BILL ANALYSIS Ó SB 343 Page 1 Date of Hearing: July 8, 2015 ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair SB 343 (Hancock) - As Amended June 1, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy | Public Safety |Vote:| 7 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Page 2 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." SB 343 Page 3 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 SB 343 Page 4 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