BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1900|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1900
Author: Skinner (D), et al
Amended: 8/11/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/29/10
AYES: Leno, Cogdill, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,
Wright
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 70-0, 5/20/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Pregnant inmates and wards: least restrictive
restraints
SOURCE : All of Us or None
American College of Obstetricians and
Gynecologists, District IX
Center for Young Womens Development
Crossroads Inc.
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
DIGEST : This bill extends the current prohibitions on
shackling pregnant inmates during labor and childbirth to
also limit the use of restraints on pregnant inmates while
they are being transferred. This bill requires The
Corrections Standards Authority to establish minimum
standards for state and local correctional facilities to
ensure that inmates or wards known to be pregnant are never
shackled by the wrists, ankles, or both, during labor,
deliver, recovery or during transport to or from a state or
CONTINUED
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local correctional facility, unless specific security needs
dictate otherwise.
ANALYSIS : Current law provides that pregnant inmates
temporarily taken to the hospital outside the prison for
purposes of child-birth shall be transported in the least
restrictive way possible, consistent with the legitimate
security needs of each inmate. Upon arrival at the
hospital, once the inmate has been declared by the
attending physician to be in active labor, the inmate shall
not be shackled by the wrists, ankles, or both, unless
deemed necessary for the safety and security of the inmate,
the staff, and the public. (Penal Code Section 5007.7.)
Current law requires Corrections Standards Authority (CSA)
to establish minimum standards for state and local
correctional facilities. CSA shall review those standards
biennially and make any appropriate revisions. The
standards shall include, but not be limited to, the
following: health and sanitary conditions, fire and life
safety, security, rehabilitation programs, recreation,
treatment of persons confined in state and local
correctional facilities, and personnel training. (Penal
Code Section 6030(a) and (b).)
Current law provides that the standards require inmates who
are received by the facility while they are pregnant are
provided all of the following (Penal Code Section 6030(e)):
A balanced, nutritious diet approved by a doctor.
Prenatal and postpartum information and health
care, including, but not limited to, access to
necessary vitamins as recommended by a doctor.
Information pertaining to childbirth education and
infant care.
A dental cleaning while in a state facility.
Current law states that the standards shall provide that at
no time shall a woman who is in labor be shackled by the
wrists, ankles, or both including during transport to a
hospital, during delivery, and while in recovery after
giving birth, except as provided in Penal Code Section
5007.7. (Penal Code Section 6030(f).)
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3
Current law requires CSA to seek the advice of the
California State Sheriffs' Association, the Chief Probation
Officers' Association of California, and other interested
persons, when establishing minimum standards for female
inmates and pregnant inmates in local adult and juvenile
facilities. (Penal Code Section 6030(g)(5).)
Current law provides that any female prisoner shall have
the right to summon and receive the services of any
physician and surgeon of her choice in order to determine
whether she is pregnant. If the prisoner is found to be
pregnant, she is entitled to a determination of the extent
of the medical services needed by her and to the receipt of
these services from the physician and surgeon of her
choice. Any expenses occasioned by the services of a
physician and surgeon whose services are not provided by
the institution shall be borne by the prisoner. (Penal
Code Section 3406.)
Current law states that any woman inmate who would give
birth to a child during her term of imprisonment may be
temporarily taken to a hospital outside the prison for the
purposes of childbirth, and the charge for hospital and
medical care shall be charged against the funds allocated
to the institution. (Penal Code Section 3423.)
Current law requires that any female in the custody of a
local juvenile facility, defined as any city, county, or
regional facility used for the confinement of juveniles for
more than 24 hours, shall have the right to summon and
receive the services of any physician and surgeon of her
choice in order to determine whether she is pregnant. If
she is found to be pregnant, she is entitled to a
determination of the extent of the medical services needed
by her and to the receipt of those services from the
physician and surgeon of her choice. (Welfare and
Institutions Code Sections 222(a) and 1774(a).)
Current law provides that a ward shall not be shackled by
the wrists, ankles, or both during labor, including during
transport to a hospital, during delivery, and while in
recovery after giving birth, subject to the security needs
described in this section. Pregnant wards temporarily
taken to a hospital outside the facility for the purposes
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of childbirth shall be transported in the least restrictive
way possible, consistent with the legitimate security needs
of each ward. Upon arrival at the hospital, once the ward
has been declared by the attending physician to be in
active labor, the ward shall not be shackled by the wrists,
ankles, or both, unless deemed necessary for the safety and
security of the ward, the staff, and the public. (Welfare
and Institutions Code Sections 222(b) and 1774(d).)
Current law provides that mechanical restraints shall not
be placed on an adult inmate during labor, including during
transport to a hospital, during delivery, and while in
recovery after giving birth, unless circumstances exist
that require the immediate application of mechanical
restraints to avoid the imminent threat of death, escape,
or great bodily injury, and only for the period during
which such threat exists. (15 Cal. Code of Regs. section
3268.2.)
This bill amends the current law to provide that an inmate
or ward known to be pregnant shall not be shackled by the
wrists, ankles, or both during any transport to and from a
state or local correctional facility, including, but not
limited to transport to and from a hospital or courthouse,
during labor, during delivery, and while in recovery after
giving birth, unless deemed necessary for the safety and
security of the inmate, the staff, and the public. In
cases where restraints are deemed necessary, the least
restrictive restraints possible shall be used, consistent
with the legitimate security needs of each inmate, the
staff, and the public.
This bill provides that the current law prohibiting
shackling an inmate or ward known to be pregnant during any
transport to and from a state or local correctional
facility, during labor, during delivery, and while in
recovery after giving birth, includes, but is not limited
to, transport, to and from a hospital or courthouse. This
bill provides that the authority shall develop new
standards regarding the shackling of pregnant women
pursuant to the amendments made to this bill in the 2009-10
Regular Session as part of its biennial review of the
standards established pursuant to this section.
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This bill makes uncodified legislative findings and
declarations concerning methods of restraining pregnant
inmates and wards, as specified.
Background
AB 478 (Lieber), Chapter 608, Statutes of 2005, prohibits
the shackling of pregnant prisoners in labor, during
childbirth and during recovery from childbirth and mandated
that the CSA establish, by January 1, 2007, minimum
standards for state prisons incorporating that prohibition.
In addition, AB 478 requires CSA to establish these
standards for county jails, but did not set a time
deadline.
The CSA wrote the minimum standards to apply to the state
prisons. (15 Cal. Code of Regs. section 3268.2.) However,
instead of also writing the standards to apply to county
jails, the CSA instead directed each jail facility in each
county to incorporate these minimum standards into their
own facilities' policies and procedures manuals. (15 Cal.
Code of Regs. Section 1029. ) No deadline was established
for the counties to accomplish this directive.
According to the Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
(LSPC) report, "Stop Shackling: A report on the written
policies of California's counties on the use of restraints
on pregnant prisoners in labor" (March 2010), "[LSPC]
reviewed all of the written policies and other
communications [it] received from the various counties and
found:
"Thus, on the basis of our survey, we can verify that only
17 of 58 counties (less than a third) are in compliance
with section 6030(f) four years after it went into effect.
These include San Bernardino, Alameda and Fresno counties.
The 29 non-complying counties either have no written policy
on shackling of pregnant women in labor (13 counties,
including Los Angeles County) or their written policies do
not comply with all of the specific terms of section
6030(f) (16 counties, including San Diego, Riverside and
Santa Clara counties). For example, several counties list
section 5007.7's exceptions to section 6030's prohibition
on shackling prisoners in labor, without stating the
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prohibition itself, as explicitly mandated by section
6030(f) ["The standards shall provide that at no time shall
a woman who is in labor be shackled . . . "]. Some
counties fail to address the issue of shackling a woman
while she is in recovery after giving birth."
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee analysis:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Funds
Update CSA regulations $30 $30
General
Potential local mandateLikely very minor, if reimbursable
General
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/10/10)
All of Us or None (co-source)
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Dist.
IX (co-source)
Center for Young Women's Development (co-source)
Crossroads Inc. (co-source)
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (co-source)
ACCESS/Women's Health Rights Coalition
American Association of University Women, CA
American Civil Liberties Union
ASK Mentoring Outreach, Inc.
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Catholic Conference
California Church IMPACT
California Commission on the Status of Women
California Medical Association
California Nurses Association
California Public Defenders Association
California Women's Law Center
California Women Lawyers
Centerforce Community Works West
Drug Policy Alliance
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Families to Amend California's Three Strikes
Friends Committee on Legislation of CA
Girls and Gangs
Great Beginnings
House of Ruth, Inc.
Law Students for Reproductive Justice
National Advocates for Pregnant Women
National Council of Jewish Women Peace Over Violence
Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California
Planned Parenthood Mar Monte
Planned Parenthood Shasta Diablo
Rainbow Services, Ltd.
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
Three Hands Together
University of Southern CA - Post Conviction Justice Project
Women's Community Clinic
W. Haywood Burns Institute
National Council of Jewish Women Los Angeles
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights
Black Women for Wellness
California National Organization for Women
National Center for Youth Law
Equal Justice Society
ACT for Women and Girls
SEIU Local 1000
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"In 2005, California was the second state to require
pregnant women who are temporarily being taken to a
hospital for childbirth to be transported in the least
restrictive way possible. Since then other states have
implemented safer measures to stop shackling pregnant women
altogether. Unfortunately in California not all
correctional facilities have implemented policies that
require officers to use least restrictive restraints.
Currently, only one-third of county jails have policies
that comply with current law and many shackle pregnant
women in ways that could cause miscarriage or other
injuries. Studies indicate that the incidence of minor
trauma, especially falls, increases as pregnancy progresses
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and excessive shackling poses undue health risks to a woman
throughout her pregnancy.
"California has the third largest population of
incarcerated women in the country. Tens of thousands of
women go through county jails every year and an average of
4-7% are pregnant at some point in their custody.
Therefore, the use of restraints and shackles when
prisoners are transported should be re-evaluated since the
passage of AB 478 (Lieber, 2005).
"Assembly Bill 1900, would require that the Corrections
Standards Authority create standards for state and local
correctional facilities by January 1, 2012 to ensure that
pregnant women are restrained in the least restrictive way
when being transported. This will protect
financially-strapped counties from being sued and ensure
the health and safety of pregnant incarcerated women. The
bill also establishes findings that excessive shackling
significantly limits a pregnant woman's mobility (e.g.,
shackling by the ankles, across the belly, behind the
woman's back, and to another person) and can cause serious
harm to the woman and her pregnancy. To avoid threatening
the health of pregnant women and potential legal challenge,
it is critical that policies are adopted ensuring that
restraints are properly used with this vulnerable
population."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,
Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,
Blumenfield, Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero,
Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis,
De Leon, DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Feuer, Fong, Fuentes,
Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick, Gilmore,
Hagman, Hall, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber, Huffman,
Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Ma, Mendoza,
Miller, Monning, Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V.
Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Yamada
NO VOTE RECORDED: Coto, De La Torre, Evans, Fletcher,
Harkey, Bonnie Lowenthal, Nava, Villines, John A. Perez,
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Vacancy
RJG:do 8/11/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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