BILL ANALYSIS Ó SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair 2015 - 2016 Regular Session SB 504 (Lara) - Court records: sealing ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Version: April 6, 2015 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 5 - 2 | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes | | | | |--------------------------------+--------------------------------| | | | |Hearing Date: May 28, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- SUSPENSE FILE. AS AMENDED. Bill Summary: SB 504 would do the following: Provide that only a person 26 years of age or older may be charged the existing fee of up to $150 for petitioning the court for an order to seal his or her criminal record. Provide that only a person 26 years of age or older shall, unless indigent, be liable for the cost to a county and court for any investigation related to the sealing and for the sealing of a juvenile record. Require courts to automatically seal certain juvenile records at the time the jurisdiction of the juvenile court has terminated. Require probation departments and local law enforcement agencies to automatically seal juvenile records at the time the decision is made to not refer the person to the probation department or district attorney's office. Fiscal Impact (as approved May 28, 2015): SB 504 (Lara) Page 1 of ? Potential ongoing revenue loss to courts and counties potentially in the range of $200,000 (Local/General Fund) due to the prohibition on charging a fee to a person under 26 years of age to seal his or her juvenile record. Potentially significant state-reimbursable costs (General Fund) by removing county and city authority to charge a fee to recoup actual costs. Although counties and cities may not currently be charging a fee, this measure would prohibit local agencies from ever charging a fee to recoup such costs. Potential future cost savings to the courts (General Fund) through the automatic sealing of records upon termination of jurisdiction of specified juvenile cases. Background: Existing law states that a person who petitions for an order sealing a juvenile misdemeanor record may be required to reimburse the court for the actual cost of services rendered, whether or not the petition is granted and the records are sealed or expunged, at a rate to be determined by the court, not to exceed $150, and to reimburse any county for the actual cost of services rendered, whether or not the petition is granted, at a rate to be determined by the county board of supervisors, not to exceed $150, and to reimburse any city for the actual cost of services rendered, whether or not the petition is granted, at a rate to be determined by the city council, not to exceed $150. (Penal Code (PC) § 1203.45(g).) Existing law further provides that the "father, mother, spouse, or other person liable for the support of a minor person, the person himself or herself if he or she is an adult, or the estates of those persons, unless indigent," be liable for the cost to the county and court for any investigation related to the sealing and for the sealing of any juvenile court or arrest records pertaining to that person. Upon a petition filed for an order sealing a record, the father, mother, spouse, or other person liable for the support of the minor, that person if he or she is an adult, or the estate of that person, may be required to reimburse the county and court for the actual cost of services rendered, whether or not the petition is granted and the records sealed or expunged, at a rate to be determined by the county board of supervisors and court, respectively, not to exceed $150. (WIC § 903.3(a)-(b).) Ability to make these reimbursements is to be determined by the SB 504 (Lara) Page 2 of ? court and shall not be a prerequisite to a person's eligibility. The court may order reimbursement in a case which the petitioner appears to have the ability to pay, without undue hardship, all or any portion of the cost for services established. Current law provides that five years or more after the jurisdiction of the juvenile court has terminated over a person adjudged a ward of the court or after a minor appeared before a probation officer, or in any case at any time after the person has reached the age of 18, the person or county probation officer, with specified exceptions, may petition the juvenile court for sealing of the records, including arrest records, relating to the person's case, as specified. Proposed Law: This bill would limit the imposition of a fee by a court, a county, or a city to seal juvenile court records to persons 26 years of age or older. Additionally, this bill: Deletes the liability of a parent, spouse, or other person liable for the support of a minor from the cost to the county and court for any investigation related to the sealing and for the sealing of any juvenile court or arrest records, and instead places liability for the cost to persons 26 years of age or older. Requires the court to seal certain juvenile records automatically by providing that in any case in which a petition has been filed with a juvenile court to commence proceedings to adjudge a person a ward of the court, the court shall, at the time the jurisdiction of the juvenile court has terminated as to the person, order all records, as specified, in the person's case in the custody of the juvenile court sealed. Requires law enforcement to seal certain juvenile records automatically by requiring that in "any case in which a person is cited to appear before a probation officer or is taken before a probation officer or officer of a law enforcement agency, and no petition is filed, the probation department or law enforcement agency shall, at the time at which the decision was made to not refer the person to the probation department or to the district attorney's officer, seal all records, including records of arrest, relating to the person's case, in the custody of the probation department or law enforcement agency. SB 504 (Lara) Page 3 of ? Related Legislation: AB 666 (Stone) 2015 requires records in the custody of law enforcement agencies, the probation department, or any other public agency having records pertaining to the case to be sealed in a case where a court has ordered a juvenile's records to be sealed, as specified. This bill has been ordered to third reading on the Assembly Floor. Prior Legislation: AB 1756 (Skinner) 2014 was substantially similar to this measure. This bill was held on the Suspense File of this Committee. Staff Comments: By removing the authority of courts, counties, and cities to charge a fee of up to $150 for the sealing of records to persons under 26 years of age, the provisions of this measure could result in an ongoing moderate loss of revenue to the courts, counties, and cities. Based on a survey of 34 counties, including Los Angeles, Alameda, Orange, San Bernardino, San Diego, Sacramento, and Santa Clara, completed by the East Bay Community Law Center, the average number of juvenile record sealing petitions filed annually per county is 170, or 5,780 petitions in total for the 34 counties. Assuming statewide petitions of about 6,000 to account for smaller counties, and removing Los Angeles County (which does not charge a fee for petitions and represents over 55 percent of petitions) results in about 2,700 petitions. Assuming 25 percent of these petitions would have the fee waived, the potential annual loss of revenue assuming an average fee of $100 per petition would be $200,000. Many cities and counties, including Los Angeles County, do not currently charge a fee for the actual costs of services rendered for the sealing of records. However, by prohibiting cities and counties from charging a fee, now or at any point in the future, to recoup the actual costs for services rendered, this bill could result in General Fund costs should local agencies file claims with the Commission on State Mandates (CSM) and the prohibition on recouping local agency costs are determined to be SB 504 (Lara) Page 4 of ? a reimbursable state mandate by the CSM. The Judicial Council has indicated no additional costs or cost pressures on the trial courts, as there are no additional hearings associated with the requirement to seal records automatically upon the termination of juvenile jurisdiction of a case. To the extent the provisions of this measure would result in fewer future petitions to seal court records could result in court efficiencies and some degree of future cost savings. By requiring probation departments and local law enforcement agencies to automatically seal juvenile records for cases in which the decision was made to not refer the person to the probation department or to the district attorney's officer, this bill could result in a greater number of juvenile records sealed and additional costs to these local agencies. It is unknown how many cases would be impacted, but could be significant. To the extent these local agency expenditures qualify as a reimbursable state mandate, these agencies could claim reimbursement of those costs (General Fund). Author amendments (as adopted May 28, 2015): Remove the requirement that probation departments and local law enforcement agencies automatically seal juvenile records at the time the decision is made to not refer the person to the probation department or district attorney's office. Specify that outstanding restitution fines and court-ordered fees shall not be considered when assessing whether a petitioner's rehabilitation has been attained, as specified, and shall not be a bar to sealing a record. -- END --