BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 114
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 1, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                 AB 114 (Carter) - As Introduced:  January 13, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              Public  
          SafetyVote:  4-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill authorizes counties to adopt a restorative justice  
          program for juvenile offenders to address the needs of minors,  
          victims, and the community. Specifically, this bill:

          1)States the restorative justice program shall be implemented  
            through a restorative justice protocol developed by the  
            juvenile court in conjunction with the prosecutor, defense  
            bar, probation, victims' groups, law enforcement, community  
            organizations and others.  

          2)Requires the program seek to repair the harm to the victim,  
            the offender, and the community.  

          3)Requires program requirements be tailored to the age, mental  
            capacity, and developmental maturity of the minor, the nature  
            of the offense, and the resources available to accomplish the  
            goals of the program.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          No direct state or local costs. To the extent a county opts to  
          adopt a program, and to the extent the proposed restorative  
          justice objectives, which are generally consistent with current  
          juvenile justice system goals, result in additional or improved  
          programming, local juvenile justice system costs (not  
          state-reimbursable) could increase.

          The bill specifies that no GF shall be used to fund a  
          restorative justice program established by this bill and that a  
          county opting to establish a restorative justice program shall  








                                                                  AB 114
                                                                  Page  2

          apply to other appropriate public and private entities for  
          funding.  

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . The balanced and restorative justice model, on  
            which this bill is based, assumes an understanding of crime as  
            an act against the victim and the community.  The author  
            contends that while criminal justice practitioners have long  
            used techniques consistent with restorative justice, they lack  
            a coherent philosophical framework that supports restorative  
            practice and provides direction to guide all aspects of  
            juvenile justice practice.  

           2)Prior Legislation  . AB 360 (Carter, 2008) was identical to AB  
            114. The governor's veto of AB 360 stated:

            "This bill would allow counties to establish restorative  
            justice programs.  While I am open to prevention and treatment  
            programs which are proven effective, the principles stated in  
            this bill appear to emphasize alternative to incarceration,  
            without ensuring public safety.  It is also unclear whether  
            the restorative justice program, as proposed in this bill, is  
            limited to first or second-time nonviolent offenders." 

                

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081