BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 2295|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 2295
Author: De La Torre (D) and Fletcher (R)
Amended: 8/17/10 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/29/10
AYES: Leno, Cogdill, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,
Wright
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 11-0, 8/12/10
AYES: Kehoe, Ashburn, Alquist, Corbett, Emmerson, Leno,
Price, Walters, Wolk, Wyland, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 6/2/10 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Parole: retention of records
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill requires the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation to retain all files prepared by the
Division of Adult Parole Operations regarding any person
who was paroled who is required to register as a sex
offender, for 75 years from the date of release.
ANALYSIS : Current law creates in state government the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), headed
by a secretary who is appointed by the Governor, subject to
Senate confirmation, and serves at the pleasure of the
Governor. CDCR consists of Adult Operations, Adult
CONTINUED
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Programs, Juvenile Justice, the Corrections Standards
Authority, the Board of Parole Hearings, the State
Commission on Juvenile Justice, the Prison Industry
Authority, and the Prison Industry Board. (Government Code
12838 (a).)
Current law provides that "the supervision, management and
control of the state prisons, and the responsibility for
the care, custody, treatment, training, discipline and
employment of persons
confined therein are vested in the Secretary of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation." (Penal Code
5054)
Existing law generally provides that inmates serving a
determinate term of imprisonment shall be released on
parole for a period of three years. (Penal Code 3000,
subd. (b)(1).)
Existing law provides that any person released from prison
on parole may be released from parole after 1 year, or 2
years for violent felonies, unless CDCR recommends to the
contrary. (Penal Code 3001.)
Existing law provides that longer periods of parole apply
to specified crimes, for example lifetime parole for
persons sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility
of parole. (Penal Code 3000.1.)
Existing law includes these additional provisions:
Prisoners on parole shall remain under the legal custody of
the department and shall be subject at any time to be taken
back within the enclosure of the prison. (Penal Code
3056.)
Any person who has been returned to prison after revocation
of parole may be held for 12 months, and an additional 12
months for prison misconduct. The person shall then be
released on parole for the balance of the period of parole.
(Penal Code 3057.)
That prisoners, with the exception of life prisoners, may
earn custody credits for work and approved programs to
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reduce the period of custody following revocation of
parole. (Penal Code 3057.)
The parole authority, now the Board of Parole Hearings,
shall have full power to suspend or revoke any parole, and
to order returned to prison any prisoner upon parole. The
written order of the parole authority shall be a sufficient
warrant for any peace or prison officer to return to actual
custody any conditionally released or paroled prisoner.
(Penal Code 3060.)
This bill requires CDCR to retain all files, including
handwritten or typed field files, or electronic copies of
those files, prepared by the Division of Adult Parole
Operations regarding any person who has been released on
parole from the state prison who is required to register
pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act.
According to the author's office:
Recent high-profile crimes, like those of John Albert
Gardner, have illustrated the value of parole
information to law enforcement in identifying and
apprehending dangerous suspects. In the Gardner case,
CDCR destroyed the suspect's Field File months before
he was sought in connection with the murders of
Chelsea King and Amber Dubois.
CDCR has since changed its parole file retention
policy to require the indefinite retention of sex
offender parole files. This bill will implement a
recommendation of the California Sex Offender
Management Board and ensure that CDCR will not change
this policy again without Legislative approval.
The law does not currently require CDCR or local law
enforcement agencies, which register sex offenders, to
retain records on sex offenders for any specified time
period. In order to have all the facts about a
registered sex offender, it is essential that all
agencies involved in investigating, supervising,
monitoring and registering such offenders retain
records for at least 75 years, or until the death of
the registrant. Current law requires that the courts,
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the California Department of Justice, and district
attorneys' offices retain these records for 75 years."
(Source: Response to Gov. Schwarzenegger's Request
for Review of the John Gardner Case , California Sex
Offender Management Board, May 1, 2010)
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2010-11 2011-12
2012-13 Fund
DAPO file retention $35 $70 $70General
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield, Bradford,
Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,
DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,
Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Logue, Bonnie
Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,
Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,
Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,
Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines,
Yamada, John A. Perez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Tom Berryhill, Lieu, Audra Strickland,
Vacancy
RJG:nl 8/17/10 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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