BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó






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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                       AB 2590|
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                                   THIRD READING 


          Bill No:  AB 2590
          Author:   Weber (D), et al.
          Amended:  8/15/16 in Senate
          Vote:     21 

           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE:  5-2, 6/28/16
           AYES:  Hancock, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning
           NOES:  Anderson, Stone

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE:  5-2, 8/11/16
           AYES:  Lara, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza
           NOES:  Bates, Nielsen

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  47-24, 5/27/16 - See last page for vote

           SUBJECT:   Sentencing: restorative justice


          SOURCE:    California Catholic Conference
                     California Industrial Areas Foundation
                     Friends Committee on Legislation of California 
                     PICO California

          DIGEST:   This bill revises existing legislative declarations  
          concerning the purpose of imprisonment to instead state that the  
          purpose of sentencing is public safety achieved through  
          punishment, rehabilitation, and restorative justice, as  
          specified.


          ANALYSIS:  










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          Existing law:


          1)Contains legislative findings and declarations that the  
            purpose of imprisonment for crime is punishment and that this  
            purpose is best served by terms that are proportionate to the  
            seriousness of the offense while at the same time providing  
            for uniformity in sentences of offenders committing the same  
            offense under similar circumstances. (Penal Code §  
            1170(a)(1).)


          2)Provides that, " . . . the Legislature further finds and  
            declares that programs should be available for inmates,  
            including, but not limited to, educational programs, that are  
            designed to prepare nonviolent felony offenders for successful  
            reentry into the community. The Legislature encourages the  
            development of policies and programs designed to educate and  
            rehabilitate nonviolent felony offenders. In implementing this  
            section, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is  
            encouraged to give priority enrollment in programs to promote  
            successful return to the community to an inmate with a short  
            remaining term of commitment and a release date that would  
            allow him or her adequate time to complete the program."   
            (Penal Code § 1170(a)(2).)


          This bill:


          1)Revises these findings and declarations to state legislative  
            findings and declarations that the purpose of sentencing is  
            public safety achieved through punishment, rehabilitation and  
            restorative justice, and that when a sentence of incarceration  
            is imposed, this purpose is best served by providing  
            opportunities for rehabilitation and terms proportionate to  
            the seriousness of the offense, as declared in current law.


          2)Revises these declarations to recast this language to include  
            references to offenders eligible for educational and  
            rehabilitative programming, as specified.









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          Background


          There has been a focus at every level of the criminal justice  
          system in California on reducing recidivism.  To that end,  
          criminal courts are incorporating more sentencing options that  
          may involve varying degrees of incapacitation, reentry  
          preparation and community supervision.  Frequently, such  
          sentencing approaches attempt to address the underlying issues  
          connected to the defendant's criminal behavior.  "Restorative  
          justice" is a concept which gives priority to repairing the harm  
          done to victims and communities, and offender accountability is  
          defined in terms of assuming responsibility and taking action to  
          repair harm. Within that general framework, programs involving  
          restorative justice can encompass a wide variety of approaches.




          FISCAL EFFECT:   Appropriation:    No          Fiscal  
          Com.:YesLocal:   No


          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:


           CDCR:  No direct state costs. Potential major future cost  
            pressure (General Fund) to the Department of Corrections and  
            Rehabilitation (CDCR) to develop and implement policies and  
            programs, allowing eligible offenders (potentially extending  
            beyond the existing reference to nonviolent felony offenders)  
            the opportunity to enroll in programs that promote successful  
            reentry into the community. 


           Restorative justice:  Potential major future cost pressure  
            (General Fund/Local Funds) to develop and implement strategies  
            to provide alternatives to punitive justice through a  
            victim-centered approach, including cooperative agreements  
            between agencies, facilitators over planning sessions, and the  
            provision of services both before and after incarceration. The  
            revision to the overarching purpose of sentencing to include  
            restorative justice, which is undefined in the bill, could  
            potentially result in substantial future investments to  







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            various state and local agencies to develop and implement.  
            Some states have even created a separate agency to oversee the  
            restorative justice strategy and provide the services. 


           Long-term impacts:  Potential future cost savings to the  
            courts, state/local law enforcement agencies and facilities  
            through reduced recidivism to the extent "restorative justice"  
            becomes successfully integrated into the criminal justice  
            system.


          SUPPORT:   (Verified8/11/16)


          California Catholic Conference (co-source)
          California Industrial Areas Foundation (co-source)
          Friends Committee on Legislation of California (co-source)
          PICO California (co-source)
          A New Path
          Bishop of Sacramento Jaime Soto
          California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
          California Civil Liberties Advocacy
          California Public Defenders Association
          Felony Murder Elimination Project
          Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
          National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
          National Council of Jewish Women
          Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference
          Placer People of Faith Together
          Sacramento Area Congregation Together
          Sacramento Loaves and Fishes
          San Bernardino County District Advocates for Better Schools
          Unitarian Universalist Justice Ministry of California
          West Coast Mennonite Central Committee
          One individual


          OPPOSITION:   (Verified8/11/16)


          Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
          California Association of Code Enforcement Officers
          California College and University Police Chiefs Association







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          California District Attorneys Association
          California Narcotic Officers Association
          Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
          Los Angeles Police Protective League
          Peace Officers Research Association of California
          Riverside Sheriffs Association


          ASSEMBLY FLOOR:  47-24, 5/27/16
          AYES:  Alejo, Arambula, Atkins, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Burke,  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh,  
            Eggman, Frazier, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto,  
            Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Roger Hernández,  
            Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lopez, Low, McCarty, Medina,  
            Mullin, Nazarian, Olsen, Quirk, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez,  
            Santiago, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Weber, Williams, Wood,  
            Rendon
          NOES:  Achadjian, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Chang, Dahle,  
            Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Harper, Irwin, Jones, Kim, Lackey,  
            Linder, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, Obernolte, Patterson,  
            Salas, Steinorth, Wagner, Waldron, Wilk
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Brough, Brown, Chiu, Daly, Dodd, Grove,  
            Hadley, Melendez, O'Donnell

          Prepared by:Alison Anderson / PUB. S. / 
          8/15/16 20:22:24


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