BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 722 (Bates) - Sex offenders: GPS monitoring: removal
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|Version: May 5, 2015 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 7 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: May 18, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 722 would make it a felony punishable by
imprisonment in the state prison, as specified, for a person to
willfully remove or disable, or permit another person to remove
or disable, an electronic, global positioning system (GPS), or
other monitoring device, if the device was affixed as a
condition of parole, postrelease community supervision (PRCS),
or probation as a result of a conviction for specified sex
offenses, and if specified criteria are met.
Fiscal
Impact:
Potentially significant increase in state costs (General Fund)
to the extent creating the new felony offense leads to
additional state prison commitments. Data from the CDCR
indicates over 1,200 inmates released onto parole/PRCS under
the applicable crimes within the past 12 months. While it is
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unknown how many cases will be impacted in any one year, to
the extent even one percent (12 persons) of potentially
eligible cases are impacted, costs would be in excess of
$400,000 for 12 months served.
Potential decrease in local jail costs (Local Fund) to the
extent individuals who otherwise would have been subject to
parole revocation and 180 days in county jail are instead
charged with the prison-eligible felony.
Potential increase in non-reimbursable county probation (Local
Fund) and state parole costs (General Fund) for additional
persons required to participate and complete a sex offender
management program. Annual costs would be dependent on the
number of persons convicted of the new prison-eligible
offense.
Background: Existing law generally authorizes the use of electronic
monitoring or GPS devices in the criminal justice system, as
follows:
Alternative custody programs for female inmates in the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) (Penal
Code (PC) § 1170.05(e).);
Probation for certain sex offenders who have been
assessed as high risk, as specified (PC § 1202.8.);
Probation for other offenders, as specified (PC §§
1210.12, 1210.7 et seq.);
Home detention programs for county inmates, as specified
(PC §§ 1203.016, 1203.017.);
County inmates being held in lieu of bail, as specified
(PC § 1203.018.);
Persons subject to an order protecting a victim or
witness of violent crime from all contact, as specified (PC
§ 136.2.);
Persons on parole, as specified (PC §§ 3004, 3010.);
Persons on post release community supervision (PC §§
3450, 3454.);
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Prisoners subject to medical parole supervision (PC §
3550.).
Existing law generally provides that removing or otherwise
defeating the operation of a GPS device is a violation of parole
or probation, or subject to return to custody from an
alternative custody program.
Under existing law, parolees who are registered sex offenders
and are required to have a GPS device as a condition of parole
shall be subject to parole revocation and incarcerated in a
county jail for 180 days if they remove or otherwise disable the
device, as specified. (PC § 3010.10.)
Proposed Law:
This bill would make it a felony for a person to willfully
remove or disable, or permit another person to remove or
disable, an electronic, GPS, or other monitoring device affixed
to his or her person, if the device was affixed as a condition
of parole, PRCS, or probation as a result of a conviction of any
specified sex offense, if the person intended to evade
supervision and either does not surrender, or is not
apprehended, within one week of the issuance of a warrant for
absconding. This bill:
Provides that the felony is punishable by imprisonment
in the state prison for 16 months, or two or three years.
Provides there shall be a rebuttable presumption that
the person intended to evade supervision.
Provides that the bill does not apply to the removal or
disabling of a monitoring device by a physician, emergency
medical services technician, or by any other emergency
response or medical personnel when doing so is necessary
during the course of medical treatment of the person
subject to the device.
Provides that the bill's provisions do not apply if the
removal or disabling of the device is authorized or
required by a court, by law enforcement, or by any other
entity that is responsible for placing the device upon the
person or that has the authority and responsibility to
monitor the device.
Requires the terms of probation or parole for a person
who commits a violation of the bill's provision must
include participation and completion of a sex offender
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management program.
Prior
Legislation: SB 57 (Lieu) Chapter 776/2013 prohibits a person
who is required to register as a sex offender and who is subject
to parole supervision from removing or disabling, as specified,
an electronic GPS or other monitoring device affixed as a
condition of parole.
Staff
Comments: The CDCR indicates that while the actual impact this
bill will have on the state prison population is unknown, it is
assumed that this bill would potentially result in an impact on
the number of commitments to state prison as it creates a new
felony punishable by a state prison term. From May 2014 through
April 2015, CDCR indicates 1,261 inmates were released from
state prison onto parole or PRCS with an offense listed in PC §
667.61, to whom this bill would apply.
While the CDCR does not have information readily available to
determine how many of these individuals would potentially be
subject to the new felony conviction, to the extent even one
percent of these individuals are convicted of the felony created
by this bill, the annual cost of 12 new prison admissions would
be over $400,000 (General Fund) based on the current in-state
contract bed cost per case of $34,000. This estimate does not
include the impact of the potential population of individuals on
probation who would also be subject to the bill's provisions. It
is unknown at this time how many individuals are currently on
probation under the applicable offenses listed in this bill,
however, to the extent additional violations and subsequent
commitments to state prison occur, would further increase annual
state costs.
The Three-Judge Court has ordered the State to reduce its prison
population to 137.5 percent of the prison system's design
capacity by February 28, 2016. Pursuant to its February 10, 2014
order, the Court has ordered the CDCR to implement several
population reduction measures, prohibited an increase in the
population of inmates housed in out-of-state facilities, and
indicated the Court will maintain jurisdiction over the State
for as long as necessary to ensure that the State's compliance
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with the 137.5 percent final benchmark is durable, and that such
durability is firmly established. Any future increases to the
State's prison population could challenge the ability of the
State to reach and maintain such a "durable solution," and could
require the State to pursue one of several options, including
contracting-out for additional bed space or releasing current
inmates early onto parole.
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