BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2262
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 21, 2010
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 2262 (Bass) - As Introduced: February 18, 2010
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 6-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR), effective January 1, 2012, to establish
pilot programs at Folsom State Prison, R.J. Donovan Correctional
Facility in San Diego, the California Institution for Women near
Chino, and the Preston Youth Correctional Facility near Ione to
provide inmates a California identification (ID) card, issued by
the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
DMV would make biannual visits to these four CDCR facilities to
provide ID cards to inmates scheduled to be released within six
months.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Annual costs in the range of $330,000 to support the pilots.
The CDCR would need the equivalent of one position, plus about
$20,000 per institution for additional officer time (GF). DMV
would require about $150,000 for personnel and equipment to
cover the four institutions (MVA).
2)DMV notes potential offsetting revenue to the extent
significant numbers of parolees pay the ID card fee.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author notes that inmates are often paroled
without official ID sufficient to find employment, residence,
benefits, and assistance that leads to successful
reintegration into society. It is not uncommon for
identification cards and drivers' licenses to be lost during
AB 2262
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long periods of incarceration, making it all but impossible
for parolees to reintegrate into society.
Neither CDCR nor DMV has distinguished itself in terms of
helping to create a cost-effective, workable process by which
to provide parolees ID. The problems are significant: cost of
the ID, cost of the program personnel, difficulty
corroborating inmate identification, residency issues, federal
REAL ID/PASS ID Act requirements, inmate apathy. The cost of
not providing ID, however, is also significant. As the author
notes, recidivism and crime take a toll on the state budget as
well as local communities. Identification is key to
assimilation.
2)Current law authorizes DMV to issue an ID card to any person
with proper identifying data. Every application for an ID card
is signed and verified by the applicant before a person
authorized to administer oaths, and must be supported by
evidence of age and identity, including a thumb or finger
print. The fee for an ID card is $26. The fee for an original
or replacement identification card issued for a person below a
specified income level is $7.
If CDCR personnel provide certification, an inmate may receive
a DMV-issued ID upon release. DMV field agents visit CDCR
facilities to take a photo and collect a fee. DMV indicates
its prison visits occur on a sporadic basis.
3)Prior Legislation.
a) An almost identical bill, AB 777 (Bass), which applied
to two prisons, was held on this committees' Suspense File
last year.
b) AB 2099 (Hancock) was vetoed in 2008. The governor
stated that while he agreed with the concept of assisting
parolees, he objected to providing parolees services not
available to the general public: "As I stated in my veto
message of a similar bill last year, this bill will result
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in parolees receiving services that are not currently
available to the majority of the general public. For
example, the Department of Motor Vehicles does not perform
the function of determining whether or not members of the
general public have the ability to pay applicable
identification card fees. These services must be applied
for through other governmental or non-profit public
assistance programs."
c) AB 639 (Hancock) was vetoed in 2007 with a similar veto
message.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081