BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                    AB 1056


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          CONCURRENCE IN SENATE AMENDMENTS


          AB  
          1056 (Atkins)


          As Amended  August 31, 2015


          2/3 vote


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          Original Committee Reference:  H. & C.D.


          SUMMARY:  Establishes the Second Chance Program (the Program) to  
          invest in community-based programs, services, and initiatives  
          for formerly incarcerated individuals in need of mental health  
          and substance use treatment services.  Extends the sunset on the  
          Social Innovation Financing Program until 2022.  Specifically,  
          this bill:  


          1)Includes legislative findings.


          2)Directs the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) to  
            administer the program. 


          3)Includes the following definitions:










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             a)   "Board" means the BSCC; 


             b)   "Fund" means the Second Chance Fund; and


             c)   "Public agency" means a county, city, whether a general  
               law city or a chartered city, or city and county, the duly  
               constituted governing body of an Indian reservation or  
               rancheria, a school district, municipal corporation,  
               district, political subdivision, or any board, commission,  
               or agency thereof, entities that are legislative bodies of  
               a local agency, as specified, a housing authority, a state  
               agency, public district, or other political subdivision of  
               the state, or any instrumentality thereof, which is  
               authorized to engage in or assist in the development or  
               operation of housing for persons and families of low or  
               moderate income.


             d)   "Recidivism" means a conviction of a new felony or  
               misdemeanor committed within three years of release from  
               custody or committed within three years of placement on  
               supervision for a previous criminal conviction.


          4)Establishes the Fund within the State Treasury.


          5)Provides that the BSCC is responsible for administering the  
            Fund.


          6)Continuously appropriates moneys in the Fund without regard to  
            fiscal year. 


          7)Directs the State Controller, upon order of the Director of  
            Finance, to transfer moneys available to the BSCC into the  
            Fund.  










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          8)Provides that the Fund can receive moneys from any other  
            federal, state and local grants or any private donation or  
            grants.


          9)Caps the amount the BSCC can spend on administrative costs at  
            5% annually. 


          10)Requires the BSCC to administer a competitive grant program  
            that focuses on community-based solutions for reducing  
            recidivism. The grant program shall, at minimum, do all of the  
            following:


             a)   Restrict eligibility to proposals designed to serve  
               people who have been arrested, charged with, or convicted  
               of a criminal offense and have a history of mental health  
               or substance use disorders;


             b)   Restrict eligibility to proposals that offer mental  
               health services, substance use disorder treatment services,  
               misdemeanor diversion programs, or some combination  
               thereof; and


             c)   Restrict eligibility to proposals that have a public  
               agency as the lead applicant.


          11)Requires the BSCC to form an executive steering committee  
            that includes a balanced and diverse membership from relevant  
            state and local government entities, community-based treatment  
            and service providers, and the formerly incarcerated  
            community.  The steering committee shall have expertise in  
            homelessness and housing, behavioral health and substance  
            abuse treatment, and effective rehabilitative treatment for  
            adults and juvenile.  


          12)Requires the steering committee to make recommendations  








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            regarding the design, efficacy, and viability of proposals,  
            and make recommendations on guidelines for the submission of  
            proposals that do all of the following: 


             a)   Prioritize proposals that advance principles of  
               restorative justice while demonstrating a capacity to  
               reduce recidivism;


             b)   Prioritize proposals that leverage other federal, state,  
               and local funds or other social investments, such as the  
               following sources of funding:


               i)   The Drug Medi-Cal Treatment Program;


               ii)  The Mental Health Services Act (MHSA);


               iii) Funds provided for in connection with the  
                 implementation of the 2011 Public Safety Realignment;


               iv)  The Community Corrections Performance Incentives Act;


               v)   The tax credits established pursuant to Revenue and  
                 Taxation Code Sections 12209, 17053.57, and 23657;


               vi)  Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)  
                 Emergency Solutions Grant program;


               vii) Department of Veterans Affairs Supportive Services for  
                 Veteran Families program;


               viii)Social Innovation Funds established by the Corporation  
                 for National and Community Service; and








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               ix)  The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant  
                 Program.


             c)   Prioritize proposals that provide for all of the  
               following:


               i)   Mental health services, substance use disorder  
                 treatment services, misdemeanor diversion programs, or  
                 some combination thereof;


               ii)  Housing-related assistance that utilizes  
                 evidence-based models, including, but not limited to,  
                 those recommended by HUD.  Housing-related assistance may  
                 include, but is not limited to, the following:


                  (1)       Financial assistance, including security  
                    deposits, utility payments, moving-cost assistance,  
                    and up to 24 months of rental assistance.


                  (2)       Housing stabilization assistance, including  
                    case management, relocation assistance, outreach and  
                    engagement, landlord recruitment, housing navigation  
                    and placement, and credit repair.


               iii) Other community-based supportive services, such as job  
                 skills training, case management, and civil legal  
                 services.


             d)   Prioritize proposals that leverage existing contracts,  
               partnerships, memoranda of understanding, or other formal  
               relationships to provide one or more of the prioritized  
               services;









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             e)   Prioritize proposals put forth by a public agency in  
               partnership with a philanthropic or nonprofit organization;


             f)   Prioritize proposals that promote interagency and  
               regional collaborations;


             g)   Consider ways to promote services for people with  
               offenses identical or similar to those addressed by the  
               Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act of 2014, without  
               precluding assistance to a person with other offenses in  
               his or her criminal history;


             h)   Consider geographic diversity;


             i)   Consider appropriate limits for administrative costs and  
               overhead;


             j)   Consider proposals that provide services to juveniles;  
               and


             aa)  Permit proposals to expand the capacity of an existing  
               program and prohibit proposals from using the fund to  
               supplant funding for an existing program.


          13)Extends the sunset on the Social Innovation Financing Program  
            until 2022.


          The Senate amendments:


          1)Delete the specific makeup of executive steering committee  
            membership.









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          2)Extend the sunset on the Social Innovation Financing Program  
            until 2022.


          3)Make technical, clarifying changes.


          FISCAL EFFECT:  According to the Senate Appropriations  
          Committee: 


          1)Minor workload impact to the BSCC to administer the Program  
            and establish the executive steering committee, as Proposition  
            47 (2014) already requires the BSCC to administer a grant  
            program.


          2)Potentially significant increase in annual grant awards issued  
            (Federal/State/Private funds), as the bill creates a new fund,  
            which is continuously appropriated, and may receive funds not  
            only from the savings resulting from Proposition 47, but also  
            from other federal, state, local, or private sources. 


          3)Potential future cost pressure (Special Fund/General Fund) due  
            to the extension of the sunset date.  According to the BSCC,  
            $5 million was appropriated from the Recidivism Reduction Fund  
            for this program, with funding estimated to be fully allocated  
            to the three local county projects by June 30, 2016.


          COMMENTS:  Background:  In response to prison overcrowding  
          directives as well as recent public safety reforms such as AB  
          109 (Budget Committee), Chapter 15, Statutes of 2011 and  
          Proposition 47, unprecedented numbers of formerly incarcerated  
          individuals are returning to our communities.  Nationally, over  
          half of people in prisons or jails have experienced a mental  
          health issue within the last year, and over half of women in  
          jail and 44% of men in jail have a drug or alcohol dependency.  
          As a result of these factors, many detained in local jails are  
          chronic offenders who frequently cycle in and out of the jail  








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          facility and other public crisis systems in part because of  
          their long histories of residential instability or homelessness,  
          chronic mental and physical health issues, and substance abuse  
          disorders.   


           Proposition 47:  In 2014, the voters approved Proposition 47  
          which would reduce the penalties for certain non-violent,  
          nonserious drug and property crimes and require the resulting  
          state savings to be used to pay for mental health and substance  
          use services, truancy, dropout prevention, and victim crimes.  
          DOF will calculate the savings that accrue to the state from the  
          implementation of Proposition 47.  Proposition 47 requires the  
          savings be distributed among state agencies as follows:      


          1)Twenty-five percent to the State Department of Education, to  
            administer a grant program to public agencies aimed at  
            improving outcomes for public school pupils in kindergarten  
            and grades one to twelve, inclusive, by reducing truancy and  
            supporting students who are at risk of dropping out of school  
            or are victims of crime.


          2)Ten percent to the California Victim Compensation and  
            Government Claims Board, to make grants to trauma recovery  
            centers to provide services to victims of crime pursuant to  
            Section 13963.1 of the Government Code.


          3)Sixty-five percent to the BSCC, to administer a grant program  
            to public agencies aimed at supporting mental health  
            treatment, substance abuse treatment, and diversion programs  
            for people in the criminal justice system, with an emphasis on  
            programs that reduce recidivism of people convicted of less  
            serious crimes, such as those covered by Proposition 47, and  
            those who have substance abuse and mental health problems.


          The Legislature has authority under the Proposition to determine  
          how the funds are used by the departments that receive them and  
          how much oversight to provide to determine if the funds are used  








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          effectively.  The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) estimates  
          that the savings resulting from Proposition 47, while subject to  
          significant uncertainty, will likely range from $100 million to  
          $200 million beginning in 2016-17.


          This bill provides direction to the BSCC on how to spend the 65%  
          in savings directed to it to support mental health and substance  
          use treatment.  This bill sets out minimum criteria that the  
          BSCC must use when creating the program and how to evaluate  
          applicants based on the types of people served, services that  
          should be funded, other funding sources that could be leveraged,  
          and the level of geographic diversity, among other factors.


          Purpose of this bill:  Various organizations support this bill  
          and the goal of establishing a stable housing source for  
          formerly incarcerated individuals.  According to the author,  
          "people in the criminal justice system and formerly incarcerated  
          individuals have difficulty securing housing and employment upon  
          leaving incarceration."  This bill provides guidance to the BSCC  
          on the establishment of a competitive grant program, which will  
          promote comprehensive, collaborative projects that serve people  
          who have been arrested, charged with, or convicted of an offense  
          and have a history of mental health issues.   


          Analysis Prepared by:                         Rebecca Rabovsky /  
          H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085                           FN: 0001942