BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 989 Page 1 CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS AB 989 (Cooper) As Amended September 2, 2015 Majority vote -------------------------------------------------------------------- |ASSEMBLY: |78-0 |(April 23, |SENATE: |39-0 |(September 8, | | | |2015) | | |2015) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------- Original Committee Reference: PUB. S. SUMMARY: Authorizes the district attorney and probation department to access sealed juvenile records for additional limited purposes. The Senate amendments: 1)Allow access to sealed records for purposes of data collection or fulfilling data-reporting requirements, but prohibits the release of personal identifying information in meeting these requirements. 2)Allow a victim or local collection program to continue to enforce restitution obligations and court-ordered fines. 3)Authorize the Department of Social Services to view sealed AB 989 Page 2 records for purposes of compliance with specified federal regulations. 4)Double join this bill with AB 666 (Stone) of the current legislative session to avoid chaptering out issues. EXISTING LAW: 1)Provides that, if a minor satisfactorily completes an informal program of supervision, probation as specified, or a term of probation for any offense other than a specified serious, sexual, or violent offense, then the court shall order sealed all records pertaining to that dismissed petition in the custody of the juvenile court, except that the prosecuting attorney and the probation department of any county shall have access to these records after they are sealed for the limited purpose of determining whether the minor is eligible for deferred entry of judgment. The court may access a file that has been sealed pursuant to this section for the limited purpose of verifying the prior jurisdictional status of a ward who is petitioning the court to resume its dependency or delinquency jurisdiction. This access shall not be deemed an unsealing of the record and shall not require notice to any other entity. 2)Provides that five years or more after the jurisdiction of the juvenile court has terminated over a person adjudged a ward of the court or after a minor appeared before a probation officer, or, in any case, at any time after the person has reached the age of 18, the person or county probation officer, with specified exceptions, may petition the juvenile court for sealing of the records, including arrest records, relating to the person's case, in the custody of the juvenile court, the probation officer, or any other agency or public official. 3)States that once the court has ordered the person's records sealed, the proceedings in the case shall be deemed never to have occurred, and the person may reply accordingly to any inquiry about the events. AB 989 Page 3 4)Permits the court to access a file that has been sealed for the limited purpose of verifying the prior jurisdictional status of the ward who is petitioning the court to resume its jurisdiction, as specified. This access is not to be deemed an unsealing of the records. 5)Allows a judge of the juvenile court in which a petition was filed to dismiss the petition, or to set aside the findings and dismiss the petition, if the court finds that the interests of justice and the welfare of the person who is the subject of the petition require that dismissal, or if it finds that he or she is not in need of treatment or rehabilitation. The court has jurisdiction to order dismissal or setting aside of the findings and dismissal regardless of whether the person who is the subject of the petition is, at the time of the order, a ward or dependent child of the court. 6)Allows the probation officer to destroy all records and papers in the proceedings concerning a minor after five years from the date on which the jurisdiction of the juvenile court over the minor is terminated. 7)States that any person who was under the age of 18 when he or she was arrested for a misdemeanor may petition the court in which the proceedings occurred or, if there were no court proceedings, the court in whose jurisdiction the arrest occurred, for an order sealing the records in the case, including any records of arrest and detention, in certain circumstances. 8)Provides that a person who was under the age of 18 at the time of commission of a misdemeanor and is eligible for, or has previously received expungement relief, may petition the court for an order sealing the record of conviction and other official records in the case, including arrest records and records relating to other offenses charged in the accusatory pleading, whether the defendant was acquitted, or the charges dismissed. Thereafter the conviction, arrest, or other AB 989 Page 4 proceeding shall be deemed not to have occurred, and the petitioner may answer accordingly any question relating to their occurrence. AS PASSED BY THE ASSEMBLY, this bill: 1)Authorized the prosecutor and the probation department to access a juvenile's sealed records for the limited purpose of determining whether the minor is ineligible for informal supervision. 2)Stated that if a new petition has been filed against the minor for a felony offense, the probation department can access the sealed records for the limited purpose of identifying the minor's previous court-ordered programs or placements, and in that event solely to determine the individual's eligibility or suitability for remedial programs or services. The information obtained pursuant to this subparagraph shall not be disseminated to other agencies or individuals, except as necessary to implement a referral to a remedial program or service, and shall not be used to support the imposition of penalties, detention, or other sanctions upon the minor. 3)Authorized the probation department to access sealed juvenile records for the limited purpose of meeting Federal Title IV-E compliance. 4)Stated that this access shall not be considered an unsealing of the records. FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill has been keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS: According to the author, "In 2014, SB 1038 (Leno) [Chapter 249, Statutes of 2014] regarding juvenile records sealing was signed into law. The bill provided for the AB 989 Page 5 automatic dismissal of juvenile petitions and sealing of records in cases where a juvenile offender successfully completes probation. The intent was to provide incentives for youth to successfully complete probation and foster employment, housing, and education opportunities by setting forth a process to have juvenile records sealed. "Upon implementation there have been varying legal opinions as to whether probation records such as program referrals and risk/needs assessments are considered part of the court record and would therefore be required to be sealed under the provisions of SB 1038. This inhibits the ability of probation to access their internal records should a minor, who has had their record sealed, come back into the custody of the juvenile court and probation department. "Therefore, there are cases when a youth comes back into the custody of the juvenile court and probation is unable to view their previous program referrals and risk/needs assessments to make the most appropriate determination on getting them connected to services. Further, it is important that probation be able to access records on a limited basis for the purposes of determining AB 12 [(Beall), Chapter 559, Statutes of 2010] extended foster care eligibility, eligibility for informal probation, and Federal Title IV-E purposes. In order to achieve the best outcomes for these minors, it is important that probation have access to this information to make the most effective case plan determinations for the minor's treatment. "AB 989 would continue the practice and original intent of SB 1038 to ensure that minors' records are automatically sealed upon successful completion and would clarify that in cases where a juvenile record has been sealed pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code 786, if a youth subsequently comes back into the custody of the juvenile court, probation may access limited information as it pertains to determining AB 12 extended foster care eligibility, informal probation eligibility, Federal Title AB 989 Page 6 IV-E purposes, previous risk/needs assessments, and prior program and service referrals in order to most appropriately develop a case plan to address the treatment needs of the minor." Analysis Prepared by: Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0002045