BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 807|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 807
Author: Fuentes (D)
Amended: 8/17/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 5-0, 7/7/09
AYES: Leno, Cedillo, Hancock, Steinberg, Wright
NO VOTE RECORDED: Benoit, Huff
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-1, 8/17/09
AYES: Kehoe, Corbett, Denham, Leno, Price, Wolk, Yee
NOES: Cox
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hancock, Oropeza, Runner, Walters,
Wyland
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-1, 6/2/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Restitution centers: direct placement by the
sentencing court
SOURCE : California Public Defenders Association
DIGEST : This bill 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 also allows the court to
CONTINUED
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order CDCR to place specified defendants in restitution
centers; expands from 32 months to 60 months the maximum
sentence a defendant can receive and remain eligible for
placement in a restitution center; expands eligibility to
include individuals without felony drug sales convictions
in the previous five years; (existing law excludes all
individuals with felony drug sales convictions); and makes
findings concerning the benefits of restitution centers.
ANALYSIS : This bill revises what is included by the term
"restitution" for these purposes, and provide that inmates
who commit crimes involving direct victims shall receive
priority placement in restitution centers, as specified.
This bill requires CDCR, no later than June 30, 2011, to
reopen and operate two restitution centers. This bill
provides that this requirement shall not become operative
if certain reforms are implemented, as specified.
The bill specifies that the court may order the department
to place an eligible defendant in a restitution center if
the court makes an order for a restitution fine.
Existing law provides criteria for eligibility for
placement in a restitution center, including in part, that
a defendant is eligible for placement in a restitution
center if he/she has not served a prison term within the
five years prior to the present conviction, does not have a
criminal history of a conviction for the sale of drugs or
for a crime involving violence or sex, and did not receive
a sentence of more than 36 months.
This bill revises those criteria to provide, among other
criteria, that a defendant is eligible for placement in a
restitution center if he/she does not have a criminal
history of a conviction for the sale of drugs within the
previous five years, or for an offense requiring
registration as a sex offender, or for a serious or violent
felony, and the defendant did not receive a sentence of
more than 60 months for the current offense or offenses.
This bill states findings and declarations pertaining to
restitution centers and inmates:
1. Of the 125,000 inmates annually released from California
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prisons, more than one-half will return to prison within
two years and more than 70 percent will return within
three years.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Being employed is a key factor ensuring a lower
recidivism rate and, thus, reducing taxpayer burdens.
7. It is the intent of the Legislature that defendants
eligible for placement in a restitution center be placed
as expeditiously as possible. To that end, CDCR shall
work in concert with other agencies, such as county
sheriff and public defender offices, to share
information in order to make screening, classification,
and placement more expeditious. The Legislature further
intends that, in implementing this bill, CDCR draw upon
successful pilot programs, such as the pilot program
implemented pursuant to SB 618 (Speier), Chapter 603,
Statutes of 2005.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
Contract/open two $20* $40 $40 General
restitution centers
Operate two restitution
($365)General
centers
Inmate wage revenue ($31) General
Inmate restitution revenue
Special**
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/19/09)
California Public Defenders Association (source)
California Peace Officers Association
California Police Chiefs Association
Crime Victims United
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : 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%. There is also a
looming threat that thousands of inmates will be 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 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
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$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%."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Tom
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield, Brownley, Buchanan,
Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway,
Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes,
Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, John A. Perez, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Price, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres,
Torrico, Tran, Villines, Yamada, Bass
NOES: Nielsen
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bill Berryhill, Block, Duvall, Miller
RJG:mw 8/19/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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