BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1239
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Date of Hearing: January 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 1239 (Solorio) - As Amended: January 4, 2010
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote:
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires that, "in order to increase participation and
completion rates for academic and vocational education
programs," funding for vocational and academic education shall
not be based upon the total prison population, but upon the
number of prisoners requiring those programs, as determined by
the assessments required under existing law.
FISCAL EFFECT
Significant annual GF pressure, in the tens of millions of
dollars, to the extent inmate academic and vocational education
budgets are retooled to reflect the number of inmates who would
benefit from these programs and to the extent this language
forestalls additional budget cuts. The goal of the proposed
language is to countermand current-year budget cuts and protect
these programs in the future.
The 2009-10 budget reduced spending on inmate academic and
vocational education programs by $59 million, from $212 million
to $153 million. Inmate program cuts in 2009-10 (such as for
substance abuse programming and employment services) total $249
million. It is not yet clear how many education-related
positions - teachers, librarians, supervisory and support - will
be eliminated. Related contracts will be cut significantly. CDCR
is working with the Department of Personnel Administration on
lay-off processes. CDCR has estimated a 30% to 50% reduction in
education-related staff, which would be in the range of 400 to
600 positions.
Even prior to the 2009-10 programs cuts, less than 10% of
AB 1239
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inmates participated in education programs. If the budgeting
direction in this bill resulted in a restoration of funding, the
cost would be in the range of $60 million. If it expanded
education programs to address actual need, as determined by
educational assessments, the costs would be considerably
greater. Expansion, however, would require more than additional
funding, as many inmates prefer paid prison work. Education
incentives, such as pay and sentence credits would need to be
implemented/expanded.
Also, while the proposed 2010-11 budget maintains the 2009-10
program cuts, the governor has stated he will propose virtually
eliminating remaining inmate programs if $6.9 billion in federal
funds does not materialize. This would include the balance of
the remaining $153 million for inmate education programs.
Finally, the sponsor of the bill, SEUI Local 1000, filed suit
against the state in December, alleging the state is violating
various laws, regulations, and policies by reducing spending on
inmate education. To the extent this bill effectively supports
litigation against the state, the result of successful
litigation could be costs in the tens of millions for
restoration of cuts, in addition to millions of dollars for
attorney fees.
COMMENTS
1) Rationale . The author and sponsor, SEIU Local 1000,
reference the correlation between education and
criminality, citing research that indicates correctional
education programs can significantly reduce recidivism.
2) AB 900 (Solorio, Chapter 7, Statutes of 2007), which
authorized $6.1 billion in lease-revenue bond financing for
about 40,000 new prison beds (none of which have been
built) included language to increase inmate education
participation rates, reduce teacher vacancies, and conduct
risk and needs assessments of inmates sent to prison. The
author and sponsor cite the inmate education program cuts
as evidence of CDCR's inability to implement AB 900 program
requirements. According to the author, "this bill seeks to
ensure that future academic and vocational education
programs are not curtailed further at the expense of the
public's safety."
AB 1239
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3) Suggested Amendment . The 2009-10 budget bill requires
CDCR to implement any inmate program reductions consistent
with a lengthy list of requirements, such as (a)
identifying and preserving the most effective programs; (b)
seeking more effective program delivery; (c) prioritizing
inmate placement based on need and likelihood of success;
(d) eliminating vacant positions before laying off staff;
(e) maximizing federal and other funds.
The budget bill language, however, is effective only through
June 2009. The committee may wish to consider codifying
similar language in lieu of the proposed language in the bill,
as this language is consistent with legislative budget action.
4) SEUI Local 1000 filed suit against the state December
17 , alleging defendants "have violated and continue to
violate the provisions of the state law, regulations and
policy by arbitrarily and capriciously failing to implement
the provisions of AB 900, and other portions of the law
pertaining to inmate rehabilitation programs through prison
education - vocational and academic."
Is the committee's intent to support litigation against the
state by directing that funding for education programs be
based on AB 900 assessments?
5) Support. According to SEUI Local 1000, AB 1239 seeks to
protect inmate education programs by "de-linking the
rehabilitation and corrections budget so that as
populations decrease in the prisons, a commensurate
decrease in the funding for education and rehabilitation
programs does not occur, given the unmet demand for these
programs."
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081