BILL NUMBER: AB 1678 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Lieu and Huber
JANUARY 25, 2010
An act relating to prisoners. An act to
amend Section 3000.03 of, and to add Sections 3000.04, 3000.06, and
3000.08 to, the Penal Code, relating to parole.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1678, as amended, Lieu. Prisoners: release and
recidivism. parole.
Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to release a prisoner on a specified period of parole
after the expiration of a term of imprisonment. Under existing law,
the department is authorized to return a parolee to prison if the
Board of Parole Hearings determines that the parolee violated the
terms of his or her parole, as specified.
Under existing law the department is prohibited from returning a
parolee to prison, placing a parole hold on the parolee, or reporting
the parolee to the Board of Parole Hearings for a violation of
parole, if the parolee has not committed a violent or serious felony,
is not required to register as a sex offender, was not found guilty
of a serious disciplinary offense while in prison, is not a validated
member of a prison gang, and has been determined by using a
validated risk assessment tool as not posing a high risk to refined,
as specified.
This bill would provide that a person shall not be granted
nonrevocable parole, as described above, if he or she is required to
register pursuant to the California Street Terrorism Enforcement and
Prevention Act, is listed on the CalGang System, or has identified
himself or herself as a gang member to a staff member of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The bill would provide
that a person shall not be granted nonrevocable parole if the person
was committed to prison for solicitation of murder, stalking, or
domestic violence or if the person has a previous conviction for one
of these crimes. The bill would also provide that a person shall not
be granted nonrevocable parole if an objection to the person's
parole, by a local law enforcement agency, has been sustained by
either the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation or the Board of Parole Hearings, as specified.
This bill would require the department to inform a local law
enforcement agency within 48 hours of determining that a prisoner is
eligible to be released on nonrevocable parole in the local agency's
jurisdiction, and to provide local law enforcement 10 business days
to object to the person's release. This bill would require the
Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or his
or her designee, to review any objection and to not grant
nonrevocable parole if the department concurs with the objection. If
the department does not concur, the bill would require the Board of
Parole Hearings to hold a public hearing in which the person's
victims would be permitted to testify, and would require a 2/3 vote
of the board to release the person on nonrevocable parole.
This bill would require the department to provide certain
information on its Internet Web site regarding inmates released to
nonrevocable parole, as specified. This bill would require that
parole information be accessible to law enforcement agencies through
the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System, as
specified.
Existing law provides generally for the release of prisoners from
the state's prison system.
This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to later amend
this bill to enact provisions that would prohibit the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) from releasing
prisoners who have committed, or intend to commit, certain specified
crimes; to require the CDCR to notify local law enforcement with
certain specified information regarding released prisoners; and to
require the CDCR to provide a list of crimes committed by prisoners
being released early on the CDCR's Internet Web site.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no
yes . State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature to
enhance public safety and reduce recidivism by reasonable,
commonsense reforms that will mitigate the effects of releasing
thousands of convicted felons early, and in some cases without parole
supervision, as a result of the passage of Senate Bill 18 of the
2009-10 Third Extraordinary Session.
SEC. 2. Section 3000.03 of the Penal
Code is amended to read:
3000.03. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall not return to
prison, place a parole hold on pursuant to Section 3056, or report
any parole violation to the Board of Parole Hearings regarding any
person to whom all of the following criteria apply:
(a) The person is not required to register as a sex offender
pursuant to Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 290) of Title 9 of
Part 1.
(b) The person was not committed to prison for a serious felony as
defined in Sections 1192.7 and 1192.8, or a violent felony, as
defined in Section 667.5, and does not have a prior conviction for a
serious felony, as defined in Section 1192.7 and 1192.8, or a violent
felony, as defined in Section 667.5.
(c) The person was not committed to prison for a sexually violent
offense as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 6600 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code and does not have a prior conviction for a
sexually violent offense as defined in subdivision (b) of Section
6600 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(d) The person was not committed to prison for solicitation of
murder as defined in Section 653f, or stalking as defined in Section
646.9, or domestic violence as defined in Section 273.5, and does not
have a prior conviction for any of the crimes specified in this
subdivision.
(d)
(e) The person was not found guilty of a serious
disciplinary offense, as defined in regulation by the department,
during his or her current term of imprisonment.
(e)
(f) The person is not a validated prison gang member or
associate, as defined in regulation by the department.
(g) The person is not required to
register pursuant to Section 186.30, is not listed on the CalGang
System operated by the Department of Justice, and has not identified
himself or herself as a gang member to the department's staff.
(f)
(h) The person did not refuse to sign any written
notification of parole requirements or conditions, including, but not
limited to, the written notification of requirements pursuant to
Section 3067.
(g)
(i) The person was evaluated by the department using a
validated risk assessment tool and was not determined to pose a high
risk to reoffend.
(j) An objection to the person's parole, by a local law
enforcement agency, has not been sustained by either the secretary or
his or her designee or by the Board of Parole Hearings pursuant to
Section 3000.04.
SEC. 3. Section 3000.04 is added to the
Penal Code , to read:
3000.04. (a) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
shall notify all local law enforcement agencies in the jurisdiction
to which a person may be released pursuant to Section 3000.03 within
48 hours of a determination being made by the department that the
person satisfies the requirements of subdivisions (a) to (i),
inclusive, of Section 3000.03.
(b) The local law enforcement agencies in the jurisdiction to
which the person may be released shall have 10 business days,
commencing on the first business day following receipt of the notice
made by the department pursuant to subdivision (a), to object in
writing to the person's release. The local law enforcement agency
shall send its written objections to the secretary of the department.
(c) The secretary, or a person designated by the secretary for
this purpose, shall review any objection made by a local law
enforcement agency.
(d) If the secretary, or his or her designee, concurs with an
objection made by a local law enforcement agency, the objection is
upheld and the person shall not be granted parole pursuant to Section
3000.03.
(e) If the secretary, or his or her designee, does not concur with
an objection made by a local law enforcement agency, the Board of
Parole Hearings shall hold a public hearing, and a majority of the
commissioners holding office on the date the matter is heard by the
board shall conduct an en banc review of the matter. At the hearing,
the board shall hear testimony from any victim of any crime for which
the person has been convicted, and any local law enforcement agency
in the jurisdiction to which the person may be released. The board
shall vote on whether to grant parole pursuant to Section 3000.03. A
vote to grant parole pursuant to Section 3000.03 shall require
two-thirds of the commissioners voting.
SEC. 4. Section 3000.06 is added to the
Penal Code , to read:
3000.06. If a person is released on parole pursuant to Section
3000.03, that fact shall be entered into the California Law
Enforcement Telecommunications System.
SEC. 5. Section 3000.08 is added to the
Penal Code , to read:
3000.08. (a) For all persons paroled pursuant to Section 3000.03,
the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall provide the
following information on its Internet Web site:
(1) The total number of persons paroled pursuant to Section
3000.03.
(2) The crimes for which the parolees have been convicted. The
department shall list each relevant crime and the corresponding
number of persons who have been released who have been convicted of
that crime. The tally of persons convicted of a crime shall include
prior convictions and convictions for which the persons are on
parole.
(b) The information provided by the department pursuant to this
subdivision shall not include the parolees' names or other personal
identifying information.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enhance public safety and reduce recidivism by later amending into
this bill reasonable, common sense provisions that would mitigate
the effects of releasing thousands of convicted felons early without
parole supervision by doing all of the following:
(a) Prohibiting the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) from releasing prisoners who have committed, or
intend to commit, serious, violent, or sexual crimes.
(b) Enabling local law enforcement agencies to object to the early
release of a convicted felon without parole supervision.
(c) Requiring the CDCR to notify local law enforcement agencies
within a reasonable time period prior to the release of prisoners
into a county with critical information about the identity, location,
and criminal history of the prisoners to be released.
(d) Requiring the CDCR to notify local law enforcement agencies
whenever a parolee does any of the following:
(1) Absconds.
(2) Tampers with a GPS or other tracking device.
(3) Undertakes efforts to subvert a parole officers' ability to
monitor the parolee.
(4) Requests and receives permission to relocate outside of the
community into which he or she was released.
(e) Requiring felons to provide identification to any law
enforcement officer upon request.
(f) Requiring the CDCR to provide a list of the crimes committed
by prisoners being released early without parole supervision on the
department's Internet Web site.