BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1597|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1597
Author: Mark Stone (D), et al.
Amended: 5/17/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 6-1, 5/10/16
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning
NOES: Stone
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 54-17, 3/28/16 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT: County jails: performance milestone credits
SOURCE: Los Angeles County Sheriff
DIGEST: This bill allows an inmate in the county jail, who has
not been sentenced, to earn program credit reductions for
successfully completing specific program performance objectives,
otherwise known as "milestones."
Senate Floor Amendments of 5/17/16 make a grammatical change and
add Senator Hancock as a coauthor.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Provides that in addition to credit awarded for good behavior,
a sheriff may also award a prisoner program credit reduction
from his or her term of confinement. A sheriff who elects to
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participate in this program shall provide guidelines for
credit reductions for inmates who successfully complete
specific programming performance objectives for approved
rehabilitative programming, including, but not limited to,
credit reductions of not less than one week to credit
reduction of not more than six weeks for each performance
milestone. (Pen. Code, § 4019, subd. (a)(1).)
2)States that regulations promulgated by the sheriff shall
specify the credit reductions applicable to distinct
objectives in a schedule of graduated program performance
objectives concluding with the successful completion of an
in-custody rehabilitation program. Commencing upon the
approval of these guidelines, the sheriff shall thereafter
calculate and award credit reductions as authorized. A
prisoner may not have his or her term reduced by more than six
weeks for credits awarded during any 12-month period of
continuous confinement. (Pen. Code, § 4019, subd. (a)(2).)
3)States that program credits is a privilege, not a right.
Prisoners shall have a reasonable opportunity to participate
in program credit qualifying assignments in a manner
consistent with institutional security, available resources,
and guidelines set forth by the sheriff. (Pen. Code, § 4019,
subd. (b).)
4)Provides that "approved rehabilitation programming" shall
include, but is not limited to, academic programs, vocational
programs, vocational training, substance abuse programs, and
core programs such as anger management and social life skills.
(Pen. Code, § 4019, subd. (c).)
5)Provides that additional credits awarded may be forfeited, as
specified. Inmates shall not be eligible for program credits
that result in an inmate being overdue for release. (Pen.
Code, § 4019, subd. (d).)
6)Specifies that only inmates sentenced to the county jail for a
felony term pursuant to realignment (Pen. Code § 1170, subd.
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(h)) are eligible for prisoner program credit reductions.
(Pen. Code, § 4019, subd. (e).)
This bill:
1)Provides that an inmate in a county jail, who has not been
sentenced, shall not be prevented from participating in
approved rehabilitation programs that result in credit
reductions for completing specific program performance
objectives.
2)States that if a person is awarded credits prior to
sentencing, the credits shall be applied to a sentence for the
offense for which the person was awaiting sentence when the
credits were awarded under the same terms and conditions as
all other credits awarded.
3)Provides that evidence that an inmate has participated in or
attempted to participate in any approved rehabilitation
program eligible for credit is not admissible in any
proceeding as an admission of guilt.
Background
Many felony defendants are held in county jail prior to
conviction because they cannot afford bail. Pretrial
incarceration often makes up a large proportion of a convicted
defendant's sentence. This bill allows jail inmates to earn
rehabilitation credits prior to conviction, creating an
incentive for inmates to participate in such programs, likely
increasing the chances that a defendant would not reoffend.
Without this bill providing pretrial "milestone" credits, a
defendant who has served much of his or her sentence prior to
trial would likely get reduced benefits from participation in
rehabilitation programs in the limited amount of time before
release.
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A felony defendant who is facing conviction would also have an
incentive to engage in rehabilitation in order to establish a
factor in mitigation for the court's consideration in imposing
sentence. Further, where a defendant has served a substantial
portion of his or her eventual sentence prior to conviction, he
or she may have little incentive to accept probation and
supervision, as he or she would be required only a part of the
total sentence after conviction. Defendants who are not
supervised and offered rehabilitation and education services in
the community may be more likely to reoffend. Under this bill,
it is likely that even inmates who refuse probation will engage
in rehabilitation and education programs while in custody.
Proposition 47 has increased the proportion of jail inmates
serving misdemeanor jail terms, as the proposition reclassified
many offenses, most notably drug possession, that were
previously felonies or wobblers, as misdemeanors. Inmates
serving sentences for misdemeanor convictions have the same need
for rehabilitation services as those who previously served
felony sentences for the same crimes. This bill grants these
inmates programming credits, creating an incentive for
participation in rehabilitation programs.
Comments
According to the author:
Existing law fails to ensure that prisoners awaiting trial in
county jails can take advantage of existing rehabilitation
programs. It also fails to allow jail administrators to
provide full access to and credit for these programs, which
can help with recidivism and overcrowding. Currently, people
serving an executed felony jail sentence can earn credits for
up to six weeks reduction in his or her sentence per year by
participating in certain approved Prison Earning Credit
programs when these programs are available in the institution
in which a prisoner is serving his or her sentence. Approved
programs teach prisoners a variety of life and career skills.
Examples of these programs include anger management programs,
substance abuse programs, and GED programs.
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Unfortunately, these programs are not available to inmates who
are being held in jail prior to conviction. The programs are
also not available to inmates serving misdemeanor jail terms.
Research has proven that these programs help reduce
recidivism. These programs provide prisoners with skills that
will help them reintegrate into their communities
post-release; therefore, it is in the interest of the state to
provide strong incentives for eligible prisoners to
participate in and complete these programs. The annual
maximum credit of six weeks' sentence reduction for people in
state prison was implemented in order to provide an incentive
to participate. By allowing people in county jails to
participate in these types of programs for credit earning,
including those awaiting trial, the state can encourage more
eligible prisoners to participate in programs proven to reduce
recidivism.
A Judicial Council Report found that it can take anywhere from
30 days to 12 months. During this time, prisoners should be
able to take advantage of credit earning opportunities by
taking part in helpful programs. If a participating prisoner
ultimately is convicted and sentenced, he or she will already
have begun to build career and life skills programs and can
have credits to reduce their sentence.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified5/17/16)
Los Angeles County Sheriff (source)
American Civil Liberties Union
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Catholic Conference
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California Peace Officers' Association
California State Association of Counties
California State Sheriffs' Association
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/17/16)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The Los Angeles County Sheriff argues
and explains:
In 2013 the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
sponsored Assembly Bill 624 by Assemblymember Holly
Mitchell, which created Penal Code Section 4019.4.
Section 4019.4 allowed sentenced felons in the county
jail to earn additional "milestone" credits for
successful completion of education programs. In Los
Angeles County, this program and "milestone" credit
earnings has been tremendously successful. According to
a July 16, 2015 report, 43 percent of eligible inmates
successfully earned milestone credits for completing
educational programs.
Assembly Bill 1595 will amend Penal Code Section 4019.4
to expand these educational opportunities to all inmates
in county jail. This expansion would include allowing
those convicted of a misdemeanor to participate in and
earn milestone education credits, as well as allow for
those felons who have not yet been convicted (pre-trial)
to participate in the program with a promise that if they
successfully complete the milestones, they could apply
the earned credit upon conviction.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 54-17, 3/28/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Atkins, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brown,
Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper,
Dababneh, Daly, Dodd, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo
Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove,
Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones-Sawyer, Lackey, Levine,
Lopez, Low, Mayes, Medina, Mullin, Nazarian, Olsen, Quirk,
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Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Mark Stone,
Thurmond, Ting, Waldron, Weber, Williams, Wood, Rendon
NOES: Travis Allen, Baker, Brough, Chávez, Beth Gaines,
Gallagher, Hadley, Harper, Jones, Kim, Linder, Maienschein,
Mathis, Obernolte, Patterson, Steinorth, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bigelow, Chang, Dahle, Eggman, McCarty,
Melendez, O'Donnell, Wagner
Prepared by:Jerome McGuire / PUB. S. /
5/18/16 16:21:35
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