BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
807 (Fuentes)
Hearing Date: 08/17/2009 Amended: 08/17/2009
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Public Safety
5-2
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 807 requires the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) to open two restitution centers in Los
Angeles County, no later than June 30, 2011, "unless the prison
reforms proposed by the Governor as part of the 2009 budget
revision are passed by the Legislature and put into effect and,
as a result, the secretary determines that there is an
insufficient population of inmates eligible for restitution
placement." This bill would also:
1) Allow the court to order CDCR to place specified
defendants in restitution centers;
2) Expand from 32 months to 60 months the maximum sentence
a defendant can receive and remain eligible for placement
in a restitution center;
3) Expand eligibility to include individuals without felony
drug sales convictions in the previous 5 years; (Existing
law excludes all individuals with felony drug sales
convictions)
4) Make findings concerning the benefits of restitution
centers.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11
2011-12 Fund
Contract/open two
restitution centers $20*
$40 $40 General
Operate two restitution centers
($365) General
Inmate wage revenue
($31) General
Inmate restitution revenue
($31) Special**
*The 2009 Budget Act included more than $2 million GF to operate
110 restitution center beds, which are not currently being
operated.
**Restitution Fund
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill requires CDCR to open two restitution
centers in Los Angeles County by June 30, 2011, except as
specified, and broadens the eligibility requirements for
restitution centers in order to fill them to capacity.
In November 2008, CDCR closed its two restitution centers in Los
Angeles County due to an inability to fill the beds with
eligible inmates. At that time, the 112 bed total capacity was
only approximately 60% full. If the composition of prison
population remains similar in 2011 to the current population,
the beds could easily be filled with newly eligible inmates
under the provisions of this bill. One mitigating factor in the
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AB 807 (Fuentes)
success of this program will be the scarcity of jobs in the
current economy, since a condition of continued restitution
center eligibility is to be employed.
By design, restitution centers are small (housing fewer than 60
inmates) and are managed by private organizations which enter
into contracts with CDCR. A Parole Agent II is assigned to
oversee each restitution center, but the daily operations are
handled by contracted staff. Based on the previous Los Angeles
County restitution center contracts, the estimated cost for a
restitution center placement is $53 per inmate per day. The
residual savings from moving an inmate out of a state prison is
$23,000 annually, or about $63 per inmate per day. The estimated
annual savings for 100 inmates moved from prison to a
restitution center is $365,000 annually.
In the previous contracts, inmates had to work as a condition of
restitution center eligibility. They had 30 days to find a job,
and had to keep that job (or find another). Under existing
statute, one-third of an inmate's net income (after taxes) must
be paid to the restitution center to off-set the cost of housing
the inmate, and one-third must be paid in restitution to a
victim or the Restitution Fund. The revenue projections
identified in the "Fiscal Impact" assume the following: (a) 100
inmates will reside in restitution centers and be employed at
any given time; (b) it will take each inmate the full 30 days to
find a job; (c) inmates will earn, on average, $8.50 per hour
(California minimum wage is $8.00 par hour); (d) inmates will
work an average of 30 hours per week; and (e) 10% of their gross
wages will be retained in taxes.
There will likely be additional costs to CDCR to negotiate new
restitution center contracts. The "Fiscal Impact" estimates are
for PY or the equivalent overtime to do so. While there is new
workload associated with this bill, the actual program is not
new. CDCR already has guidelines for restitution centers,
contacts with organizations who could run them, and expertise is
negotiating these contracts and supervising the opening of
restitution centers.