BILL ANALYSIS
AB 114
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 114 (Carter)
As Amended May 21, 2009
Majority vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 4-0 APPROPRIATIONS 11-5
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|Ayes:|Solorio, Furutani, Hill, |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Davis, |
| |Skinner | |Fuentes, Hall, Jones, |
| | | |John A. Perez, Price, |
| | | |Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Nielsen, Duvall, Harkey, |
| | | |Miller, Audra Strickland |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Revises the objectives of the juvenile justice system
to include principles of restorative justice and authorizes
communities to adopt restorative justice programs, as specified.
Specifically, this bill :
1)States legislative intent to incorporate principles of
restorative justice into juvenile justice proceedings.
Specifically:
a) Recognizes the following three restorative justice
principles:
i) Community protection through a continuum of
appropriate responses that protect citizens and
victims from the threat of delinquent minors' conduct;
ii) Accountability of the minor through
restoration of the losses by the victim and community;
and,
iii) Competency development of the minor through
treatment, education, and building the skills needed
for success in the community.
b) States that the juvenile justice system should repair
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crime-related injuries to the victim, the community, and
the offender. Victims and communities should be actively
involved throughout the process to the extent consistent
with the offender's right to due process and the rights of
the minor and victim, as specified.
c) States the fundamental intention of the Juvenile Court
Law that individualized care, treatment, and guidance be
provided to each minor involved in juvenile court.
2)Authorizes individual counties to adopt a restorative justice
program under the conditions that counties provide that:
a) The restorative justice program address the needs of
minors, victims, and the community,
b) The restorative justice programs follow a protocol,
developed by the juvenile court in conjunction with the
prosecutor, public defender, probation department, victims'
groups, law enforcement, community organizations, service
providers, restorative justice groups, and clinicians with
expertise in adolescent development. The protocol must
address: i) the formation of a restorative justice
council; ii) the process to come before the council, the
rights of minors, rights of victims, confidentiality
issues, timeliness for case proceedings, the scope of
services and orders imposed by the council, the role of the
courts, qualifications for council members, a compliance
evaluation process, and a process for failure to comply.
c) The restorative justice program seek to repair the harm
to the victim, the minor, and the community. The program
shall be tailored to the age, mental capacity, and maturity
of the minor, the nature of the offense, and the resources
available to the minor.
d) Minors may be referred to the restorative justice
program by the court's order for informal supervision,
non-wardship probation, dispositional order, or order for
deferred entry of judgment.
e) If the minor is placed in foster care under the
supervision of a probation officer, the minor may only be
referred to the restorative justice program if the
participation in the program is consistent with the minor's
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foster care case plan, and reunification services between
the minor and his or her family; and does not result in the
loss of federal financial participation for the minor's
placement.
f) No General Fund money shall be used to fund a
restorative justice program, and this bill is not intended
to restrict counties from developing or maintaining
existing programs.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis, "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. This bill
specifies that no General Fund 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
apply to other appropriate public and private entities for
funding."
COMMENTS : According to the author, "I have introduced this bill
because I am deeply concerned about the youth in our society.
There needs to be a way to teach youth about the consequences of
their actions before they commit crimes that land them in
prison. I believe the programs described in this bill will
force California's youth to deal with their victims and the
consequences of their crimes, teaching them responsibility and
how to avoid future crimes. We need to find more approaches to
combating juvenile crime and this bill does just that by
promising care and rehabilitation to minors for non-violent
offenses."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan - Larry Yee / PUB. S. /
(916) 319-3744
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