BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    







                                                          AB  888
Date of Hearing:  May 17, 1995

               ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                        Curt Pringle, Chair

            AB 888 (Rogan) - As Amended: April 25, 1995

Policy Committee:  Public Safety        Vote:  5-0

State Mandated Local Program: Yes       Reimbursable:  Yes

 SUBJECT

Sexually violent predators.


 This bill:

1) Makes Legislative declarations concerning the identification of  
sexually violent predators while incarcerated or while on parole.

3) Defines a sexually violent predator as a person who has been  
convicted of a sexually violent offense against two or more  
victims for which he or she    received a determinate sentence and  
who has a mental abnormality or                           
personality disorder that makes the person a danger to the health  
and                                                      safety of  
others in that it is likely that he or she will again engage in  
sexually violent criminal behavior.

2) Allows the Department of Mental Health to petition the courts  
to commit  sexually violent predators to a mental facility for two  
years upon their       release from prison if they are deemed  
dangerous by a jury.

4) Requires that the Department of Corrections (CDC) and the Board  
of Prison Terms (BOPT) evaluate inmates who have previously been  
identified as                                            sexually  

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                                                          AB  888
violent predators to determine if they may still be a threat to  
   society, and if so, shall begin commitment proceedings, to be  
filed by the appropriate district attorney or county counsel.

5) Provides procedures for the evaluation and return to custody of  
those   parolees determined to be sexually violent predators who  
would benefit from    commitment and treatment.

6) Defines the various procedures and methods of commitment which  
apply to  civil commitment, probable cause hearings, jury trials  
and availability of     counsel for sexually violent predators.



























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 FISCAL EFFECT

Major costs to the General Fund, for CDC and BOPT to perform  
evaluations and to the Department of Mental Health for commitment.  
Unknown cost to local government for district attorneys or county  
counsel to file and handle proceedings relating to commitment.  
Since this bill provides no new or expanded crime, costs incurred  
by local government would be reimbursable from the State Mandate  
Claims Fund as determined by the Commission on State Mandates.
 

 COMMENTS

According to CDC, there are approximately 11,000 sex offenders  
currently in prison. Approximately 3,000 of these offenders are  
released per year, and under current law there is no legal  
authority to postpone these releases when there is a likelihood  
that the offender will commit another violent crime.



















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