BILL ANALYSIS
AB 807
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 14, 2009
Consultant: Larry Yee
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Jose Solorio, Chair
AB 807 (Fuentes) - As Introduced: February 26, 2009
SUMMARY : Revises the criteria for placement by the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) in a
restitution center. Specifically, this bill :
1)Revises what is included by the term "restitution" for the
purposes of restitution centers to include direct restitution
to victims as well as other restitution fines and fees.
2)Provides that inmates who commit crimes involving a direct
victim shall receive priority placement in restitution
centers.
3)Provides that a defendant is eligible for placement in a
restitution center if he or she does not have a criminal
conviction for:
a) The sale of drugs within the last five years; or,
b) For an offense requiring registration as a sex offender
pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act, Penal Code
Section 290; or,
c) For a serious felony as listed in Penal Code Section
1192.7; or,
d) For a violent felony as listed in Penal Code Section
667.5, and,
e) The defendant did not receive a sentence of more than 60
months for the current offense or offenses.
4)Removes the requirement that a defendant is only eligible for
placement in a restitution center if he or she has not served
a prison term within the five years prior to the present
conviction.
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5)States findings and declarations pertaining to restitution
centers and inmates that:
a) Of the 125,000 inmates annually released from California
prisons, more than one-half will return to prison within
two years and more than 70% will return within three years.
b) Incarceration costs have risen to $46,000 per inmate per
year, not including the costs of programming for substance
abuse, mental health, or educational and vocational
training.
c) The vast majority of California prisons inmates do not
participate in any prison programs. The majority of
released inmates will be unemployed with few job prospects.
d) The most successful models for preventing recidivism
include public-private partnerships among law enforcement,
government agencies, business and labor associations,
private employers, and community-based organizations formed
to create living wage employment opportunities for eligible
former offenders and to take advantage of existing programs
and incentives for hiring former offenders.
e) The restitution center concept is a model where inmates
serving time for non-violent, non-serious offenses can
fulfill obligations to pay restitution and other
court-related fines and fees in addition to obtaining and
maintaining employment.
f) Being employed is a key factor ensuring a lower
recidivism rate and thus reducing taxpayer burdens.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the CDCR to establish restitution centers for
inmates to provide a means for those sentenced to prison to be
able to pay their victims' financial restitution, as
specified. [Penal Code Section 6220 and 6221.]
2)Provides that a defendant is eligible for placement in a
restitution center if he or she:
a) Has not served a prison term within the five years prior
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to the present conviction;
b) Does not have a criminal history of a conviction for the
sale of drugs or for a crime involving violence or sex;
c) Did not receive a sentence of more than 36 months;
d) Presents no unacceptable risk to the community; and,
e) Is employable. [Penal Code Section 6228.]
3)Provides that the court may order the CDCR to place an
eligible defendant in a restitution center if the court makes
a restitution order or if a restitution agreement is entered
into by the victims and the defendant. [Penal Code Section
6227.]
4)Provides that offenders shall perform all the labor necessary
to maintain the restitution center and meet the offenders'
needs unless the director finds that a particular task can be
better performed by other persons. The director may employ
and pay compensation to offenders to perform work at a center.
[Penal Code Section 6230(a) to (b).]
5)Provides that:
a) The offender's wages earned shall be paid directly to
the CDCR, less any tax deductions.
b) Wages received by the CDCR shall be used to reimburse
the offender for direct employment costs, such as
transportation, tools, clothing, meals, union dues, and
other employee-mandated costs. Of the remaining wages:
i) One-third goes to the CDCR to pay the costs of
the restitution center.
ii) One-third first goes to court ordered or
agreed upon restitution, and then the moneys are paid
to the prosecuting jurisdiction to defray court costs
and attorney fees incurred in prosecution, and then
the moneys are paid to the local jurisdiction for
crime prevention.
iii) One-third goes in a savings account for the
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offender, which can be used to provide support for the
offender's immediate family, purchase items necessary
for employment, or given to the offender to purchase
personal accessories. Upon release, the remaining
money in the savings account is paid to the offender.
[Penal Code Section 6231(a) to (b)(3).]
6)Provides that an offender shall not leave a restitution center
except to go to work or when specifically authorized and shall
return to the restitution center immediately after work or
when required by the person in charge of the restitution
center. An offender who violates this section is guilty of
escape. [Penal Code Section 6233(a) to (b).]
7)Establishes the Sex Offender Registration Act, which requires
all persons convicted in California, federal, or military
court, of specifically enumerated sex crimes to register with
the chief of police of the city in which he or she is
residing. [Penal Code Section 290.]
8)Provides that a "serious felony" includes manslaughter, flight
from a peace officer, reckless driving, and driving under the
influence, when any of these offenses involve the personal
infliction of great bodily injury in any person other than an
accomplice, or the personal use of a dangerous or deadly
weapon. [Penal Code Section 1192.7.]
9)Provides that a "violent felony" includes murder, mayhem,
rape, robbery, arson, attempted murder, kidnapping,
carjacking, extortion, and more. [Penal Code Section
667.5(c).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "California's 33
state prisons are bursting at the seams at 200% capacity, and
California boasts the highest recidivism rate in the country,
at 70%. On top of that is the looming threat of thousands of
inmates being released early, as a result of the prisons
system being in receivership. The overwhelming majority of
inmates in state prison do not access meaningful job training
or other programming while incarcerated and have no immediate
employment prospects upon release, which ensures that they
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will be dependent on government aid. Further, the cost per
day of housing a CDCR inmate in a Restitution Center is
approximately $50 compared to $97 per day to house in state
prison, which saves at least $17,000 per inmate per year. The
Restitution Centers provide an avenue for inmates to be housed
in a less costly community setting while still fulfilling
their obligations to pay restitution.
"AB 807 would expand eligibility to those charged with
non-violent, and non-Section 290 registerable offenses facing
a maximum five-year sentence. AB 807 would further clarify
that persons who owe restitution fines and fees to the courts
are eligible for placement in Restitution Centers, but would
prioritize admission to those who owe restitution to
individual victims. The goal of AB 807 is to ensure that bed
capacity is always filled at 100%."
2)Background : According to the background submitted by the
author, "Citing budget costs, state officials from the
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitations
abruptly closed both Restitution Centers on Thanksgiving Eve
2008 and suspended contracts with the community provider
indefinitely, sending all 74 enrolled offenders to prison,
without informing their employers. Participation in the
Restitution Centers was contingent on obtaining and
maintaining full-time employment.
"CDCR officials asserted that using current criteria, they were
unable to fill all 110 beds, and at time of closing, the two
facilities had combined 36 empty beds. For many years, when
eligibility for Restitution Centers included those owing
restitution fines and fees to the courts, the Restitution
Centers were filled to capacity and had lengthy waiting lists.
CDCR began to adopt a strict interpretation of restitution and
excluded those candidates who did not owe direct restitution
to victims but rather owed restitution fines and fees to the
court.
"The Governor has mandated that inmates be sent to community
centers in order to reduce the number of individuals sent to
prison at the cost of $46,000 per year. Re-opening the
Restitution Centers makes smart fiscal sense especially in
light of California's dire budget crisis and the lingering
threat of the release of thousands of inmates incident to the
prison system being in receivership. The Restitution Center
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model is an example of being smart on crime: it is based on
employment that pays for restitution as well as the cost of
program operating expenses. The Restitution Centers must be
reopened so that victims of nonviolent crime continue to
receive restitution. AB 807 would prioritize those candidates
who owe direct restitution to a victim but would also admit
eligible participants who owe restitution fines and fees to
the courts to ensure that bed capacity is always filled at 100
percent."
3)Arguments in Support : According to the California Public
Defenders Association (the sponsor of this bill), "The
Restitution Centers provide an avenue for inmates to be housed
in a less costly community setting while still fulfilling
their obligations to pay restitution. The Restitution Center
model which is enhanced via AB 807 emphasizes individual
accountability, enhances public safety and creates immediate
as well as long-term cost savings to California taxpayers.
Most importantly, in stark contrast to the 70% recidivism rate
of inmates housed in prison, estimates are that only 20% of
inmates housed in Restitution Centers recidivate!
"In the Restitution Center program which emphasizes principles
of individual accountability, non-violent state prison inmate
participants can obtain and maintain jobs, with the goal of
continuity their employment upon release on parole.
Additionally, earned wages help to directly fulfill
restitution owed to victims. The payment of restitution
assists in making the victims of non-violent crime whole. AB
807 would prioritize those candidates who owe direct
restitution to a victim and would next admit eligible
participants who owe restitution fines and fees to the courts
to ensure that bed capacity is always filled at 100%.
"Earned wages would also help defray the costs of operating and
maintaining the Restitution Centers. In light of California's
dire budget crisis and the fact that California's prisons are
bursting at 200% capacity, Restitution Centers make smart
fiscal sense. Participation in a Restitution Center costs
produces immediate cost savings by slicing in half the cost of
incarcerating an inmate in a California prison.
"The Restitution Center model enhanced by AB 807 is an example
of being smart on crime: it is based on employment that pays
for restitution as well as the cost of program operating
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expenses. These goals are especially important in light of
California's current dire financial condition."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Public Defenders Association (Sponsor)
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Peace Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs Association
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Larry Yee / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744