Amended in Senate March 28, 2016

Senate BillNo. 1310


Introduced by Senator Leno

February 19, 2016


An act tobegin delete addend deletebegin insert amendend insert Sectionbegin delete 3055 toend deletebegin insert 556.4 ofend insert the Penal Code, relating tobegin delete parole.end deletebegin insert trespass.end insert

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1310, as amended, Leno. begin deleteElderly Parole Program. end deletebegin insertTrespassend insertbegin insert: illegal signs.end insert

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Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to place or maintain any sign, picture, transparency, advertisement, or mechanical device for the purpose of advertising on public or private property without lawful permission or consent of the owner. Existing law allows information that appears on the advertisement to be used as evidence to establish the fact that a person or entity is responsible for posting the advertisement.

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This bill would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these provisions.

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Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings to meet with an inmate during the 6th year prior to the inmate’s minimum eligible parole release date to document the inmate’s activities and conduct pertinent to parole eligibility. Existing law, the Victims’ Bill of Rights Act of 2008: Marsy’s Law, as added by Proposition 9 at the November 4, 2008, statewide general election, requires the panel, or the board if sitting en banc, to set a release date at the meeting, unless it determines that consideration of the public and victim’s safety requires a more lengthy period of incarceration, and that a parole date cannot be fixed at the meeting. Existing law requires the board to schedule the next parole consideration hearing 15, 10, 7, 5, or 3 years after any hearing at which parole is denied. Existing law allows the board to advance a hearing set pursuant to these provisions to an earlier date when a change in circumstances or new information establishes a reasonable likelihood that consideration of the public and victim’s safety does not require an additional period of incarceration.

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Existing law, as added by Proposition 184, adopted November 8, 1994, and amended by Proposition 36, adopted November 6, 2012, commonly known as the Three Strikes Law, imposes increased penalties for certain recidivist offenders. In particular, it requires that, in addition to any other enhancement or penalty provisions that may apply, if a defendant has 2 or more prior felony convictions, the term for the current felony conviction shall be an indeterminate term of imprisonment in the state prison for life with a minimum term of the greatest of 3 times the term otherwise provided as punishment for each current felony conviction subsequent to the 2 or more prior felony convictions, imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years, or the term determined by the court for the underlying conviction, including any applicable enhancement or punishment provisions. The initiative measure enacting the Three Strikes Law prohibits the Legislature from amending the act except by a statute passed by a 23 vote or by a statute that becomes effective only when approved by the electors.

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This bill would establish the Elderly Parole Program, for prisoners who are 50 years of age or older, who have served 15 years of their sentence, and who have a reentry plan identifying residential, financial, and social integration plans. When considering the release of an inmate who meets this criteria, the bill would require the board to consider whether age, time served, and diminished physical condition, if any, have reduced the elderly prisoner’s risk for future violence. The bill would also require the Board of Parole Hearings to consider whether a prisoner will qualify for the program when determining the prisoner’s next parole suitability hearing.

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Vote: begin delete23 end deletebegin insertmajorityend insert. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: begin deleteyes end deletebegin insertnoend insert. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

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begin insertSECTION 1.end insert  

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begin insertSection 556.4 of the end insertbegin insertPenal Codeend insertbegin insert is amended to
2read:end insert

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556.4.  

For purposes of this article, information that appears on
2begin delete anyend deletebegin insert aend insert sign, picture, transparency, advertisement, or mechanical
3device such as, but not limited to, the following, may be used as
4evidence to establish the fact, and may create an inference, that a
5person or entity is responsible for the posting of the sign, picture,
6transparency, advertisement, or mechanical device:

7(a) The name, telephone number, address, or other identifying
8information regarding the real estate broker, real estate brokerage
9firm, real estate agent, or other person associated with the firm.

10(b) The name, telephone number, address, or other identifying
11information of the owner or lessee of property used for a
12commercial activity or event.

13(c) The name, telephone number, address, or other identifying
14information of the sponsor or promoter of a sporting event, concert,
15theatrical performance, or similar activity or event.

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16

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
17following:

18(a) On February 10, 2014, the three-judge court overseeing the
19California prison overcrowding class action case (Coleman v.
20Brown (2013) 952 F.Supp.2d 901) issued an order that, among
21other things, requires the state to implement an Elderly Parole
22Program so that prisoners who are 60 years of age or older and
23who have been incarcerated at least 25 years on their current
24sentence will be referred to the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH)
25to determine suitability for parole. The BPH implemented this
26Elderly Parole Program on October 1, 2014.

27(b) Under the existing Elderly Parole Program hearings,
28prisoners who are 60 years of age or older and who have been
29incarcerated 25 years or more on their current sentence serving
30either a determinate or indeterminate sentence, and who have not
31yet had an initial parole suitability hearing are referred by the
32California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
33to the BPH and scheduled for an Elderly Parole Program Suitability
34hearing.

35(c) Under the existing Elderly Parole Program hearings,
36prisoners who are 60 years of age or older and who have been
37incarcerated 25 years or more on their current term and who have
38already been denied parole at the initial suitability hearing are
39considered for a new hearing under the Elderly Parole Program.

P4    1(d) The BPH currently reviews all three-year denials annually
2to determine if a more prompt parole consideration hearing should
3be considered. Under the existing Elderly Parole Program, the
4BPH includes within that annual review whether any prisoner
5meets the elder parole eligibility criteria, and if so whether to
6schedule a hearing.

7(e) Under the existing Elderly Parole Program, prisoners who
8have lengthier denial periods can file petitions with the BPH asking
9that their hearing be advanced because they meet the eligibility
10criteria for elder parole.

11(f) The BPH may deny parole if an elderly prisoner’s release
12would pose an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety. Parole
13suitability hearing decisions for elderly parole inmates are reviewed
14in the same manner as all other parolees under eligibility
15consideration, pursuant to criteria specified by Section 2281 of
16Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations. However, for all
17Elderly Parole Program hearings, the BPH risk assessments
18consider whether age, time served, and diminished physical
19condition, if any, reduce elderly prisoners’ risk for future violence.

20(g) The number of elderly prisoners in California state prisons
21will continue to increase exponentially. In 2013, the CDCR
22reported a population of prisoners 50 years of age and older as
2327,580 and the population of prisoners 55 years of age and older
24as 14,856.

25(h) Costs associated with geriatric medical needs begin to
26accumulate at 50 years of age, given that there is an overwhelming
27consensus that the age of 50 constitutes a point when prisoners are
28considered elderly. In 2010, the LAO estimated from other state
29projections that incarcerating elderly offenders costs two to three
30times more than for the general prison population. In 2010, the
31average cost of incarcerating an inmate was approximately $51,000.

32(i) Older persons have significantly low arrest rates. In 2001,
33the federal arrest rate for persons 40 to 44, inclusive, years of age
34was 0.73 percent. The rate decreases by about one-half every five
35years, dropping to 0.46 percent for persons 45 to 49, inclusive,
36years of age and 0.26 percent for persons 50 to 54, inclusive, years
37of age. For persons 50 to 59, inclusive, years of age, the arrest rate
38plummets to 0.14 percent.

39(j) There is a lower risk of recidivism among elderly prisoners,
40according to CDCR statistics. In 2013, CDCR reported that only
P5    133.8 percent of persons who were 60 years of age and older,
2returned to prison after one year from being released from prison.
3Recidivism rates for persons 50 to 54, inclusive, years of age and
455 to 59, inclusive, years of age after one year from being released
5from prison were 39.9 and 38.3 percent, respectively.

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SEC. 2.  

Section 3055 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

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3055.  

(a) The Elderly Parole Program is hereby established,
8to be administered by the Board of Parole Hearings.

9(b) A prisoner shall be considered for parole under the Elderly
10Parole Program if he or she meets all of the following conditions:

11(1) The prisoner is 50 years of age or older.

12(2) The prisoner has served 15 years of his or her sentence.

13(3) The prisoner has a reentry plan identifying residential,
14financial, and social integration plans.

15(c) When considering the release of a prisoner specified by
16subdivision (b) pursuant to Section 3041, the board shall give
17special consideration to whether age, time served, and diminished
18physical condition, if any, have reduced the elderly prisoner’s risk
19for future violence.

20(d) When scheduling a parole suitability hearing date pursuant
21to subdivision (b) of Section 3041.5 or when considering a request
22for an advance hearing pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section
233041.5, the board shall consider whether the prisoner meets or will
24meet the criteria specified in subdivision (b).

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