BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 343
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Date of Hearing: July 8, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 343
(Hancock) - As Amended June 1, 2015
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Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill requires the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR), in complying with its goals to reduce
illiteracy, to give strong consideration to the use of
libraries and librarians in its prison literacy programs.
SB 343
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This bill also includes the completion of a community college
or four-year academic degree by an inmate in the existing
requirement that CDCR incentivize inmate participation in
educational programming. Finally, this bill deletes an
obsolete section of law related to the amount CDCR spends on
academic education.
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Potential future moderate cost pressure (GF) on CDCR to the
extent the consideration of the use of libraries and
librarians in CDCR literacy programs results in the future
funding for additional materials, training, and staff. If
three institutions hire a librarian each, the cost to CDCR
would exceed $200,000.
2)Potential unknown savings (GF) if the inmate education
incentives encourage inmates to pursue and obtain a college
education, which may allow for their earlier release, thereby
reducing incarceration costs and the likelihood of recidivism.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "SB 343 requires the CDCR
to strongly consider integrating its libraries and
correctional librarians into the department's prisoner
literacy program. Prison libraries foster literacy,
self-improvement, insight, pro-social behavior, the ability to
navigate an information age society and provide valuable
parole planning resources."
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2)Background. Current law requires CDCR to implement literacy
programs designed to ensure that upon release inmates are able
to achieve specified goals, such as, increasing reading
ability to at least a ninth-grade level, obtaining a general
education development certificate or its equivalent, or a high
school diploma. It also requires CDCR, in complying with its
goals to reduce illiteracy, to give strong consideration to
computer-assisted training.
According to the CDCR Website, "As part of CDCR's Division of
Rehabilitative Programs, the Office of Correctional Education
(OCE) offers various academic and education programs at each
of California's adult state prisons. The goal of OCE is to
provide offenders with needed education and career training as
part of a broader CDCR effort to increase public safety and
reduce recidivism." The CDCR Website further states, "Library
services are offered at all institutions, and provide inmates
with an extensive collection of recreational fiction and
non-fiction books as well as reference reading materials; e.g.
selected periodicals, encyclopedias, selected Career Technical
Education and College level textbooks, and basic literacy
materials recommended by the American Library Association and
the American Correctional Association. Additionally,
institution libraries provide legal research materials, as
required by the courts, along with rehabilitative support
services which include resources on employment, community
reentry, and life skills."
3)Argument in Support: According to SEIU Local 1000, the
sponsor of this bill, "This bill recognizes the role of
librarians in literacy and reintegration activities that are
taking place in prisons and includes libraries as a location
where these activities occur. This helps inmates recognize
that upon release, they can use public libraries as a resource
for finding jobs and medical care through the use of their
publicly available computers. Librarians also work with
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inmates to make tapes or videos of the prisoner reading
stories to their children that can be mailed home for them,
and thus continue a family bond that can be critical for
reintegration in the family when they return to civilian life.
Libraries are already doing this work, but without
recognition as a part of the staff that rehabilitates
prisoners."
4)Prior Legislation: SB 1391 (Hancock), Chapter 695, Statutes
of 2014, allows California Community Colleges to receive full
funding for credit-course instruction offered in correctional
institutions and seeks to expand the offering of such courses.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081