BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 621
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 19, 2015
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
SB 621
(Hertzberg) - As Introduced February 27, 2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy | Public Safety |Vote:| 7 - 0 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill expands the authorized use of funds for the Mentally
Ill Offender Crime Reduction (MIOCR) grant program to include
"diversion programs" that offer appropriate mental health
treatment and services.
SB 621
Page 2
FISCAL EFFECT:
1)Major future cost pressure to the Board of State and Community
Corrections (BSCC) in the millions of dollars (General
Fund/Special Fund) to the extent adding diversion programs as
an authorized use of MIOCR grant funds results in additional
funding appropriated and subsequently awarded for these
programs.
2)To the extent the level of existing MIOCR grant funding
remains unchanged or decreases in future years, expanding the
authorized use of funds could result in a shift of grant
awards to diversion programs, thereby reducing available grant
funding for alternative custody programs. The Budget Act of
2014 included $18 million appropriation for the MIOCR grant
program, but the Budget Act of 2015 only appropriated $1.7
million; both appropriations are for three year grants.
COMMENTS:
1)Purpose. According to the author, "The Mentally Ill Offender
Crime Reduction Grant Program supports the implementation and
evaluation of locally developed demonstration projects
designed to reduce recidivism among persons with mental
illness."
"The MIOCR Grant Program recognizes that cooperation between law
enforcement, corrections, mental health, and other agencies is
critical to improve California's response to mentally ill
SB 621
Page 3
offenders. Projects are to be collaborative and address
locally identified gaps in jail and community-based services
for persons with a serious mental illness."
"In an effort to reinvest in treatment and prevention at the
local level, SB 621 promotes cost-effective approaches to meet
the long-term needs of adults and juveniles with mental
disorders who are offenders. This bill will clarify that
counties should receive the resources they need to divert
mentally ill low-level offenders to treatment rather than
jail, with follow-up services for those released from jail to
keep them from reoffending."
2)Background. Pursuant to SB 1054 (Steinberg), Chapter 436,
Statutes of 2014, the Board of State and Community Corrections
(BSCC) is to administer MIOCR grants on a competitive basis to
counties that expand or establish a continuum of timely and
effective responses to reduce crime and criminal justice costs
related to mentally ill offenders. Under existing law, the
grants are to be divided equally between adult and juvenile
MIOCR grants in accordance with the funds appropriated for
each type of grant. The grants are required to support
prevention, intervention, supervision, and incarceration-based
services and strategies to reduce recidivism and to improve
outcomes for mentally ill juvenile and adult offenders.
Current law also specifies that the BSCC shall award grants
that provide funding for three years based on four-year
program plans submitted by counties, and that funding must be
used to supplement, rather than supplant, funding for existing
programs. Counties are required to contribute resources of at
least 25 percent of the amount of the grant, which may include
in-kind contributions. In awarding grants, priority or
preference is to be given to those grant applications that
include documented match funding that exceeds 25 percent of
the grant. Existing law further specifies that funds may be
used to fund specialized alternative custody programs that
offer appropriate mental health treatment and services.
SB 621
Page 4
3)Pretrial Diversion Programs: Diversion is the suspension of
criminal proceedings for a prescribed time period with certain
conditions. A defendant may not be required to admit guilt as
a prerequisite for placement in a pretrial diversion program.
If diversion is successfully completed, the criminal charges
are dismissed and the defendant may, with certain exceptions,
legally answer that he or she has never been arrested or
charged for the diverted offense. If diversion is not
successfully completed, the criminal proceedings resume,
however a hearing to terminate diversion is required.
1)Argument in Support: According to the Los Angeles District
Attorney, the sponsor of this bill, "[A]t the moment, the
sheriff is housing more than 300 inmates who are considered to
have severe to acute mental illnesses, even though they only
have dedicated bed space for 40 severe/acute mentally ill
inmates.
"In an attempt to address this situation, District Attorney
Lacey has embarked on an effort to create the largest mental
health criminal diversion program in the nation?."
"One of the major obstacles to implementing the District
Attorney's comprehensive mental health diversion program is
funding. Our office believes that specifically authorizing
the BSCC to award MIOCR grants to counties for mental health
diversion programs will assist our efforts to establish the
largest mental health diversion program in the nation."
Staff notes that the creation of the largest mental health
diversion program in the nation will require significant
additional resources, or the redirection of existing
resources.
Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R.Reyes / APPR. / (916)
SB 621
Page 5
319-2081