BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2392
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2010
Counsel: Milena Nelson
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2392 (Torrico) - As Amended: April 8, 2010
SUMMARY : Limits state prison inmates' day-to-day sentence
credits to inmates actively participating, or willing to
participate, in work, education, or substance abuse programs
rather than from the time of sentence to state prison.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that sentence credits for prisoners may be earned
for active participation in work, training, education, or
substance abuse programs established by the Secretary of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). The
prisoner may earn credit if he or she is willing to
participate in a qualifying program, but is not yet assigned.
For every six months in a qualifying program, the prisoner
will be awarded six months of credits to be applied to his or
her sentence. The prisoner may receive a maximum six months
of sentence reduction.
2)States that work-time credit is a privilege, not a right, and
credits may be forfeited, as specified. Every prisoner must
have a reasonable opportunity to be assigned to a qualifying
program, but assignment must be done in a manner consistent
with institutional security and available resources.
3)Specifies that work-time credits that were previously
forfeited may be restored after one year free of disciplinary
infractions under regulations adopted by CDRC. Loss of
work-time credits because of a commission of a felony may be
restored, but with a reduction of up to 180 days for the
commission of a felony or up to 90 days for conspiracy to
commit a felony.
4)Removes the provision of current law that allows prisoners
serving their sentences in county jail, city jail, industrial
farm, or work camp to receive one day of credit for each day
served.
AB 2392
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5)Provides that a prisoner eligible to receive work-time credit
because of assignment to a conservation camp will received two
days credit for every day of service.
6)Prohibits a prisoner placed in a Security Housing Unit,
Psychiatric Services Unit, Behavioral Management Unit, or an
Administrative Segregation Unit for specified criminal conduct
or validation as a prison gang member or associate from
earning work-time or good behavior credits while in the
specified unit.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Allows for credits towards sentence to be earned, as
specified. [Penal Code Section 2933(a).]
2)Provides that for every six months of continuous
incarceration, a prisoner shall be awarded credit reduction of
six months towards his or her confinement, unless prohibited
from earning credits by another section of law. The maximum
credits earned under this section is six months. [Penal Code
Section 2933(b).]
3)Specifies that credits are a privilege, not a right, but every
eligible prisoner shall have the opportunity to participate in
the credit program. [Penal Code Section 2933(c).]
4)Provides that credits lost may be restored after one year free
of disciplinary infractions, under regulations adopted by
CDCR. A deduction of 180 days will be made from the restored
credits for the commission of a serious felony, as specified,
or 90 days for conspiracy to commit a serous felony, as
specified. Credits may not be restored if the forfeiture
resulted from causing permanent disability or killing of
another. Upon application, a qualified prisoner's credits
will be restored, unless the forfeiture was for more than 90
days, at a hearing evidence is found that the prisoner refused
to accept or failed to perform in a credit qualifying
assignment, or in extraordinary circumstances. Otherwise,
restoration of credits are at the discretion of the Secretary.
[Penal Code Section 2933(d).]
5)Allows prisoners serving their sentences in county jail, city
jail, industrial farm, or work camp to receive one day of
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credit for each day served. [Penal Code Section 2933(e).]
6)Provides that a prisoner who is eligible to receive credit
because of assignment to a conservation camp will received two
days credit for every day of service. The service performed
must be after January 1, 2003. [Penal Code Section
2933.3(a).]
7)Provides that a prisoner who has completed training for
assignment to a conservation camp or to a correctional
institution as an inmate firefighter or who is assigned to a
correctional institution as an inmate firefighter and is
eligible to earn credit for every one day of incarceration
shall receive two days of credit for every one day served.
[Penal Code 2933.3(b).]
8)Prohibits a prisoner who is placed in a Security Housing Unit,
Psychiatric Services Unit, Behavioral Management Unit, or an
Administrative Segregation Unit for specified criminal conduct
or validation as a prison gang member or associate from
earning credits while in the specified unit. [Penal Code
Section 2933.2(c).]
9)Provides that the Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention
shall establish the Conservation Camp Program, as specified,
to provide for the training and use of the inmates and wards
assigned to conservation camps in the furtherance of public
conservation. (Public Resource Code Section 4951.)
10)Requires the CDCR to determine and implement a series of
incentives to increase inmate participation in and completion
of academic and vocational education. (Penal Code Section
2054.2.)
11)Requires the CDCR to expand the substance abuse treatment
programs in prisons to accommodate at least 4,000 additional
inmates who have history of substance abuse. (Penal Code
Section 2694.)
12)Prohibits any person convicted of a violent felony, as
specified, from accruing more than 15% of his or her sentence
in credit. [Penal Code 2933.1(a).]
13)Prohibits any person convicted of murder, as specified, from
accruing any credits towards reduction of his or her sentence.
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(Penal Code Section 2933.2.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Currently, many
inmates are going through our correctional system and
reentering society without any participation in a
rehabilitation, education and/or vocation program. Further
exacerbating the revolving door in our prisons, many inmates'
sentences are shortened with 'good-time credits' as they
receive a day off of their sentence for each day they are held
without committing violations. Even prior to the passage of
SBX3 18, inmates received good-time credits for simply putting
their names on a waitlist for a program and never attending a
single class. AB 2392 would require active participation in a
rehabilitation, education and/or vocation program to receive
any good-time credits. It is truly irresponsible and a
serious public safety threat to take criminals off the street,
put them in our institutions, only to become better criminals
and then put them out on the street again."
2)Custody Credits as an Incentive : Although most inmates are
eligible for custody credits, the CDCR has the discretion to
deny those custody credits for violations of law and
administrative regulations. (Penal Code Section 2933.) If
there are no credits to deny, the CDCR will lose a powerful
method of obtaining good behavior among prisoners, putting
both prison staff and inmates at risk. A defendant sentenced
to a term of eight years would serve all but 14 months of that
sentence. There seems to be little punitive value in
extending an inmate's sentence by only a few months in most
cases.
Additionally, the taxpayer will ultimately pay the cost of
additional periods of incarceration. Current law states that
violent sexual criminals are sentenced to 25-years-to-life
without having any prior convictions, meaning that a defendant
will only get 15% credit on a 25-year sentence.
3)Related Legislation :
a) SBx3 18 (Ducheny), Chapter 28, Statutes of 2009,
provided that certain prisoners earn one credit for each
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day served in state prisons or in other institutions while
awaiting transfer to a state prison. SBx3 18 also
authorized up to six weeks of additional credit upon the
completion of specified programs, and expanded the existing
program for extra time credits for inmate firefighters.
SBx3 18 also revised the time credits for inmate of city or
county jails.
b) AB 999 (Skinner) would have required the date of an
incarcerated ward be advanced one day for each day of
satisfactory performance in designated programs. No more
than six months credit could be earned. AB 999 was placed
in the Senate inactive file.
c) AB 1369 (Davis) would have allowed counties to release
felony inmates on involuntary home detention if the
correctional administrator determines that inmates must be
released in order to prevent over-crowding. Such a
provision already exists for misdemeanor inmates. AB 1369
was held at the Senate Desk.
4)Prior Legislation : SB 1231 (Lewis), Chapter 598, Statutes of
1996, prohibited individuals convicted of murder from accruing
sentence credits.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
None
Opposition
California Public Defenders Association
Analysis Prepared by : Milena Nelson / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744