BILL NUMBER: SB 261	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 24, 2015

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hancock

                        FEBRUARY 18, 2015

   An act to amend  Section 6250.5   Sections
3051 and 4801  of the Penal Code, relating to 
corrections.   parole. 


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 261, as amended, Hancock.  Community correctional
centers.   Youth offender parole hearings.  
   Existing law generally requires the Board of Parole Hearings to
conduct youth offender parole hearings to consider the release of
offenders who committed specified crimes when they were under 18
years of age and who were sentenced to state prison.  
   This bill would instead require the Board of Parole Hearings to
conduct a youth offender parole hearing for offenders sentenced to
state prison who committed those specified crimes when they were
under 23 years of age. The bill would require the board to complete,
by July 1, 2017, all youth offender parole hearings for individuals
who become entitled to have their parole suitability considered at a
youth offender parole hearing on the effective date of the bill.
 
   Existing law authorizes the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to contract for the establishment and operation of
community correctional facilities that offer programs for the
treatment of addiction to alcohol or controlled substances, based on
the therapeutic community model, under certain conditions. Existing
law requires each facility under contract to provide programs that
prepare each inmate for successful reintegration into society.
 
   This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to those
provisions. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   SECTION 1.    Section 3051 of the   Penal
Code   is amended to read: 
   3051.  (a) (1) A youth offender parole hearing is a hearing by the
Board of Parole Hearings for the purpose of reviewing the parole
suitability of any prisoner who was under  18  
23  years of age at the time of his or her controlling offense.
   (2) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
shall apply:
   (A) "Incarceration" means detention in a city or county jail, a
local juvenile facility, a mental health facility, a Division of
Juvenile Justice facility, or a Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation facility.
   (B) "Controlling offense" means the offense or enhancement for
which any sentencing court imposed the longest term of imprisonment.
   (b) (1) A person who was convicted of a controlling offense that
was committed before the person had attained  18 
 23  years of age and for which the sentence is a
determinate sentence shall be eligible for release on parole at a
youth offender parole hearing by the board during his or her 15th
year of incarceration, unless previously released pursuant to other
statutory provisions.
   (2) A person who was convicted of a controlling offense that was
committed before the person had attained  18  23
 years of age and for which the sentence is a life term of less
than 25 years to life shall be eligible for release on parole by the
board during his or her 20th year of incarceration at a youth
offender parole hearing, unless previously released or entitled to an
earlier parole consideration hearing pursuant to other statutory
provisions.
   (3) A person who was convicted of a controlling offense that was
committed before the person had attained  18  
23  years of age and for which the sentence is a life term of 25
years to life shall be eligible for release on parole by the board
during his or her 25th year of incarceration at a youth offender
parole hearing, unless previously released or entitled to an earlier
parole consideration hearing pursuant to other statutory provisions.
   (c) An individual subject to this section shall meet with the
board pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 3041.
   (d) The board shall conduct a youth offender parole hearing to
consider release. At the youth offender parole hearing, the board
shall release the individual on parole as provided in Section 3041,
except that the board shall act in accordance with subdivision (c) of
Section 4801.
   (e) The youth offender parole hearing to consider release shall
provide for a meaningful opportunity to obtain release. The board
shall review and, as necessary, revise existing regulations and adopt
new regulations regarding determinations of suitability made
pursuant to this section, subdivision (c) of Section 4801, and other
related topics, consistent with relevant case law, in order to
provide that meaningful opportunity for release.
   (f) (1) In assessing growth and maturity, psychological
evaluations and risk assessment instruments, if used by the board,
shall be administered by licensed psychologists employed by the board
and shall take into consideration the diminished culpability of
juveniles as compared to that of adults, the hallmark features of
youth, and any subsequent growth and increased maturity of the
individual.
   (2) Family members, friends, school personnel, faith leaders, and
representatives from community-based organizations with knowledge
about the individual before the crime or his or her growth and
maturity since the time of the crime may submit statements for review
by the board.
   (3) Nothing in this section is intended to alter the rights of
victims at parole hearings.
   (g) If parole is not granted, the board shall set the time for a
subsequent youth offender parole hearing in accordance with paragraph
(3) of subdivision (b) of Section 3041.5. In exercising its
discretion pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) and
subdivision (d) of Section 3041.5, the board shall consider the
factors in subdivision (c) of Section 4801. No subsequent youth
offender parole hearing shall be necessary if the offender is
released pursuant to other statutory provisions prior to the date of
the subsequent hearing.
   (h) This section shall not apply to cases in which sentencing
occurs pursuant to Section 1170.12, subdivisions (b) to (i),
inclusive, of Section 667, or Section 667.61, or in which an
individual was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of
parole. This section shall not apply to an individual to whom this
section would otherwise apply, but who, subsequent to attaining
 18   23  years of age, commits an
additional crime for which malice aforethought is a necessary element
of the crime or for which the individual is sentenced to life in
prison.
   (i)  (1)    The board shall complete all youth
offender parole hearings for individuals who become entitled to have
their parole suitability considered at a youth offender parole
hearing on the effective date of this section by July 1, 2015. 
   (2) The board shall complete all youth offender parole hearings
for individuals who become entitled to have their parole suitability
considered at a youth offender parole hearing on the effective date
of the act that added this paragraph by July 1, 2017. 
   SEC. 2.    Section 4801 of the   Penal Code
  is amended to read: 
   4801.  (a) The Board of Parole Hearings may report to the
Governor, from time to time, the names of any and all persons
imprisoned in any state prison who, in its judgment, ought to have a
commutation of sentence or be pardoned and set at liberty on account
of good conduct, or unusual term of sentence, or any other cause,
including evidence of intimate partner battering and its effects. For
purposes of this section, "intimate partner battering and its
effects" may include evidence of the nature and effects of physical,
emotional, or mental abuse upon the beliefs, perceptions, or behavior
of victims of domestic violence if it appears the criminal behavior
was the result of that victimization.
   (b) (1) The board, in reviewing a prisoner's suitability for
parole pursuant to Section 3041.5, shall give great weight to any
information or evidence that, at the time of the commission of the
crime, the prisoner had experienced intimate partner battering, but
was convicted of an offense that occurred prior to August 29, 1996.
The board shall state on the record the information or evidence that
it considered pursuant to this subdivision, and the reasons for the
parole decision. The board shall annually report to the Legislature
and the Governor on the cases the board considered pursuant to this
subdivision during the previous year, including the board's decisions
and the specific and detailed findings of its investigations of
these cases.
   (2) The report for the Legislature to be submitted pursuant to
paragraph (1) shall be submitted pursuant to Section 9795 of the
Government Code.
   (3) The fact that a prisoner has presented evidence of intimate
partner battering cannot be used to support a finding that the
prisoner lacks insight into his or her crime and its causes.
   (c) When a prisoner committed his or her controlling offense, as
defined in subdivision (a) of Section 3051, prior to attaining
 18   23  years of age, the board, in
reviewing a prisoner's suitability for parole pursuant to Section
3041.5, shall give great weight to the diminished culpability of
juveniles as compared to adults, the hallmark features of youth, and
any subsequent growth and increased maturity of the prisoner in
accordance with relevant case law. 
  SECTION 1.    Section 6250.5 of the Penal Code is
amended to read:
   6250.5.  (a) The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation may contract for the establishment and operation of
community correctional facilities that offer programs for the
treatment of addiction to alcohol or controlled substances based on
the therapeutic community model, only if the cost per inmate of
operating the facilities will be less than the cost per inmate of
operating similar state facilities. The Legislature finds and
declares that the purpose of a therapeutic community program, which
emphasizes alcohol and controlled substance rehabilitation, is to
substantially increase the likelihood of successful parole for those
inmates.
   (b) Each facility under contract pursuant to this section shall
provide programs that prepare each inmate for successful
reintegration into society. Those programs shall involve constant
counseling in drug and alcohol abuse, employment skills, victim
awareness, and family responsibility, and generally shall prepare
each inmate for return to society. The programs also shall emphasize
literacy training and use computer-supported training so that inmates
may improve their reading and writing skills. The program shall
include postincarceration counseling and care in order to ensure a
greater opportunity for success.
   (c) The department may enter into a long-term agreement, not to
exceed 20 years, for transfer of prisoners to, or placement of
prisoners in, facilities under contract pursuant to this section.
   (d) The department shall provide for the review of an agreement
entered into under this section to determine if the contractor is in
compliance with the terms of this section. The review shall be
conducted at least every five years. The department may revoke any
agreement if the contractor is not in compliance with this section.
   (e) Notwithstanding the Public Contract Code or Article 10
(commencing with Section 1200) of Title 15 of the California Code of
Regulations, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall
select an independent contractor to conduct an annual audit and cost
comparison evaluation of any programs established under this section.
A contract for annual audits and evaluation shall provide that the
annual report, whether in final or draft form, and all working papers
and data, shall be available for immediate review upon request by
the department.