BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin Murray, Chairman
1240 (Hollingsworth)
Hearing Date: 5/25/06 Amended: 4/5/06
Consultant: Nora Lynn Policy Vote: Public Safety 4-0
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 1240, an urgency measure, requires the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation's (CDCR's)
Corrections Standards Authority (CSA) to develop and administer
a grant program to fund local agencies' Sexual Assault Felony
Enforcement (SAFE) Teams. SB 1240 appropriates an unspecified
amount from the General Fund to the State Controller for
distribution to local agencies for this purpose.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 Fund
SAFE Team grant programUnspecified; likely at least
$6,000General
appropriation
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE
Existing law establishes the SAFE Team program, whose mission is
to reduce violent sexual assault offenses through "proactive
surveillance and arrest of habitual sex offenders ? and strict
enforcement of registration requirements for sex offenders? ."
SAFE Teams typically consist of representatives of police and
sheriff's departments, the participating county's district
attorney's Bureau of Investigations, and the county probation
department.
SB 1240 outlines objectives for CSA to use in developing
standards for a SAFE Team grant program. Counties are required
to provide a 25% match, which may be in kind, and counties
proposing a greater match are to be given priority. The measure
further requires all counties receiving grants to report
annually beginning January 2008, on the programs funded by the
grants and the program outcomes.
The State Controller's Office was unable to provide an estimate
of its costs associated with distributing grant funds to local
agencies. Staff estimates costs to the CSA to develop and
administer the grant program, and to the Controller to
distribute awarded funds, combined should not exceed 5% of the
total amount appropriated.
There are five SAFE Teams currently operating in California -
one, in Santa Clara County, funded by the county with an annual
budget of approximately $450,000, and four others managed by
DOJ's Bureau of Investigations in Alameda, Los Angeles, San
Diego and San Mateo counties. The DOJ-managed teams' budgets
range from $1.2 million to $1.5 million each.
STAFF NOTES the Governor's proposed budget for 2006-07 includes
$6 million for the Office of Emergency Services for SAFE Teams
grants. The Governor's proposed budget further proposes to
increase this funding by $2 million in 2007-08, for an ongoing
program of $8 million.