BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



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          SENATE THIRD READING


          SB  
          1186 (Lara)


          As Amended  June 6, 2016


          2/3 vote.  Urgency


          SENATE VOTE:  36-1


           ------------------------------------------------------------------ 
          |Committee       |Votes|Ayes                  |Noes                |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |----------------+-----+----------------------+--------------------|
          |Appropriations  |20-0 |Gonzalez, Bigelow,    |                    |
          |                |     |Bloom, Bonilla,       |                    |
          |                |     |Bonta, Calderon,      |                    |
          |                |     |Chang, Daly, Eggman,  |                    |
          |                |     |Gallagher, Eduardo    |                    |
          |                |     |Garcia, Roger         |                    |
          |                |     |Hernández, Holden,    |                    |
          |                |     |Jones, Obernolte,     |                    |
          |                |     |Quirk, Santiago,      |                    |
          |                |     |Wagner, Weber,        |                    |
          |                |     |McCarty               |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
          |                |     |                      |                    |
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          SUMMARY:  This bill, an urgency measure, appropriates  








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          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:


          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.










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             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.


          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  








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            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 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  








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            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.


          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  








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            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  
            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  








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            was affirmed on appeal on December 20, 2004.  In 2010, the Los  
            Angeles County District Attorney's Office was informed by the  
            United States 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 Los Angeles 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  








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            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 District Attorney (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.  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  








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          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.




          Analysis Prepared by:                                             
                          Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916) 319-2081  FN:  
          0003451