BILL NUMBER: AB 999 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 30, 2009
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 10, 2009
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 31, 2009
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Skinner
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Hall, Swanson, and Torlakson)
(Coauthor: Senator Yee)
FEBRUARY 27, 2009
An act to amend Section 1719 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to juveniles.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 999, as amended, Skinner. Juveniles: Division of Juvenile
Facilities.
Existing law sets forth the powers and duties of the Division of
Juvenile Facilities in the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation with respect to wards in its custody, including, but
not limited to, the return of persons to the court of commitment for
redisposition by the court, determination of offense category, and
setting of parole consideration dates. Existing law requires the
department to promulgate policies and regulations implementing a
departmentwide system of graduated sanctions for addressing ward
disciplinary matters, including extending a ward's parole
consideration date, subject to appeal, from one to not more than 12
months, for a sustained serious misconduct violation, as specified.
The department is also authorized to promulgate regulations to
establish a process for granting wards who have successfully
responded to disciplinary sanctions a reduction of up to 50% of any
time acquired for disciplinary matters.
This bill would revise and recast these provisions by including
conducting biannual, rather than annual, reviews,
good behavior time credits , and program time
credits among the powers and duties of the division. The bill would
require the parole consideration projected
board date , formerly referred to as the parole
consideration date, of a ward to be advanced no less than one
day earlier for every day of satisfactory performance, as defined, in
one or more credit qualifying programs, including performance in
education, rehabilitation, therapeutic, work, and
or other programs meant to prepare a ward for successful
reentry into society. The bill would require the division to
promulgate policies and regulations implementing a divisionwide
system of graduated sanctions for addressing ward disciplinary
matters. The bill would prohibit the division from extending or
postponing a ward's parole consideration
projected board date, but would permit forfeiture of not more
than 6 months of combined program and good behavior credits for
sustained serious misconduct. The bill would require the division to
provide a document signed by a division official to each ward
defining what conduct constitutes serious misconduct. The bill would
also provide that program credits earned before January 1, 2010,
would be honored. The bill would require the division to allow wards
who received parole consideration projected
board date extensions after January 1, 2009, and before January
1, 2010, and who have successfully responded to disciplinary
sanctions a reinstatement of up to 100 % 100%
of the time added.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1719 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
1719. (a) On and after July 1, 2005, the following powers and
duties shall be exercised and performed by the Board of Parole
Hearings: discharges of commitment, orders to parole and conditions
thereof, revocation or suspension of parole, and disciplinary
appeals.
(b) Any ward may appeal an adjustment to his or her
parole consideration projected board date to a
panel comprised of at least two commissioners.
(c) The following powers and duties shall be exercised and
performed by the Division of Juvenile Facilities: return of persons
to the court of commitment for redisposition by the court,
determination of offense category, setting of parole
consideration projected board dates, conducting
biannual annual reviews, treatment
program orders, program time credits, good behavior time credits
institution placements, furlough placements, return of nonresident
persons to the jurisdiction of the state of legal residence,
disciplinary decisionmaking, and referrals pursuant to Section 1800.
(d) Program time credits shall apply for satisfactory performance
in one or more credit qualifying programs, including, but not
limited to, education, rehabilitation, therapeutic, work,
and vocational education, training, drug
treatment, anger management, or other programs meant to prepare
a ward for successful reentry into society. For every day of
satisfactory performance in one or more credit qualifying programs,
as designated by the Chief Deputy Secretary for Juvenile Justice, the
parole consideration projected board
date of a ward shall be advanced no less than one day earlier.
(e) For the purposes of this section, "satisfactory performance"
means progress in a credit-qualifying program, such as any one of the
following: completion of assigned work, continuing or improved
participation in programming or class work, continuing or improved
cooperation with the instructor or person in charge, substantial
compliance with instructions, or meeting requirements for
participation in assigned activity.
(1) Failure to work or participate in program activities for
reasons which are beyond the ward's control shall not be cause for
denial or forfeiture of participation credit. These circumstances may
include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A) The ward has not been given instructions, an order, or an
assignment to perform or participate in educational, vocational, or
program activities.
(B) The ward's work or program assignment has been temporarily
suspended or permanently terminated, and the ward has not been
admitted into another educational, vocational, or rehabilitative
program.
(C)
(A) The ward is medically excluded or restricted from
work or program activities , either on a temporary
basis because of illness or injury, or on a permanent basis
because of medically diagnosed physical or mental inability to
participate. or injury.
(D)
(B) The ward has failed to perform or participate after
demonstrating a reasonable effort in the specified activity.
(E)
(C) The ward is restricted from reporting to or
participating in an assigned work or program activity by an order or
action of institution staff unrelated to a disciplinary infraction by
the ward.
(F) The ward's behavior is the result of mental illness or its
treatment.
(f) Good behavior time credits shall be provided independently of
program credit for substantial compliance with rules of the
institution, and substantial compliance with instructions from staff,
the instructor, or the person in charge. For every day of
substantial compliance with disciplinary rules and instructions, a
ward shall have his or her parole consideration
projected board date advanced no less than one-half day.
(g) The division shall promulgate policies and regulations
implementing a divisionwide system of graduated sanctions for
addressing ward disciplinary matters. The disciplinary decisionmaking
system shall be employed as the disciplinary system in facilities
under the jurisdiction of the Division of Juvenile Facilities, and
shall provide a framework for handling disciplinary matters in a
manner that is consistent, timely, proportionate, and ensures the due
process rights of wards. The division shall not extend or postpone a
ward's parole consideration projected board
date. Sanctions for sustained serious misconduct may include
forfeiture of not more than six months of combined program and good
behavior credits established pursuant to this chapter, if all other
sanctioning options have been considered and determined to be
unsuitable in light of the ward's previous case history and the
circumstances of the misconduct. In any case in which a program time
or good behavior credit has been forfeited, the disposition report
shall clearly state the reasons for the forfeiture. The length of any
credit forfeiture shall be based on the seriousness of the
misconduct, the ward's prior disciplinary history, the ward's
progress toward treatment objectives, the ward's earned program or
good behavior credits, and any extenuating or mitigating
circumstances. The department shall promulgate regulations to
implement a table of sanctions to be used in determining program or
good behavior time credit forfeitures. The department also shall
promulgate regulations to establish a process for granting wards who
have successfully responded to disciplinary sanctions a reinstatement
of up to 100 percent of any credit forfeited for disciplinary
matters. A document signed by a department official shall be provided
to each ward describing what defines "serious misconduct."
(h) The division shall periodically review the ward's program
credits and good behavior credits and forfeitures, if any. Reviews
shall occur no less than every six months. At each review, a ward's
parole consideration date shall be adjusted according to the net
credit earned since the last review.
(h) No less than every six months, a ward's projected board date
shall be adjusted according to the net credit earned since the last
adjustment.
(i) Program credits earned before January 1, 2010, shall be
honored. The division shall allow wards who received parole
consideration projected board date extensions
after January 1, 2009, and before January 1, 2010, and who have
successfully responded to disciplinary sanctions a reinstatement of
up to 100 percent of the time added.
(j) Nothing in this section shall preclude the division from
providing credits or other incentives for other desirable behaviors
or program participation.