BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Tom Torlakson, Chairman

                                           1334 (Swanson)
          
          Hearing Date:  7/16/07          Amended: AI 2/23/07
          Consultant: Nora Lynn           Policy Vote: Public Safety 3-2
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          ____
          BILL SUMMARY:   

          AB 1334 requires the director of the Department of Corrections  
          and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to allow a nonprofit or public health  
          care agency to distribute sexual barrier protection devices,  
          such as condoms and dental dams, to inmates. 
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          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2007-08      2008-09       2009-10     Fund
           
          Disposal unit installation        $175*       $244*      
          $244*General
               and maintenance
          _____
          * See staff comments
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          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria to be placed on the  
          Suspense file.

          CDCR does not currently require HIV/AIDS testing of prison  
          inmates, but the department estimated in 2003-04 some 1,240  
          inmates in the state's prisons were infected with HIV or AIDS.  
          Cost of their care was approximately $18 million 2003-04. Sexual  
          activity among inmates is prohibited under existing law, and  
          condoms are currently treated as contraband. 

          AB 1334 would require CDCR to allow nonprofits and public health  
          agencies to distribute sexual barrier protection devices to  
          inmates and states that their possession shall not serve as the  
          basis for administrative sanctions. 

          AB 1334 does not require CDCR to distribute sexual barrier  
          protection devices nor does it specify a means of disposal for  










          them. The department indicates it would implement AB 1334 by  
          installing locked biohazard containers in each of its 725  
          housing units for barrier device disposal. Using this  
          implementation method, the department would incur one-time costs  
          of approximately $58,000 to install the locked container units,  
          and department staff would replace the 725 biohazard inserts  
          twice monthly, resulting in staff and materials costs in the  
          $244,000 range annually. 

          If another disposal method were to be implemented by the  
          department, however, and utilized instead, costs could be  
          considerably less.

          AB 1334 is similar to AB 1677 (Koretz, 2006) which was vetoed.