BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1369|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1369
Author: Davis (D)
Amended: 7/14/09 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 7/7/09
AYES: Leno, Benoit, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,
Wright
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 79-0, 5/26/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : County jails: home detention
SOURCE : Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department
DIGEST : This bill removes the requirement in existing
law that jail inmates subject to an involuntary home
detention program be misdemeanor inmates.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that the board of
supervisors of any county may authorize the correctional
administrator, as defined, to offer a program under which
minimum security inmates and low-risk offenders committed
to a county jail or other county correctional facility or
granted probation, or inmates participating in a work
furlough program, may voluntarily participate in a home
detention program during their sentence in lieu of
confinement in the county jail or other county correctional
facility or program under the auspices of the probation
officer, as specified. (Section 1203.016(a) of the Penal
CONTINUED
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Code)
Current law also provides that, upon determination by the
correctional administrator that conditions in a jail
facility warrant the necessity of releasing sentenced
misdemeanor inmates prior to them serving the full amount
of a given sentence due to lack of jail space, the board of
supervisors of any county may authorize the correctional
administrator to offer a program under which inmates
committed to a county jail or other county correctional
facility or granted probation, or inmates participating in
a work furlough program, may be required to participate in
an involuntary home detention program, which shall include
electronic monitoring, during their sentence in lieu of
confinement in the county jail or other county correctional
facility or program under the auspices of the probation
officer, as specified. (Section 1203.017 of the Penal
Code)
This bill removes the requirement that jail inmates subject
to an involuntary home detention program be misdemeanor
inmates.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/17/09)
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (source)
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states:
"Based on the lack of space in the county jail system, a
Federal Court has placed a mandatory cap on the number of
inmates in the system ( Rutherford v. Block ). To adhere
to the cap, the Sheriff's Department has reduced the
percentage of time served by inmates committed to county
jail. The Sheriff [sic] Department offered the voluntary
electronic monitoring program and in 2007 ran Senate Bill
959 (Romero and Runner) to create an involuntary home
detention electronic monitoring program, which has been
very successful. Approximately 1500 inmates are
currently on some form of Home Electronic Monitoring, up
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from 437 in 2007. Prior to SB 959, inmates were spending
an average of 10% of their sentence in jail before being
released early due to overcrowding. Now, male inmates
are doing approximately 75% of their sentence.
"Existing law provides that the county board of
supervisors of any county may offer a program under which
specified inmates may be required to participate in an
involuntary home detention program upon determination by
the correctional administrator that conditions in a jail
facility warrant the necessity of releasing sentenced
misdemeanor inmates prior to them serving the full amount
of a given sentence due to lack of jail space. Existing
law also provides specified punishments for the escape or
attempted escape from various confinements, including the
place of confinement pursuant to a voluntary home
detention program.
"To confront the lack of space in California's County
Jail System, AB 1369 would do two things. First it will
allow the Sheriff (correctional administrator) to place
on electronic home detention those inmates sentenced to
low level felonies to be allowed to be placed on home
electronic monitoring, if found eligible pursuant to
current law."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher,
Fong, Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu,
Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning,
Nava, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, 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
NO VOTE RECORDED: Garrick
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RJG:mw 7/29/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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