does not set forth a change in
circumstances or new information as required.
8)Specifies an inmate may make only one written request to
advance a hearing during each three-year period. Following
either a summary denial of a request to advance a hearing, or
the decision of the board after a hearing to not set a parole
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date, the inmate shall not be entitled to submit another
request for a hearing pursuant to subdivision to set a parole
date until a three-year period of time has elapsed from the
summary denial or decision of the board.
9)Specifies that within 10 days of any board action resulting in
the postponement of a previously set parole date, the board
shall send the prisoner a written statement setting forth a
new date and the reason or reasons for that action and shall
offer the prisoner an opportunity for review of that action.
10)Requires that within 10 days of any board action resulting in
the rescinding of a previously set parole date, the board
shall send the prisoner a written statement setting forth the
reason or reasons for that action, and shall schedule the
prisoner's next hearing as specified.
11)Requires the board to conduct a parole hearing as a de novo
hearing. Findings made and conclusions reached in a prior
parole hearing shall be considered in but shall not be deemed
to be binding upon subsequent parole hearings for an inmate,
but shall be subject to reconsideration based upon changed
facts and circumstances. When conducting a hearing, the board
shall admit the prior recorded or memorialized testimony or
statement of a victim or witness, upon request of the victim
or if the victim or witness has died or become unavailable.
At each hearing the board shall determine the appropriate
action to be taken based on the criteria set forth in Penal
Code Section 3041.
AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY:
1)Required that when an inmate requests that the parole board
advance a parole hearing to an earlier date, by submitting a
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written request to the board, notice be sent to the district
attorney of the county in which the offense was committed and
to the victim, if the victim requested notification.
2)Required notice of the inmate's request to advance the parole
hearing to be forwarded by the parole board to the district
attorney and the victim, if the victim requested notification,
no less than 30 days before the board may grant the inmate's
request.
3)Specified that a failure to notify the district attorney or
the victim, if the victim requested notification, of a request
to advance the hearing shall postpone any action being taken
on the hearing advancement until the notice is properly made.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS: According to the author, "AB 487 is a way to ensure
that all victims are notified when an inmate files a petition to
advance their parole date. By requiring that the Board of
Parole Hearings also notify the District Attorney of the County
in which the offense was committed, there will be no doubt that
a representative advocating for the victim's interests will be
available for comment in those situations that merit such
involvement."
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
This bill would require the state parole board to notify the
district attorney whenever an inmate makes a request to advance
a parole hearing date and would allow district attorneys to
offer their views on whether a date should in fact be advanced.
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District attorneys have been participating in parole hearings at
least since 1978. This is appropriate given the district
attorney's unique perspective. The timing of hearings, however,
is best left to the wise discretion of the parole board, as
articulated in the unanimous 2013 California Supreme Court
decision in In re Vicks (2013), 56 Cal.4th 274.
Analysis Prepared by:
David Billingsley / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0002459