BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 2350
          Author:   Hill (D)
          Amended:  4/12/10 in Assembly
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 6/15/10
          AYES:  Leno, Cogdill, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,  
            Wright
           
          ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  72-0, 4/15/10 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Juvenile justice:  status offenders

           SOURCE  :     Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation


           DIGEST  :    This bill provides that status offenders cannot  
          be held in custody for more than 24 hours except pursuant  
          to the Interstate Juvenile Compact, as specified, to assure  
          compliance with the federal Juvenile Justice and  
          Delinquency Prevention Act.

           ANALYSIS  :    Current law generally prescribes under what  
          circumstances and for how long a minor can be detained in  
          any jail, lockup, juvenile hall, or other secure facility,  
          who is taken into custody solely upon the ground that  
          he/she is a "status" offender - that is, a minor who has  
          engaged in prohibited conduct that is not a crime, as  
          specified.  (Section 207 of the Welfare and Institutions  
          Code [WIC])
           
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           Current law provides that a minor taken into custody upon  
          the ground that he/she is a status offender "may be held in  
          a secure facility, other than a facility in which adults  
          are held in secure custody, in any of the following  
          circumstances:
          1. For up to 12 hours after having been taken into custody  
             for the purpose of determining if there are any  
             outstanding wants, warrants, or holds against the minor  
             in cases where the arresting officer or probation  
             officer has cause to believe that the wants, warrants,  
             or holds exist.

          2. For up to 24 hours after having been taken into custody,  
             in order to locate the minor's parent or guardian as  
             soon as possible and to arrange the return of the minor  
             to his or her parent or guardian.

          3. For up to 24 hours after having been taken into custody,  
             in order to locate the minor's parent or guardian as  
             soon as possible and to arrange the return of the minor  
             to his or her parent or guardian, whose parent or  
             guardian is a resident outside of the state wherein the  
             minor was taken into custody, except that the period may  
             be extended to no more than 72 hours when the return of  
             the minor cannot reasonably be accomplished within 24  
             hours due to the distance of the parents or guardian  
             from the county of custody, difficulty in locating the  
             parents or guardian, or difficulty in locating resources  
             necessary to provide for the return of the minor."  (WIC  
             Section 207(b))
           
           This bill deletes paragraph #3 above, and revise paragraph  
          #2 above to authorize the detention of a status offender in  
          a secured facility for up to 24 hours after having been  
          taken into custody, in order to locate the minor's parent  
          or guardian as soon as possible and to arrange the return  
          of the minor to his/her parent or guardian, with the  
          exception of an out-of-state runaway who is being held  
          pursuant to the Interstate Compact for Juveniles. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No    
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/16/10)







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          Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (source)
          California District Attorneys Association
          Los Angeles Probation Officers' Union, AFSCME, Local 685
          Riverside Sheriffs' Association


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The author states:

            "In the mid 1950s, a number of federal public safety and  
            juvenile interest entities worked together to create the  
            Interstate Compact on Juveniles (ICJ), with the purpose  
            of creating a system whereby status offenders across  
            state lines could be returned to their families.  In  
            1982, the federal government passed the Juvenile Justice  
            and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDP Act) as a means to  
            fund ICJ activities.  By 1986, the ICJ was adopted by all  
            50 states, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands,  
            and Guam. 

            "In 2008, an audit by the Federal government's Office of  
            Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) found  
            that California was out of state compliance with its  
            regulations because it stated that an out-of-state status  
            offender could be held in custody for up to 72 hours.   
            This was out of compliance with federal funding  
            guidelines, which stated that a status offender should be  
            held for no more than 24 hours except if being held  
            pursuant to the ICJ.

            "As a rule, the California Department of Corrections and  
            Rehabilitation (CDCR) keeps its status offenders in  
            custody for the least amount of time possible. Now,  
            especially with prison overcrowding and expensive bed  
            space, CDCR has an incentive to move status offenders out  
            of custody as quickly as possible. 

            "However, due to the statutory inconsistency, the OJJDP  
            has found that CA is not in compliance with federal law,  
            and therefore will be ineligible for federal grants.  The  
            audit suggested that a statutory change be made to  
            correct the discrepancy. 

            "If California becomes ineligible, it will lose a  







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            significant amount of funding for juvenile crime  
            prevention.  California gets the largest amount of  
            funding, with $7,272,000 in the 2009 fiscal year alone."


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  : 
          AYES:  Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall, Bill  
            Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Blumenfield,  
            Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Caballero, Charles  
            Calderon, Carter, Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De  
            La Torre, De Leon, Emmerson, Eng, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,  
            Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,  
            Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,  
            Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie  
            Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande,  
            Niello, Nielsen, Norby, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino,  
            Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio,  
            Audra Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Villines,  
            Yamada, John A. Perez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Adams, Block, DeVore, Evans, Jones,  
            Torrico, Tran, Vacancy


          RJG:mw  6/16/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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