BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 266 Page 1 SENATE THIRD READING SB 266 (Block) As Amended June 27, 2016 Majority vote SENATE VOTE: 36-1 ------------------------------------------------------------------ |Committee |Votes|Ayes |Noes | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------| |Public Safety |7-0 |Jones-Sawyer, | | | | |Melendez, Lackey, | | | | |Lopez, Low, Quirk, | | | | |Santiago | | | | | | | | | | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ SUMMARY: Authorizes the use of a sanction known as "flash incarceration" to defendants granted probation or placed on mandatory supervision. Specifically, this bill: 1)Provides that in any case where the court grants probation or imposes a sentence that includes mandatory supervision, the county probation department is authorized to use flash SB 266 Page 2 incarceration for any violation of the conditions of probation or mandatory supervision if, at the time of granting probation or ordering mandatory supervision, the court obtains from the defendant a waiver to a court hearing prior to the imposition of a period of flash incarceration. 2)Prohibits the denial of probation for refusal to sign a waiver agreeing to flash incarceration. 3)Requires each county probation department to develop a response matrix that establishes protocols for the imposition of graduated sanctions for violations of the conditions of probation to determine appropriate interventions to include the use of flash incarceration. 4)Requires a probation department supervisor to approve a term of flash incarceration before its imposition. 5)Requires the probation department to notify the court, public defender, district attorney, and sheriff upon a decision to impose a period of flash incarceration. 6)States that if the defendant does not agree to accept a recommended period of flash incarceration, then the probation officer may address the alleged violation by filing a declaration or revocation request with the court. 7)Defines "flash incarceration" as "a period of detention in a county jail due to a violation of an offender's conditions of probation or mandatory supervision. The length of the detention period may range between one and 10 consecutive days. Shorter, but if necessary more frequent, periods of detention for violations of an offender's conditions of SB 266 Page 3 probation or mandatory supervision shall appropriately punish an offender while preventing the disruption in a work or home establishment that typically arises from longer periods of detention." 8)States that in cases where there are multiple violations in a single incident, only one flash incarceration booking is authorized and may range between one and 10 consecutive days. 9)Excludes application of flash incarceration to any defendant convicted of a nonviolent drug possession offense who receives probation under Proposition 36 of 2000. 10)Provides that if the supervised person's probation or mandatory supervision is revoked, credits earned for a period of flash incarceration count towards the term to be served. 11)Sunsets these provisions on January 1, 2021. EXISTING LAW: 1)Authorizes intermediate sanctions, including flash incarceration, to be imposed on inmates released from prison after July 1, 2013 and subject to parole. 2)Authorizes intermediate sanctions, including flash incarceration, for violating the terms of post-release community supervision (PRCS). 3)Defines "flash incarceration" as a period of detention in a city or county jail due to a violation of a person's SB 266 Page 4 conditions of parole or PRCS. The length of the detention period can range between one and 10 consecutive days in a county jail. 4)Requires a person placed on PRCS to agree to specified conditions of release, including the waiver of the right to a court hearing prior to the imposition of a period of flash incarceration for any violation of his or her PRCS conditions. 5)Authorizes, as a general matter, the court to suspend a felony sentence and order the conditional and revocable release of the defendant in the community to probation supervision. 6)Provides if any probation officer, parole officer, or peace officer has probable cause to believe that a supervised person is violating any term or condition of his/her supervision, the officer may arrest the person without a warrant at any time and bring the person before the court for further disposition such as modification, revocation or termination of the person's supervision, as specified. 7)Gives the sentencing judge discretion to impose two types of sentences to county jail. The court may commit the defendant for the entire term allowed by law, or the court may impose a "split sentence" in which part of the term is served in custody and the remaining part of the term is comprised of a period of mandatory supervision. However, the presumption is that the defendant shall receive a split sentence, unless the court finds that, in the interests of justice, it is not appropriate in a particular case. 8)States that the traditional procedures used for violations of probation will now be applicable to violations of mandatory SB 266 Page 5 supervision. Also states that procedures used to modify probation are applicable to modify the conditions of mandatory supervision. FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the Legislative Counsel. COMMENTS: According to the author, "The passage of Realignment in 2011 overhauled how certain convicted felons would serve their sentences with a strong emphasis on rehabilitation and keeping these offenders in their local communities. As a result, probation departments now have the responsibility to supervise Post-Release Community Supervision (PRCS) offenders, along with persons on mandatory supervision. "A tool currently afforded to probation departments to supervise Post-Release Community Supervision (PRCS) offenders that has been successful is the use of flash incarceration. This immediate, evidence-based tool, allows departments to address serious violations of a condition of probation while minimally disrupting the offenders' rehabilitation progress. "Currently however, the use of flash incarceration is not authorized on individuals under mandatory supervision (MS) or those on probation. The result is that when an individual under MS or probation commits a serious violation of a condition of probation, the only existing mechanism to address these violations is to initiate a petition for revocation of probation. The revocation process disrupts offenders' rehabilitation by removing them from their jobs, re-entry programs, school, and/or family for a much longer period of time compared to the use of flash incarceration. SB 266 Page 6 "By authorizing flash incarceration on MS and probationers, SB 266 will provide an additional tool to local probation departments to address serious violations of a condition of probation while not disrupting an individual's progress to re-entry. Flash incarceration requires an individual to serve up to 10 days in county jail after a violation is found. "The bill has recently been amended to do several important things. First, it will allow a person to decline flash at any time and choose to go the traditional court hearing route via a petition for revocation. Second, it prohibits probation from being denied for refusal to sign the waiver. Third, it sets forth a notification process to stakeholders upon an imposition of flash, requires development of a local response matrix based on evidence based practices, and requires supervisor approval of the imposition of flash. Additionally, the bill clarifies that while credits are not applied during a period of flash incarceration, credits earned during a period of flash would be applied to a custody term if the person on probation or mandatory supervision was revoked. Lastly, the bill includes a sunset date of 2022. "SB 266 utilizes evidence-based intermediate sanctions which balances holding offenders accountable while focusing on shorter and few disruptions from work, home, and programming" Analysis Prepared by: Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0003515 SB 266 Page 7