BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1186
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Date of Hearing: June 15, 2016
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Lorena Gonzalez, Chair
SB 1186
(Lara) - As Amended June 6, 2016
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Urgency: Yes State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill, an urgency measure, appropriates approximately $5.3
million from specified funds to the California Victim
Compensation and Government Claims Board (board) for the payment
of 274 state claims.
FISCAL EFFECT:
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1)Stale-dated warrants. General Fund appropriations in the
amount of $606,296.25 to pay 267 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.
2)Erroneous convictions:
a) 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.
b) General Fund appropriation in the amount of $653,600 to
pay the claim of John Smith, approved by the board on
September 17, 2015.
c) General Fund appropriation in the amount of $654,500 to
pay the claim of Marco Milla, approved by the board on
March 17, 2016.
d) General Fund appropriation in the amount of $762,440 to
pay the claim of Larry Pohlschneider, approved by the board
on April 21, 2016.
e) General Fund appropriation in the amount of $564,100 to
pay the claim of Michael Smith, approved by the board on
October 15, 2015.
f) General Fund appropriation in the amount of $512,600 to
pay the claim of Timothy Gantt, approved by the board on
October 15, 2015.
g) General Fund appropriation in the amount of $936,880 to
pay the claim of Luther Ed Jones, Jr., approved by the
board in April 27, 2016.
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COMMENTS:
1)Background. The State Board of Control was established in
1945. It was 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
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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 for 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 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), therefore, claims approved by the board
prior to January 1, 2016, provide payment of $100 per day of
incarceration.
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2)Purpose. 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 $4,665,720 to the board for
payment of seven specified erroneous conviction claims:
Erroneous Conviction Claims (six):
Obie Anthony III, preponderance of evidence, $581,600. In
1995, Mr. Anthony was convicted of murder and attempted murder
and sentenced to life in prison without parole. 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 resulting 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
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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
he did not commit the murder as charged and convicted and
there was a preponderance of evidence that he was 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
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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. 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.
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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. 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.
Luther Ed Jones, Jr., binding finding of factual innocence,
$936,880. On June 10, 1998, Mr. Jones was convicted of
committing lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age
of 14 and was sentenced to 27 years in prison. Approximately
18 years after his conviction, the alleged victim came to the
Lake County District Attorney's Office and stated that she
lied at Jones' trial. The alleged victim stated that Jones
never molested her and that she had been coerced by her mother
to testify against Jones in order to resolve a custody issue.
The alleged victim stated that she was molested but that the
perpetrator was a different boyfriend of her mother. The
District Attorney's Office, after a thorough investigation,
concluded that Jones was innocent and he did not commit the
crimes for which he was charged. The District Attorney's
Office filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on behalf
of Jones. The court granted the petition on February 16,
2016, and Jones was released from custody on February 17,
2016. On April 26, 2016, Jones received from the Lake County
Superior Court a finding of factual innocence based on new
evidence that points unerringly to innocence. Mr. Jones was
imprisoned for 6,692 days.
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Analysis Prepared by:Pedro R. Reyes / APPR. / (916)
319-2081