BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Carole Migden, Chair A
2005-2006 Regular Session B
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AB 3064 (Assembly Public Safety Committee) 4
As Amended May 26, 2006
Hearing date: June 27, 2006
Penal Code
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INMATE REENTRY ADVISORY COMMITTEE
HISTORY
Source: NAACP, California State Conference
Prior Legislation: None
Support: California Catholic Conference; California Correctional
Peace Officers Association; Los Angeles County District
Attorney's Office; Friends Committee on Legislation;
American Civil Liberties Union; Coalition for Effective
Public Safety; California Public Defenders Association;
County of San Diego
Opposition:None known
Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 49 - Noes 31
KEY ISSUE
SHOULD THE SECRETARY OF THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND
REHABILITATION (CDCR) BE REQUIRED TO ESTABLISH A REENTRY ADVISORY
COMMITTEE (RAC), AS SPECIFIED, TO ADVISE THE SECRETARY ON ALL
MATTERS RELATED TO THE SUCCESSFUL STATEWIDE PLANNING, IMPLEMENTATION
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AND OUTCOMES OF ALL REENTRY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES OFFERED BY CDCR?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to require the Secretary of the
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
to establish a Reentry Advisory Committee (RAC), as specified,
to advise the Secretary on all matters related to the successful
statewide planning, implementation and outcomes of all reentry
programs and services offered by CDCR.
Existing law provides that, commencing July 1, 2005, all powers
and duties previously granted to and imposed upon the CDCR shall
be exercised by the Secretary of CDCR, except where those powers
and duties are expressly vested by law in the Board of Parole
Hearings. Whenever a power is granted to the Secretary or a
duty is imposed upon the Secretary, the power may be exercised
or the duty performed by a subordinate officer to the Secretary
or by a person authorized pursuant to law by the Secretary.
(Penal Code section 5055.)
Existing law authorizes the Secretary of CDCR to establish and
operate facilities to be known as "community correctional
centers." The Director may enter into a long-term agreement,
not to exceed 20 years, for transfer of prisoners to, or
placement of prisoners in, community correctional centers.
(Penal Code section 6250(a).)
Existing law authorizes the Secretary of CDCR to contract for
the establishment and operation of community correctional
facilities for the treatment of addiction to alcohol or
controlled substances based on the therapeutic community model
only if the cost per inmate for operating the facilities will be
less than the cost per inmate of operating similar state
facilities. (Penal Code section 6250.5(a).)
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Existing law provides each state prison under CDCR's
jurisdiction shall have a citizens' advisory committee except
that one committee may serve every prison located in the same
city or community. Each committee shall consist of not more
than 15 members appointed by the institution's warden, nine of
whom shall be appointed from a list of nominations submitted to
him or her as follows:
Two persons from nominations submitted by the Assembly
member in whose district the prison is located.
Two persons from nominations submitted by the Senator in
whose district the prison is located.
Two persons from nominations submitted by the city
council of the city containing or nearest to the
institution.
Two persons from nominations submitted by the county
board of supervisors of the county containing the
institution.
One person from nominations submitted by the chief of
police of the city containing or nearest to the institution
and the county sheriff of the county containing the
institution. (Penal Code section 5056(a)(1) to (5).)
Existing law specifies that where a citizens' advisory committee
serves more than one prison, the warden of each prison served by
this committee shall collaborate with every other warden of a
prison served by the committee for the purpose of appointing
committee members. (Penal Code section 5056(b).)
Existing law provides that each committee shall select its own
chairperson by a majority vote of its members. The term of
office of all members shall be two years. In the event of a
vacancy due to resignation, death, or absence from three
consecutive meetings, the appointing power shall fill the
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vacancy following receipt of written notification that a vacancy
has occurred. (Penal Code section 5056(c).)
Existing law states each committee shall meet at least once
every two months or as often, on the call of the chairperson, as
necessary to carry out the purposes and duties of the committee.
Meetings of the committee shall be open to the public. The
warden of each institution shall meet with the committee at
least four times each year. The advisory committees of the
several institutions shall have the power of visitation of
prison facilities and personnel in furtherance of the goals of
this section. (Penal Code section 5056(d).)
This bill requires the Secretary of CDCR to establish a RAC.
The RAC shall report to the Secretary, who shall serve as chair
of RAC. The RAC shall include representation from stakeholders
in the successful administration of reentry programming and
shall be comprised of the following members, who will be
appointed by the Secretary:
A representative of the California League of Cities.
A representative of the California State Association of
Counties.
A representative of the California State Sheriffs'
Association.
A representative of the California Police Chiefs'
Association.
A representative of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation Adult Parole Operations.
A representative of the Department of Mental Health.
A representative of the Department of Social Services.
A representative of the Department of Health Services.
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A representative of the Labor and Workforce Development
Agency.
A representative of the County Alcohol and Drug Program
Administrators Association.
A representative of the California Association of
Alcohol and Drug Program Executives.
An individual with experience in providing housing for
low-income individuals.
A recognized expert in restorative justice programs.
An individual with experience in providing education and
vocational training services.
An independent consultant with expertise in community
corrections and reentry services.
This bill requires the RAC to meet at least quarterly at a time
and place determined by the Secretary. RAC members shall
receive compensation for travel expenses, as specified in
existing law, but no other compensation.
This bill provides that the RAC shall advise the Secretary on
all matters related to the successful statewide planning,
implementation and outcomes of all reentry programs and services
offered by CDCR, with the goal of reducing recidivism of all
persons under the jurisdiction of CDCR.
This bill requires the RAC to consider, and advise the Secretary
of, the following issues:
Encouraging collaboration among key stakeholders at
the state and local levels;
Developing a knowledge base of what people need to
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successfully return to their communities from prison and
what resources communities need to successfully provide
for these needs;
Incorporating reentry outcomes into CDCR
organizational missions and work plans as priorities;
Funding of reentry programs;
Promoting systems of integration and coordination;
Measuring outcomes and evaluating the impact of
reentry programs; and,
Educating the public about reentry programs and
their role in public safety.
COMMENTS
1. Need for This Bill
According to the author:
The recidivism rate for parolees released from
California's prisons is nearly twice the national
average. This bill seeks to create a reentry advisory
panel within CDCR so that the relevant stakeholders
may discuss how parole is working the State of
California and how best to implement policies and
procedures designed to successfully re-integrate
parolees into the community.
2. California's Parole Problems
According to the Little Hoover Commission Report, "Back to the
Community: Safe and Sound Parole Policies" (November 2003),
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California's parole system is a billion-dollar
failure. As the State built and filled prisons over
the last 20 years, the number of felons who serve
their time and are given bus tickets home has swelled
to 125,000 per year. But the real problem is that a
growing percentage of those 125,000 parolees are
unprepared to get a job, steer clear of drugs and
alcohol and find a home. Not surprisingly, before
long most of those parolees are back on a bus to
prison. There are four fundamental problems:
The time in prison is not being used to prepare
inmates for their eventual release.
Available resources - particularly those in
communities - are not being used to help parolees who
with some assistance could get a job and stay out of
trouble.
And when inmates do get into trouble, the vast
majority of them go back to prison - even if drug
treatment, short jail stays or some other intervention
would cost less and do more to help them straighten up.
Thousands of times each year, parole revocation is
used in lieu of prosecution for parolees who are
suspected of committing new serious crimes.
Parolees are a challenge for all states. But
California's parole policies are simply out of sync
with the rest of the nation. California puts a
greater percentage of felons on parole. The State
offers little assistance to parolees. And then it
sends parolees back to prison for violations that in
other states would land a parolee in drug treatment,
work furlough or some other 'intermediate' sanction.
The numbers bear that out: nationally, one in three
parolees end up back in prison before completing
parole. In California, two out of three parolees
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return to prison. Criminologists say California's
parolees are no more dangerous than those in others
states. Rather, California has created a revolving
door that does not adequately distinguish between
parolees who should be able to make it on the outside
and those who should go back to prison for a longer
period of time. California puts more offenders on
parole: California averages 95% and the national
average is 82%. More prison commitments are returning
parolees; California averages 67% and the national
average is 35%. Fewer parolees successfully complete
parole; in California, the average is 21% and the
national average is 42%.
California is not even doing as well on this score as
it once did. Returning prisoners are less prepared
than ever before to get a job, stay sober and
successfully reunite with family and community. In
1980, about one in four parolees ended up back in
prison. And now, with two out of three coming back,
prisons are overcrowded and constantly churning with
inmates - frustrating the efforts that do exist to
teach and counsel inmates, as well as punish them.
Also caught up in this recycling of parole violators
are scores of serious criminals, who are blamed, but
never formally prosecuted, for murder, assault and
rape. Without another trial - or the long sentences
they would receive - many of these criminals are
imprisoned for a few months and then given another bus
ticket home. The bottom line: California's
correctional system costs more than it should and it
does not provide the public safety that it could.
Incarcerating parole violators costs $900 million per
year. The State spends another $465 million on
parole, the bulk of which is for parole agents who
spend much of their time filling out paperwork to send
parolees back to prison. Another $660 million is
spent incarcerating parolees convicted of committing
new crimes.
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3. Repairing California's Parole Problems
The Little Hoover Commission also stated in its 2003 report,
Reforms should begin with - and be faithfully guided
by - a commitment to align policies, programs and
resources to improving public safety as defined by
both the incapacitation of serious criminals and the
successful reintegration of offenders who serve their
time and come back home. Prisons have excelled at
what they have been asked to do: manage more and more
inmates without escapes or riots. But eventually, all
felons are released. Prison time also must be used to
help inmates learn basic skills, kick drug habits, and
plan for their release. Communities also must do
more. As the prison system expanded, the link between
state correctional and local law enforcement agencies
has weakened. Frustrated with a parole system they
describe as 'broken', some local law enforcement
officials have stepped in to provide the supervision
and assistance that most felons need to go from
cellblock to neighborhood. But all community assets -
from community police to the pulpits - need to help
willing parolees obey the law and become
self-sufficient. Workforce investment boards,
community colleges, adult schools, Alcoholics'
Anonymous, local charities and labor unions all have a
role.
In February 2005, the Little Hoover Commission published
"Reconstructing Government: A Review of the Governor's Plan
Reforming California's Youth & Adult Correctional Agency." The
report addressed the importance of parole reform;
"The success of efforts to better prepare inmates
for release hinges in large part on the success of
parole reforms in reducing the size of the prison
population so that educational, vocational and
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treatment programs can be more effectively managed
and delivered. The implementation of parole reforms
to reduce the size of the prison population and
improve efforts to prepare inmates for release to
the community should be a high priority."
"In 2003, the Commission reported that California
has the second highest parole failure rate in the
country. Sixty-seven percent of California prison
commitments are parolees returned to custody
compared to a national average of 35 percent. The
Commission recommended that the State cut costs and
improve outcomes by using alternatives to prison for
the large percentage of parole violators returned to
prison for drug use and possession. The
Legislature, in the 2003-04 Budget Act directed the
department to implement a series of reforms,
including alternatives to prison, to reduce the
prison population.
"Despite Secretary Hickman's assertion that
technical violation and parole discharge reforms are
progressing, the prison population has grown. Given
overcrowding, reducing the prison population is
critical to effectively implementing programs to
prepare inmates for release. The Commission and the
Independent Review Panel<1> recommended that the
State shift the responsibility for parolees to
communities for certain nonviolent offenders.
Neither the reorganization plan nor the strategic
plan address the parole reforms required by the
Legislature or the recommendations for shifting
parole to counties. In the strategic plan,
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<1> This refers to the Corrections Independent Review Panel
("IRP") assembled by Governor Schwarzenegger and Chaired by
former Governor George Deukmejian, which was tasked with
conducting a comprehensive review of California's corrections
system and make recommendations for reform. The IRP issued its
Report in July 2004.
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expansions of evidence-based reentry and parole
supervision strategies are not slated not to occur
until 2007, but should be accelerated."
This bill would create a reentry advisory panel within CDCR to
enable the relevant stakeholders to discuss how parole is
working the State of California and how best to implement
policies and procedures.
SHOULD THE SECRETARY OF THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS
AND REHABILITATION (CDCR) BE REQUIRED TO ESTABLISH A REENTRY
ADVISORY COMMITTEE (RAC), AS SPECIFIED, TO ADVISE THE SECRETARY
ON ALL MATTERS RELATED TO THE SUCCESSFUL STATEWIDE PLANNING,
IMPLEMENTATION AND OUTCOMES OF ALL REENTRY PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
OFFERED BY CDCR?
***************
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