BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: SB 1077 Hearing Date: April 5, 2016
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Author: |Runner |
|-----------+-----------------------------------------------------|
|Version: |February 16, 2016 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Urgency: |Yes |Fiscal: |No |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Consultant:|MK |
| | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Law Enforcement: Immigration: Felons
HISTORY
Source: Author
Prior Legislation:None
Support: Unknown
Opposition:American Civil Liberties Union; California Immigrant
Policy Center; California Public Defenders Association
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to prohibit a local law enforcement
agency from taking custody of a previously convicted felon who
is being detained or incarcerated by another law enforcement
agency if the felon is scheduled for deportation unless there is
an outstanding felony warrant and the agency has confirmed that
the prosecutorial authority with jurisdiction to prosecute that
felony intends to prosecute.
Existing law provides that a law enforcement official shall have
SB 1077 (Runner ) Page
2 of ?
discretion to cooperate with federal immigration officials by
detaining an individual on the basis of an immigration hold
after that individual becomes eligible for release from custody
only if the continued detention of the individual on the basis
of the immigration hold would not violate any federal, state, or
local law or any local policy and under only under specified
circumstances. (Government Code § 7282.5)
This bill provides that notwithstanding any other law, a local
agency shall not take custody of a previously convicted felon
who is being detained or incarcerated by another law enforcement
agency if the felon is scheduled for deportation or transfer to
federal authorities for deportation proceedings unless both of
the following apply:
The local law enforcement agency has an outstanding
warrant alleging that the subject felon committed a
criminal offense that constitutes a felony under current
California law.
The local law enforcement agency has confirmed that the
prosecutorial authority with jurisdiction to prosecute the
felony has a current intent to prosecute that felony.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
For the past several years this Committee has scrutinized
legislation referred to its jurisdiction for any potential
impact on prison overcrowding. Mindful of the United States
Supreme Court ruling and federal court orders relating to the
state's ability to provide a constitutional level of health care
to its inmate population and the related issue of prison
overcrowding, this Committee has applied its "ROCA" policy as a
content-neutral, provisional measure necessary to ensure that
the Legislature does not erode progress in reducing prison
overcrowding.
On February 10, 2014, the federal court ordered California to
reduce its in-state adult institution population to 137.5% of
design capacity by February 28, 2016, as follows:
143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
SB 1077 (Runner ) Page
3 of ?
141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,
137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.
In December of 2015 the administration reported that as "of
December 9, 2015, 112,510 inmates were housed in the State's 34
adult institutions, which amounts to 136.0% of design bed
capacity, and 5,264 inmates were housed in out-of-state
facilities. The current population is 1,212 inmates below the
final court-ordered population benchmark of 137.5% of design bed
capacity, and has been under that benchmark since February
2015." (Defendants' December 2015 Status Report in Response to
February 10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge
Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).) One
year ago, 115,826 inmates were housed in the State's 34 adult
institutions, which amounted to 140.0% of design bed capacity,
and 8,864 inmates were housed in out-of-state facilities.
(Defendants' December 2014 Status Report in Response to February
10, 2014 Order, 2:90-cv-00520 KJM DAD PC, 3-Judge Court, Coleman
v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (fn. omitted).)
While significant gains have been made in reducing the prison
population, the state must stabilize these advances and
demonstrate to the federal court that California has in place
the "durable solution" to prison overcrowding "consistently
demanded" by the court. (Opinion Re: Order Granting in Part and
Denying in Part Defendants' Request For Extension of December
31, 2013 Deadline, NO. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK DAD (PC), 3-Judge Court,
Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (2-10-14). The Committee's
consideration of bills that may impact the prison population
therefore will be informed by the following questions:
Whether a proposal erodes a measure which has contributed
to reducing the prison population;
Whether a proposal addresses a major area of public safety
or criminal activity for which there is no other
reasonable, appropriate remedy;
Whether a proposal addresses a crime which is directly
dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there
is no other reasonably appropriate sanction;
Whether a proposal corrects a constitutional problem or
legislative drafting error; and
Whether a proposal proposes penalties which are
proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other
reasonably appropriate remedy.
SB 1077 (Runner ) Page
4 of ?
COMMENTS
1. Need for This Bill
According to the author:
In July of 2015, Kathryn Steinle was walking with her
father on Pier 14 in San Francisco when she was shot
and killed by Juan Francisco Lopez-Sanchez, a career
criminal with seven felony convictions. Three months
earlier, the San Francisco Sheriff had requested
custody of Lopez- Sanchez, because they had a 20 year
old warrant for sale of marijuana. The Sheriff's
Department arranged to have Lopez-Sanchez transported
to San Francisco at public expense before determining
whether the case was viable. He was released when the
San Francisco District Attorney declined to prosecute.
In response to the troubling circumstances that
transpired in San Francisco, SB 1077 would preclude a
local law enforcement agency from taking custody of a
felon in federal custody unless the local agency has an
outstanding felony warrant for the individual and the
District Attorney or Attorney General has indicated an
intent to prosecute that felony. SB 1077 is a discrete,
common sense procedure that applies uniformly to all
local jurisdictions in California.
2. Intent to Prosecute
This bill would require a law enforcement agency to confirm that
a person will be prosecuted for the felony for which they are
wanted before a local law enforcement agency takes possession of
the person from another law enforcement agency. The hope is to
avoid another incident like the one that occurred in San
Francisco by making sure that if a person is transferred to a
law enforcement agency they will be prosecuted and not let go,
SB 1077 (Runner ) Page
5 of ?
potentially in a city where they have no place to stay.
3. Broader Application?
The Committee may wish to consider whether this policy should
apply even to those who are not subject to deportation. A
person with an old warrant who is picked up in northern
California and transferred to southern California for a case
that is not prosecuted may face issues getting back home. A
person let out of custody in a place far from their current home
may not have the resources to return to their place of
residence. Should agencies confirm the intent to prosecute
before transferring anyone between jurisdictions?
-- END -