BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1703|
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1703
Author: Santiago (D)
Introduced:1/25/16
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/14/16
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 4/7/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Inmates: medical treatment
SOURCE: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
DIGEST: This bill expands the definition of "immediate medical
or hospital care" to include critical specialty medical
procedures or treatment, such as dialysis, which cannot be
performed at a city or county jail.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Specifies that the court may order the removal of an inmate
from a city or county jail to the county hospital or if there
is no county hospital in such county, to any hospital
designated by such court when the judge finds that a prisoner
in any city or county jail requires medical treatment
necessitating hospitalization that cannot be provided at the
jail. And, existing law requires the sheriff or other official
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in charge of county correctional facilities to maintain the
necessary guards, who may be private security guards, for the
safekeeping of a prisoner at an outside medical facility.
(Penal Code § 4011(a).)
2)Specifies that the cost of outside medical services will be
charged against the county or the city responsible for the
jail, and the city or county may recover the costs from the
person receiving medical services, or any person or agency
responsible for his care and maintenance. (Penal Code §
4011(b).)
3)Provides that when a prisoner is indigent, the cost of outside
medical services will be paid out of the general fund of the
city or county. And, under existing law, in the case of city
jail prisoners removed to the county hospital, the cost of
such hospital care will be paid by the city to the county, at
a rate per day fixed by the board of supervisors of the county
to approximate the average actual cost to the county of such
hospital care. (Penal Code § 4011(c).)
4)Provides that a prisoner who is financially able to pay for
his medical care, the medical superintendent of such hospital
other than a county hospital may, with the approval of a
judge, enter into a special agreement with such person, or
with his relatives or friends, for his medical expenses.
Current law, additionally, states that any prisoner may
decline care or treatment and provide other care and treatment
for himself at his own expense. (Penal Code § 4011(d).)
5)Provides that whenever it appears to a sheriff or jailer that
a prisoner in a jail under his or her charge is in need of
"immediate medical or hospital care," and that the health and
welfare of the prisoner will be injuriously affected unless
the prisoner is taken to a hospital, the sheriff or jailer may
authorize the immediate removal of the prisoner under guard to
a hospital, without first obtaining a court order as
specified. (Penal Code § 4011.5.)
6)Requires the sheriff or jailer to apply to a judge for an
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order authorizing the continued absence of the prisoner from
the jail when the condition of the prisoner prevents his
return to the jail within 48-hours from the time of his
removal for medical treatment. (Penal Code § 4011.5.)
This bill expands the definition of "immediate medical or
hospital care" to include critical specialty medical procedures
or treatment, such as dialysis, which cannot be furnished,
performed, or supplied at a city or county jail.
Background
According to the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC),
the number of offenders in county jail, as well as the length of
their sentences, has increased. Specifically, PPIC states:
Our data indicates that realignment has significantly affected
county jail populations. Between June 2011 and June 2012, during
which time California's prison population declined by roughly
26,600, the average daily population of California's jails grew
by about 8,600 inmates, or about 12 percent. (Impact of
Realignment on County Jail Populations, PPIC, Magnus Lofstrom
and Louis Raphael, 2013, p. 2.)
PPIC's further notes the impact that realignment has had on the
number of inmates now serving extended sentences in county
jails:
Before realignment, the maximum stay in county jail was one
year. Now that lower-level felons go to county jail, this
practice has changed-there is no limit on the amount of time
these offenders can serve. As of early 2014, county jails
housed 1,761 inmates serving sentences of more than five
years-up 606 from 2013. (http://www.ppic.org/main/
publication_show.asp?i=1061)
According to the author, this has led to an increase in
long-term medical issues faced by inmates, as well as an
increase in the processes and procedures sheriffs and jailers
must undergo to address them. To this end, this legislation
would, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of
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California, who is in support of this legislation, "ease
workloads for courts that currently issue separate removal
orders for each individual transported from a jail to a
necessary medical service, and will simplify the medical
transportation process for jail personnel."
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified6/15/16)
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (source)
American Civil Liberties Union
California Peace Officers' Association
California Public Defenders Association
California State Association of Counties
California State Sheriffs' Association
Legal Services with Prisoners with Children
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Orange County Board of Supervisors
Urban Counties of California
OPPOSITION: (Verified6/15/16)
None received
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 77-0, 4/7/16
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Atkins, Baker, Bigelow,
Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Chang,
Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle,
Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez,
Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden,
Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin,
Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Quirk,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark
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Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams,
Wood, Rendon
NO VOTE RECORDED: Campos, Levine
Prepared by:Jessica Devencenzi / PUB. S. /
6/15/16 17:24:50
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