BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1156|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1156
Author: Brown (D)
Amended: 9/1/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 5-1, 7/7/15
AYES: Hancock, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning
NOES: Stone
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 5-2, 8/27/15
AYES: Lara, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza
NOES: Bates, Nielsen
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 54-24, 6/2/15 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: Imprisonment in county jail
SOURCE: California Public Defenders Association
Conference of California Bar Associations
Judicial Council
DIGEST: This bill applies a wide range of sentencing statutes
and rules applicable to prison sentences to felony sentences
imposed under criminal justice realignment.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires the court to choose the lower, middle or upper term
when imposing a prison sentence and to state reasons for the
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sentencing choice. The court shall impose the middle term
unless it finds factors in aggravation or mitigation
justifying imposition of the upper term or lower term,
respectively. (Pen. Code § 1170 (b).)
2)Requires the sentencing court to inform a defendant sentenced
to prison that he or she may be required to serve a period of
parole. (Id.)
3)Provides that when a defendant has been committed to state
prison, the court may, within 120 days of commitment on its
own motion, or at any time upon the recommendation of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) or the
Board of Parole Hearings (BPH), recall the sentence and
resentence the defendant. Any new sentence may be no greater
than the initial sentence. The court shall apply the
sentencing rules in the Rules of Court so as to eliminate
disparity and promote uniformity in sentencing. (Pen. Code, §
1170, subd. (d)(1).)
4)States that in any case in which the amount of pre-sentence
credit exceeds the sentence imposed, the sentence shall be
deemed to have been served. The court shall advise the
defendant that he or she will serve a parole term, unless the
in-custody credits exceed both confinement time and parole.
(Pen. Code, § subd. (a)(3).)
5)Provides that if CDCR or BPH determine both that the prisoner
has six months or fewer to live and would not pose a threat to
public safety if released, CDCR director BPH may recommend to
the court that the prisoner's sentence be recalled. The court
may order the prisoner's release if it makes those same
findings. (Pen. Code, § 1170, subd. (e)(1)-(2).)
6)Requires the court to hold a hearing to consider whether a
prisoner's sentence should be recalled within 10 days of
receipt of a positive recommendation by the CDCR director or
BPH. (Pen. Code, § 1170, subd. (e)(3).)
7)States that the Judicial Council shall promote uniformity of
sentencing by adopting rules that set out criteria for the
consideration of trial judge in making decisions to:
a) Grant or deny probation;
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b) Impose the lower or upper term;
c) Impose concurrent or consecutive sentences;
d) Determine whether or not to impose an enhancement when
an enhancement is permitted by law; or
e) Deny a period of mandatory supervision in the interests
of justice, or determine the appropriate period and
conditions of mandatory supervision. (Pen. Code, § 1170.3,
subd. (a)(1)-(5).)
8)Provides that any person convicted of a felony who has been
released from any state penal institution, whether discharged
on completion of the total term or released on parole, who has
not been incarcerated in a state penal institution since his
or her release, and who has resided in California for three
years may file a petition for a certificate of rehabilitation
and pardon. (Pen. Code, § 4852.01, subd. (a).)
This bill:
1)Clarifies that in any case where the pre-imprisonment credit
of a person sentenced to the county jail under the 2011
Realignment Act exceeds any sentence imposed, the entire
sentence shall be deemed to have been served, except for the
remaining portion of mandatory supervision, and the defendant
shall not be delivered to the custody of the county
correctional administrator.
2)Provides that when a defendant is sentenced to the county jail
under the 2011 Realignment Act, the court may, within 120 days
of commitment on its own motion, or upon the recommendation of
the county correctional administrator, recall the sentence and
resentence the, provided that the new sentence, if any, is no
greater than the original sentence.
3)Requires the Judicial Council to adopt rules providing
criteria for the imposition of the lower, middle or upper
term.
4)Specifically requires the court to choose the lower, middle or
upper term when imposing an executed felony jail term and to
state reasons for the sentencing choice. The court shall
impose the middle term unless it finds factors in aggravation
or mitigation justifying imposition of the upper term or lower
term, respectively.
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5)Requires the sentencing court to inform a defendant sentenced
to prison may be required to serve a period of postrelease
community supervision.
6)Clarifies that a person released from the state prison on post
release community supervision shall be supervised by the
probation department of the county to which the person is
released, and requires that the inmate be informed of his or
her duty to report to the county probation department upon
release.
7)Extends the right to petition for a certificate of
rehabilitation and pardon to persons convicted of a felony and
sentenced to a county jail under the 2011 Realignment Act and
requires that the inmate be informed in writing by the
facility official of this right.
8)Provides that a person shall not be subject to prosecution for
a non-felony offense arising out of a violation in the
California Vehicle Code, with the exception of Driving under
the Influence (DUI), pending against him or her at the time of
his or commitment to a county jail under the 2011 Realignment
Act.
9)Extends provisions related to the compassionate release of a
state prison inmate, who is terminally ill, to an inmate
sentenced to a county jail under the 2011 Realignment Act.
Background
Criminal justice realignment was a sea change in California
criminal law, arguably comparable in importance to enactment of
the Determinate Sentencing Law (DSL) in 1976. For most crimes,
the DSL eliminated indeterminate sentences under which the time
a defendant served in prison was determined by the Adult [
parole] Authority within a statutory range. Under the DSL, a
court chooses from a "triad" of possible set or determined terms
- lower, middle or upper. The middle terms is imposed unless
there are factors in aggravation or mitigation justifying an
upper
or lower term. Over time, additional penalties - enhancements -
and new sentencing schemes, including the Three Strikes law,
were steadily enacted. The new penalty provisions were often
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enacted in response to particularly notorious crimes for which
it was argued the DSL provided insufficient punishment.
The DSL requires the sentencing court to make a number of
choices in imposing sentence. These choices or decisions
include granting or denying probation and whether to impose the
lower, middle or upper term if probation is denied or
prohibited. Where the defendant is convicted of more than one
felony offense, or if enhancements (e.g., use of a weapon or
prior convictions) apply, sentencing becomes more complicated.
The court chooses one offense to be the principal term and
builds the sentence around it, making decision about whether
sentences should be served consecutively (back-to-back) or
concurrently (at the same time). Other sentencing decisions may
apply, such as whether to strike punishment in any part. All of
the sentencing rules a court must follow and choices a court
must make have been considered in myriad appellate cases since
enactment of the DSL. The published opinions of the courts
become another body of law, binding on the trial courts. Where
the appellate courts are in conflict, the California Supreme
resolves the conflict and settles the issue.
Voters and the Legislature steadily approved prison construction
from 1982 through the 1990s, but construction programs largely
slowed or stopped with the opening of a new prison in Delano in
2005. ( http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/0620/p03s02-usju.html .)
Recently, new prison medical facilities have been built through
the supervision of a receiver appointed by the federal courts in
response to a finding that California prisons were so crowded as
to deny adequate medical care, creating an unconstitutional
system of cruel and unusual punishment.
(http://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2014/budget/three-judge-panel/thre
e-judge-panel-022814.aspx.) California spent heavily on medical
facilities and care, but the federal court continued to demand
that the prison population be reduced.
The prison population was only substantially reduced through
implementation of criminal justice realignment after 2011.
Realignment essentially transferred responsibility for low-level
felony inmates from state prison to counties and county jail.
Certain offenders are excluded from county jail sentencing -
those with a prior or current serious or violent felony
conviction, or any person required to register as a sex
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offender. Excluded defendants continue to serve felony terms in
prison.
This bill applies the sentencing statutes and court rules
enacted and promulgated for the DSL to sentences imposed
pursuant to criminal justice realignment. This bill should
provide clarity and guidance for trial courts in making
sentencing decisions under realignment.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Minor one-time costs (General Fund - Trial Court Trust Fund)
to the Judicial Council to adopt rules of court.
Minor to moderate ongoing local costs, potentially in excess
of $50,000 to $100,000 (General Fund - Proposition 30)
statewide for local law enforcement agencies to provide
written notification to persons released or discharged from
mandatory supervision or PRCS of the eligibility and
procedures for a certificate of rehabilitation and pardon.
Workload to provide notification would vary by county and be
dependent on the method of implementation of the mandate. To
the extent the increased costs to local agencies are not
considered realigned "public safety services" under 2011
Realignment, local agencies could potentially claim
reimbursement for these state-mandated costs.
Potential net cost savings (Local Fund/General Fund -
Proposition 30) to the counties for other activities
authorized and prescribed. Potential cost savings will be
realized to the extent county jails terms are reduced under
the resentencing, compassionate release, and credit earning
provisions of this measure.
SUPPORT: (Verified9/1/15)
California Public Defenders Association (co-source)
Conference of California Bar Associations (co-source)
Judicial Council (co-source)
American Civil Liberties Union
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
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California Catholic Conference, Inc.
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
National Association of Social Workers
Sheriff of the City and County of San Francisco
OPPOSITION: (Verified9/1/15)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 54-24, 6/2/15
AYES: Alejo, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown, Burke, Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Daly, Dodd,
Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,
Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine, Lopez, Low,
McCarty, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell,
Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas,
Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood,
Atkins
NOES: Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Brough, Chang,
Dahle, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Jones,
Kim, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Melendez, Olsen, Patterson,
Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Chávez, Linder
Prepared by:Jerome McGuire / PUB. S. /
9/1/15 20:29:38
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