BILL ANALYSIS
SB 2161
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 2161 (Leslie)
As Amended July 8, 1996
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE: 35-0
PUBLIC SAFETY 10-0
SUMMARY: Provides that a specified sex offender is relieved of
his/her duty to register pursuant to Penal Code Section 290, upon
receipt of the certificate of rehabilitation if he/she is not in
custody, on parole, or on
probation. Incorporates changes made to Penal Code Section 290.5
by AB 1901 (Alby), pending enrollment.
FISCAL EFFECT: None
EXISTING LAW:
1) Requires specified sex offenders to register with local law
enforcement officials within 14 days of coming into any county,
city, or city and county in which the sex offender temporarily
resides or is domiciled for that length of time. The sex
offender is required to update his/her registration annually
thereafter, within 10 days of his/her birthday.
2) States a person required to register under Penal Code Section
290 may initiate a proceeding, as specified, and upon obtaining
a certificate of rehabilitation, shall be relieved of any
further duty to register under Penal Code Section 290. Such a
certificate shall not relieve the petitioner of the duty to
register under Penal Code Section 290 for any offense for which
he/she is convicted of in the future.
3) States a person convicted of any felony or misdemeanor
violation of any sex offense specified in Penal Code Section
290, the accusatory pleading of which has been dismissed
pursuant to Penal Code Section 1203.4, may file a petition for
a certificate of rehabilitation and pardon, provided the
petitioner has not been incarcerated in any prison, jail,
detention facility or other penal institution or agency since
the dismissal of the accusatory pleading; is not on probation
for the commission of any other felony; and presents
satisfactory evidence of three-years' residence in California
prior to the filing of the petition.
4) Requires the period of rehabilitation to begin upon the
discharge of the petitioner from custody due to his/her
completion of the term to which he/she was sentenced or upon
his/her release on parole or probation, whichever is sooner.
The period of rehabilitation must constitute
three-years' residence in California, plus any additional
period of time as determined by the following rules:
a) There shall be added four years, for a total of seven
years, in the case of any person convicted of violating
SB 2161
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specified crimes.
b) There shall be added two years, for a total of five years,
for any person convicted of any offense which is not listed in
#1 above and which neither requires the offender to register as
a sex offender
under Penal Code Section 290 nor carries a life sentence.
The trial court hearing an application for a certificate of
rehabilitation may, if the defendant was ordered to serve
consecutive sentences, order that his/her statutory period of
rehabilitation be extended for an additional period of time
which, when combined with the time already served, will not
exceed the period prescribed by statute for the sum of the
maximum penalties for all the crimes.
4) During the period of rehabilitation, the person is required to
live an honest and upright life, conduct himself/herself with
sobriety and industry, exhibit a good moral character, and
conform to and obey the laws of the land.
5) The petitioner shall give notice of the filing of the petition
to the district attorney of the county in which the petition is
filed; to the district attorney of each county in which the
petitioner was convicted of a felony or of a crime, the
accusatory pleading of which was dismissed pursuant to Section
1203.4; and to the office of the Governor, together with notice
of the time of the hearing of the petition, at least 30 days
prior to the date set for such hearing.
6) If, after a hearing, the court finds that the petitioner has
demonstrated by his/her course of conduct his/her
rehabilitation and his/her fitness to exercise all of the civil
and political rights of citizenship, the court shall make an
order declaring that the petitioner has been rehabilitated and
recommending that the Governor grant a full pardon to the
petitioner. Such order shall be filed with the clerk of the
court, and shall be known as a "certificate of rehabilitation."
BACKGROUND:
1) According to the author, "Some persons still on parole for the
current commitment offense or some other offense currently may
petition the court and receive a Certificate of Rehabilitation
exempting them from further sex offender registration
requirements. Clearly, persons under parole or probation
supervision should not be relieved of the duty to register as
sex offenders. It is a public safety imperative that all
possible statutory remedies be employed to continue
registration of sex offenders while under parole or probation
supervision."
2) A person required to register as a sex offender can be relieved
of that duty if he/she obtains certificate of rehabilitation
from the court.
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To file petition for certificate, all felony offenders and
misdemeanor sex offenders, as specified, must meet the
following criteria:
a) The person has not been incarcerated in any prison, jail,
detention facility or other penal institution or agency since
the dismissal of the accusatory pleading.
b) The person is not on probation for the commission of any
other felony.
c) The person presents satisfactory evidence of three-years'
residence in this state prior to the filing of the
petition.
The period of rehabilitation runs upon the discharge of the
petitioner from custody upon completion of his/her term, or
upon his/her release on
parole or probation, whichever is sooner. Rehabilitation
generally constitutes three-years' residence in California plus
two years. Current law requires that, "During the period of
rehabilitation, the person shall live an honest and upright life,
shall conduct himself/herself with sobriety and industry, shall
exhibit a good moral character, and shall conform to and obey the
laws of the land."
A person seeking a certificate must give notice to the district
attorney in the county of application and any counties in which
the person was convicted. In addition, he/she must give notice
to the office of the Governor. The Governor then decides
whether or not to grant a full pardon.
3) The Governor's Office, which statutorily must be notified when
any offender files a petition for a certificate of
rehabilitation, reports that 244 offenders in 1995, and 263
offenders in 1994, filed and were granted petitions for
rehabilitation in 1995.
On October 4, 1995, the San Jose Mercury News reported that
about 30 people had sought certificates of rehabilitation in
Santa Clara County last year, and that about one-quarter of
them were for sex offenses.
According to the article, "...convicted child molesters are
using an obscure legal process to avoid the state's new,
stricter sex offender registration laws and keep their names
off the state's child molester information telephone hotline."
An estimated 250 to 300 certificates are issued per year - sex
offenses are one of the largest category.
4) According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), as of April 1,
1996, there are 62,558 sex offenders registered in California.
The DOJ reports that approximately 80% of the address
information on active sex offender registrants is current.
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The DOJ evaluated the recidivism patterns of 1,362 sex
offenders whose first arrests occurred in 1973. An analysis of
subsequent arrests over a 15-year period (1973-1988) found that
nearly one-half (49.4%) were re-arrested for some type of
offense and 19.7% for subsequent sex offenses. Sex offenders
whose first arrests were for rape by force or threat had the
highest recidivism rate, 63.8% for any criminal offense and
25.2% for subsequent sex offenses. This data indicates that
sex offense recidivism among sex offenders ranges from a low of
16.8% (first arrest for indecent exposure, annoying or
molesting, loitering in or about toilet, etc.) to 25.2% (first
arrest for forcible rape). (DOJ, Effectiveness of Statutory
Requirements for the Registration of Sex Offenders.)
5) California, like 23 other states, has a registration
requirement for those convicted of felony sex offenses. Penal
Code Section 290 registrants currently number some 64,000
persons, about 60% of whom, or some 40,000, were found guilty
of sex offenses against children.
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Supporters argue that this bill is
necessary to close a loophole whereby some convicted sex offenders
may obtain a certificate of rehabilitation. It is argued that
this bill is necessary to prevent persons under parole or
probation supervision from being relieved of the duty to register
as a sex offender. Some believe it is a public safety imperative
that all possible statutory remedies be employed to continue
registration of sex offenders while under parole or probation
supervision.
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: Opponents argue that this law should not
bar sex offenders, who are able to demonstrate their
rehabilitation to a court, from the opportunity to be relieved of
registration requirements pursuant to Penal Code Section 290.
Analysis prepared by: Martin Gonzalez / apubs / (916) 445-3268
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