BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1186|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1186
Author: Lara (D)
Amended: 5/3/16
Vote: 27 - Urgency
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/23/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
SUBJECT: State claims
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This bill, an urgency measure, appropriates
approximately $4.38 million from specified funds to the
California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board
(board) for the payment of 273 state claims.
ANALYSIS: Existing law requires the board to ensure that all
claims that have been approved by the board, and for which no
legally available appropriation exists, are submitted for
legislative approval at least twice during each calendar year.
This bill, an urgency measure, appropriates $647,443.32 in
various state funds, including $606,296.25 directly from the
General Fund, to the board for the payment of 267 state claims
for reissuance of stale-dated warrants. This bill also
appropriates $3,728,840 to the board for payment of six
specified erroneous conviction claims:
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Erroneous Conviction Claims
Obie Anthony III, preponderance of evidence, $581,600. Mr.
Anthony was convicted of murder and attempted murder and
sentenced to life in prison without parole in 1995. In April
2010, Mr. Anthony filed a habeas corpus petition. His murder
conviction was overturned on September 30, 2011, on the
grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel, false and
misleading testimony, and prosecutorial misconduct, but the
judge determined that he had not met his burden of proving
actual innocence. Mr. Anthony filed a claim for compensation
as an erroneously convicted person in September 2013, and the
court determined on May 30, 2014, that there was a
preponderance of evidence that the offenses that resulted in
the death of one man and injuries to two others were not
committed by Mr. Anthony, and it was determined that he had no
involvement in those offenses or the events surrounding them.
Mr. Anthony was incarcerated for 5,816 days.
John Smith, preponderance of evidence, $653,600. In 1994, Mr.
Smith was convicted of murder, attempted murder and
enhancements of personal use of a firearm, personal discharge
of a firearm from a vehicle, and intentional infliction of
great bodily injury, as a result of a drive-by shooting in Los
Angeles. In October 2010, Mr. Smith filed a habeas corpus
petition, asserting that false testimony was introduced during
his trial identifying him as the shooter. The sole eye
witness recanted his statement identifying Mr. Smith as the
shooter in the incident, and the court found that the
eyewitness perjured himself at trial and granted the habeas
petition vacating Smith's convictions and sentencing, but
declined to make any finding of factual innocence. Mr. Smith
filed a claim for compensation as an erroneously convicted
person with the board in September 2014. The Los Angeles
District Attorney's Office conceded that he met his burden of
establishing his innocence by a preponderance of the evidence,
and the Attorney General's Office concurred. The board
ultimately determined that Mr. Smith met his burden of proving
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he did not commit the murder as charged and convicted and
there is a preponderance of evidence that he is innocent of
the crime, and that he sustained pecuniary injury through his
erroneous conviction and imprisonment. Mr. Smith was
incarcerated for 6,536 days.
Marco Milla, binding finding of factual innocence, $654,500.
On October 24, 2001, Marco Milla was arrested and charged with
one count of murder and five counts of attempted murder after
it was alleged that he shot at a passing vehicle during a
gang-related shooting. On December 23, 2002, the jury found
Mr. Milla guilty on all charges and sentenced him to life in
prison without the possibility of parole, and the conviction
was affirmed on appeal on December 20, 2004. In 2010, the Los
Angeles County District Attorney's Office was informed by the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security that a confidential
informant on an unrelated investigation had witnessed the
shooting for which Mr. Milla was convicted. The informant
named a gang member who was the shooter and stated that Milla
was not even present at the scene. In January 2014, Mr. Milla
filed a habeas corpus petition based on the newly discovered
informant, and the informant testified at the hearing that
Milla was not the shooter. His petition was granted, his
prior convictions were vacated, and a new trial was ordered.
The LA District Attorney declined to seek a second trial and
on January 13, 2016, Milla received a finding of factual
innocence. Mr. Milla was incarcerated for 4,675 days.
Larry Pohlschneider, binding finding of factual innocence,
$762,440. In January of 2001, Mr. Pohlschneider was convicted
of three counts of continuous sexual abuse of a child, with a
multiple victim enhancement, and was sentenced to 24 years in
state prison. On October 7, 2015, the trial court granted Mr.
Pohlschneider's petition for writ of habeas corpus based on a
claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, and on November
24, 2015, the trial court found that he had met his burden of
proving actual innocence and that the crimes with which he was
charged were not committed by him.
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Mr. Pohlschneider was incarcerated for 5,446 days.
Timothy Gantt ($512,600) and Michael Smith ($564,100), board
approved claim. In 1994, Mr. Gantt and Mr. Smith were
convicted on charges of murder and second degree robbery,
along with a special circumstance of murder while engaged in
the commission of a robbery, and sentenced to life
imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The judgments
were affirmed on appeal. Mr. Gantt subsequently filed
multiple habeas corpus petitions. In March 1998, his petition
alleging the prosecutor had withheld exculpatory evidence from
the defense was initially dismissed, but the Court of Appeals
reversed the dismissal and remanded the matter back to
District Court for an evidentiary hearing. On April 21, 2006,
the District Court granted Mr. Gantt's writ of habeas corpus,
which was affirmed on appeal. The Los Angeles District
Attorney's Office elected to retry Gantt, but during the trial
the D.A. stated that it was unable to proceed due to
difficulties with an eyewitness, and dismissed the case. The
witness expressed uncertainty about his identification of
Gantt. Mr. Gantt was released from custody on June 5, 2008.
In November 2009, Mr. Smith filed a habeas corpus petition.
The D.A. did not oppose the motion and Mr. Smith was released
from prison.
Mr. Gantt filed his claim for compensation for erroneous
conviction and imprisonment on November 17, 2008, and Mr.
Smith filed his claim on July 14, 2011. All parties agreed to
join the claims for a hearing before the board since the
evidence and facts are similar. At the board hearing, the
Attorney General's Office acknowledged that evidence against
the claimants was not strong, but argued that the claimants
had not met their burden of proving their innocence to a
preponderance of the evidence more likely than not that they
are innocent than guilty. The board members noted that the
evidence against the claimants was weak and circumstantial,
and unanimously approved the claims for compensation. Mr.
Gantt was imprisoned for 5,125 days and Mr. Smith was
imprisoned for 5,640 days.
Background
The State Board of Control was established in 1945. It was
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revised and renamed the Victim Compensation and Government
Claims Board by AB 2491 (Jackson, Chapter 1016, Statutes of
2000). Government Code 13928 requires the board to ensure that
all claims that have been approved by the board, and for which
no legally available appropriation exists, are submitted for
legislative approval at least twice during each calendar year.
In general, the board will approve claims in November and
February. Those claims are reported to the chairs of the
Appropriations Committees who introduce bills appropriating
General Funds and special funds to pay the claims. These bills
may appropriate funds in amounts to the penny for tens to
hundreds of claims. Government Code 906 provides for the
payment of interest on claims approved by the board for which an
appropriation has been made beginning 30 days after the
effective date of the law by which the appropriation is enacted.
The re-issuance of stale-dated warrants is the most prevalent
claim approved by the board. For stale-dated warrants, the
State Controller must confirm that (1) the check was not cashed
and has not been issued and (2) more than three years have
elapsed since the check was issued and the monies have reverted
to the General Fund or to the relevant special fund. For these
warrants an appropriation is needed to reissue the payment.
This category also may include state treasury bonds that have
not been redeemed within 10 years of their maturity date (there
are no such claims in this bill), but the majority of warrants
are payroll or tax refund checks.
In addition to stale-dated warrants, existing law authorizes a
person convicted and imprisoned for a felony to submit a claim
to the board for pecuniary injury sustained as a result of
erroneous conviction and imprisonment. Recent changes to these
provisions, SB 618 (Leno, Chapter 800, Statutes of 2013),
specify that a person who has secured a declaration of factual
innocence from the court after having his or her conviction set
aside is eligible payment in a claim against the state. Upon
application by the petitioner, the board shall, without a
hearing, recommend to the Legislature an appropriation to cover
the claim. Likewise, if the court finds the petitioner has
proven his or her innocence by a preponderance of the evidence,
or the court grants a writ of habeas corpus concerning a person
who is unlawfully imprisoned, or when the court vacates a
judgment for a person on the basis of new evidence concerning a
person who is no longer unlawfully imprisoned, and the court
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finds the evidence points unerringly to innocence, the board
shall, upon application by the claimant, without a hearing,
recommend to the Legislature an appropriation to cover the
petitioner's claim.
Otherwise, a claimant is required to introduce evidence in
support of his or her claim at a hearing before the board, and
the Attorney General may introduce evidence in opposition. The
claimant must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) the
crime was not committed at all, or, if committed, was not
committed by the claimant; (2) the claimant did not contribute
to the arrest or conviction for the crime; and (3) the claimant
sustained pecuniary injury though the erroneous conviction and
imprisonment.
If a claimant meets the burden of proof, the board shall
recommend to the Legislature an appropriation of $140 per day of
incarceration served in a state prison subsequent to the
claimant's conviction. That amount was recently raised from
$100 to $140, upon enactment of SB 635 (Nielsen, Chapter 422,
Statutes of 2015), so claims approved by the board prior to
January 1, 2016, provide payment of $100 per day of
incarceration.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Stale-dated warrants. General Fund appropriations in the
amount of $606,296.25 to pay 227 claims, and appropriations
from specific budget items in the amount of $41,147.07 to pay
40 claims (General Fund/special funds). All of these claims
are for reissuance of stale-dated warrants (expired checks).
The individual claim amounts range from $9.02 to $116,910.
Erroneous convictions:
1) General Fund appropriation in the amount of $581,600 to
pay the claim of Obie Steven Anthony III, approved by the
board on September 17, 2015.
2) General Fund appropriation in the amount of $653,600 to
pay the claim of John Smith, approved by the board on
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September 17, 2015.
3) General Fund appropriation in the amount of $654,500 to
pay the claim of Marco Milla, approved by the board on
March 17, 2016.
4) General Fund appropriation in the amount of $762,440 to
pay the claim of Larry Pohlschneider, approved by the board
on April 21, 2016.
5) General Fund appropriation in the amount of $564,100 to
pay the claim of Michael Smith, approved by the board on
October 15, 2015.
6) General Fund appropriation in the amount of $512,600 to
pay the claim of Timothy Gantt, approved by the board on
October 15, 2015.
SUPPORT: (Verified 5/24/16)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/24/16)
None received
Prepared by:Mark McKenzie / APPR. / (916) 651-4101
5/25/16 13:50:25
**** END ****
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