BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AB 920 Hearing Date: June 14, 2016
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|Author: |Gipson |
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|Version: |September 3, 2015 |
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|Urgency: |Yes |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant:|JRD |
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Subject: Jails: County Inmate Welfare Funds
HISTORY
Source: Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
Prior Legislation: AB 1445 (Mitchell) - Chapter 233, Statutes of
2012
AB 2574 (Emmerson) - Chapter 16, Statutes of 2008
SB 718 (Scott) - Chapter 251, Statutes of 2007
Support: California State Association of Counties; California
State Sheriffs' Association
Opposition:None known
Assembly Floor Vote: 78 - 0
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to create a program that authorizes
the sheriff or county officer responsible for operating jails of
the Counties of Alameda, Kern, Los Angeles, Marin, Napa, Orange,
Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Francisco, San Diego, San Luis
Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, and Ventura to
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spend money from the inmate welfare fund for the purpose of
assisting indigent inmates with the reentry process within 30
days after the inmate's release from the county jail or other
adult detention facility, as specified.
Existing law authorizes a county sheriff to establish, maintain
and operate a store in connection with the county jail and for
this purpose may purchase confectionary, tobacco and tobacco
users' supplies, postage and writing materials, and toilet
articles and supplies and sell these goods, articles, and
supplies for cash to inmates. (Penal Code § 4025(a).)
Existing law provides that the sale prices of the articles
offered for sale at the store shall be fixed by the sheriff.
Any profit shall be deposited in the inmate welfare fund to be
kept in the treasury of the county. (Penal Code § 4025(b).)
Existing law requires that 10 percent of all gross sales of
inmate hobbycraft be deposited in the inmate welfare fund.
(Penal Code § 4025(c).)
Existing law provides that any money, refund, rebate, or
commission received from a telephone company or pay telephone
provider shall be deposited in the inmate welfare fund when the
money, refund, rebate, or commission is attributable to the use
of pay telephones which are primarily used by inmates while
incarcerated. (Penal Code § 4025(d).)
Existing law provides that the money and property deposited in
the inmate welfare fund shall be expended by the sheriff
primarily for the benefit, education, and welfare of the inmates
confined within the jail. Any funds that are not needed for the
welfare of the inmates may be expended for the maintenance of
county jail facilities. Maintenance of county jail facilities
may include, but is not limited to the salary and benefits of
personnel used in the programs to benefit the inmates including,
but not limited to, education, drug and alcohol treatment,
welfare, library, accounting, and other programs deemed
appropriate by the sheriff. Inmate welfare funds shall not be
used to pay required county expenses of confining inmates in a
local detention system, such as meals, clothing, housing, or
medical services or expenses, except that inmate welfare funds
may be used to augment those required county expenses as
determined by the sheriff to be in the best interests of
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inmates. An itemized report of these expenditures shall be
submitted annually to the board of supervisors. (Penal Code §
4025(e).)
Existing law authorizes the sheriff to expend money from the
inmate welfare fund to provide indigent inmates prior to the
release from the county jail or other adult correctional
facility under the sheriff's jurisdiction with essential
clothing and transportation expenses. (Penal Code § 4025(i).)
Existing law creates a pilot program in the counties of Alameda,
Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San
Francisco, San Diego, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, and
Stanislaus. In each county the sheriff, or, in the County of
Santa Clara, the chief of correction, may expend money from the
inmate welfare fund to provide indigent inmates after release
from the county jail or any other adult detention facility under
the jurisdiction of the sheriff, or, in the County of Santa
Clara, the chief of correction, assistance with the reentry
process within 14 days after the inmate's release. The
assistance provided may include, but is not limited to, work
placement, counseling, obtaining proper identification,
education, and housing. This pilot program will expire on
January 1, 2015, unless extended. (Penal Code § 4025.5
(sunseted January 1, 2015).)
This bill creates a program that authorizes the sheriff or
county officer responsible for operating jails of the Counties
of Alameda, Kern, Los Angeles, Marin, Napa, Orange, Sacramento,
San Bernardino, San Francisco, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa
Barbara, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, and Ventura to spend money
from the inmate welfare fund for the purpose of assisting
indigent inmates with the reentry process within 30 days after
the inmate's release from the county jail or other adult
detention facility.
This bill specifies that the assistance provided may include
work placement, counseling, obtaining proper identification,
education, and housing.
The bill specifies that money from the inmate welfare fund shall
not be used under the program to provide services that are
required to be provided by the sheriff or county, as specified.
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This bill requires, if a county elects to participate in the
pilot program, a county sheriff or county officer responsible
for operating a jail to include specified additional information
in the itemized report of expenditures to the board of
supervisors, including the number of inmates the program served.
This bill makes legislative findings and declarations as to the
necessity of a special statute for the counties contained in the
legislation and declares that it is to take effect immediately
as an urgency statute.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
For the past several years this Committee has scrutinized
legislation referred to its jurisdiction for any potential
impact on prison overcrowding. Mindful of the United States
Supreme Court ruling and federal court orders relating to the
state's ability to provide a constitutional level of health care
to its inmate population and the related issue of prison
overcrowding, this Committee has applied its "ROCA" policy as a
content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that
the Legislature does not erode progress in reducing prison
overcrowding.
On February 10, 2014, the federal court ordered California to
reduce its in-state adult institution population to 137.5% of
design capacity by February 28, 2016, as follows:
143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,
137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.
In December of 2015 the administration reported that as "of
December 9, 2015, 112,510 inmates were housed in the State's 34
adult institutions, which amounts to 136.0% of design bed
capacity, and 5,264 inmates were housed in out-of-state
facilities. The current population is 1,212 inmates below the
final court-ordered population benchmark of 137.5% of design bed
capacity, and has been under that benchmark since February
2015." (Defendants' December 2015 Status Report in Response to
February 10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge
Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).) One
year ago, 115,826 inmates were housed in the State's 34 adult
institutions, which amounted to 140.0% of design bed capacity,
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and 8,864 inmates were housed in out-of-state facilities.
(Defendants' December 2014 Status Report in Response to February
10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman
v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).)
While significant gains have been made in reducing the prison
population, the state must stabilize these advances and
demonstrate to the federal court that California has in place
the "durable solution" to prison overcrowding "consistently
demanded" by the court. (Opinion Re: Order Granting in Part and
Denying in Part Defendants' Request For Extension of December
31, 2013 Deadline, NO. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK DAD (PC), 3-Judge Court,
Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (2-10-14). The Committee's
consideration of bills that may impact the prison population
therefore will be informed by the following questions:
Whether a proposal erodes a measure which has contributed
to reducing the prison population;
Whether a proposal addresses a major area of public safety
or criminal activity for which there is no other
reasonable, appropriate remedy;
Whether a proposal addresses a crime which is directly
dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there
is no other reasonably appropriate sanction;
Whether a proposal corrects a constitutional problem or
legislative drafting error; and
Whether a proposal proposes penalties which are
proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other
reasonably appropriate remedy.
COMMENTS
1. Need for This Legislation
According to the author:
While existing law currently allows the sheriff or
county officer operating jails to spend money from the
inmate welfare fund to provide released inmates with
clothes and transportation expenses, it does not help
them with work placement, counseling, obtaining proper
forms of identification, education or housing.
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AB 920 would require and allow the sheriff of county
jail to use monies from the Inmate Welfare Fund to
provide assistance in the form of work placement,
counseling, obtaining proper identification,
education, and housing to indigent inmates within 30
days after the inmate's release from the county jail
or other adult detention facility. The bill would
require a county sheriff or county officer responsible
for operating a jail to include specified additional
information in the itemized report of expenditures to
the board of supervisors, including the number of
inmates the program served.
2. Use of Inmate Welfare Fund Money for Reentry Services
An inmate welfare fund (IWF) may be established in each county
jail, as specified. (Penal Code § 4025.) The purpose of an IWF
is to fund programs that help inmates transition back into the
community. Programs include education, drug and alcohol
treatment, library service, and counseling. (See Penal Code §
4025(e).) In accordance with the goal of transitioning inmates,
money from an IWF may also be used to cover essential clothing
and transportation expenses for an indigent inmate prior to
release, at the discretion of the Sheriff. (Penal Code §
4025(i).)
The money in the inmate welfare fund is generated by sale of
commissary items as well as "any money, refund, rebate, or
commission received from a telephone company or pay phone
provider when use is attributable to the inmates during
incarceration." (Penal Code § 4025(d).)
In 2007, SB 718 (Scott) (Chapter 251, Stats. of 2007) was
enacted into law creating a pilot program to allow sheriffs in
specified counties to use funds from the inmate welfare fund, "?
to provide indigent inmates, after release from the county jail
or any other adult detention facility under the jurisdiction of
the sheriff, assistance with the reentry process within 14 days
after the inmate's release. The assistance provided may
include, but is not limited to, work placement, counseling,
obtaining proper identification, education, and housing."
(Penal Code § 4025.5.) Absent further legislative action, this
provision of law was to remain in effect only until
January 1, 2013.
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In 2008, Kern, San Bernardino, and Santa Clara Counties were
added to the pilot program allowing the Sheriffs in those
counties (or in Santa Clara the Director of Corrections) to
utilize inmate welfare funds for reentry services within 14 days
of the inmates' release. (AB 2574 (Emmerson), Chapter 16,
Stats. of 2008.)
The legislature, in 2012, extended pilot for two years to
January 1, 2015, added the counties of Marin, Napa, San Luis
Obispo, and Ventura to this pilot program, extended the period
of time in which inmate welfare fund money could be used for
reentry purposes from 14 to 30 days after the inmate's release,
and added reporting requirements. (AB 1445 (Mitchell), Chapter
233, Stats. of 2012.) The program, thus, sunseted on January 1,
2015.
This legislation would reinstate and make this program
permanent. It would, additionally, allow specified counties to
use IWF funds to provide indigent inmates assistance with the
reentry process within 30 days after the inmate's release. It
would allow these counties to use the funds to assist these
inmates with work placement, counseling, obtaining proper
identification, education and housing. The legislation,
additionally, requires any sheriff or county officer that uses
IWF funds for this purpose to file an annual report with the
county board of supervisors that includes:
(1) How much money was spent pursuant to this section.
(2) The number of inmates the program served.
(3) The types of assistance for which the funds were used.
(4) The average length of time an inmate used the program.
Given that this legislation does not require the listed counties
to use IWF funds for reentry, and that there will likely be
numerous pieces of legislation in coming years to expand the
authority provided in this bill to other counties, members may
wish to consider an amendment applying the provisions of this
legislation to all counties.
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