BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SJR 12|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SJR 12
Author: Benoit (R), et al
Amended: 7/14/09
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 7/7/09
AYES: Leno, Benoit, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg, Wright
NO VOTE RECORDED: Cedillo
SUBJECT : Undocumented criminals
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This resolution urges the Congress and the
President to adequately fund the State Criminal Alien
Assistance Program to fully reimburse the states for the
full cost of incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens.
ANALYSIS : Existing law requires that the Department of
Corrections do the following:
1.Upon the entry of any person who is currently or was
previously a foreign national into a facility operated by
the Department of Corrections, and at least every year
thereafter, the Director of Corrections shall inform the
person that he or she may apply to be transferred to
serve the remainder of his or her prison term in his or
her country of origin and that he or she may contact his
or her consulate.
CONTINUED
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2.Upon the request of a foreign consulate representing a
nation that requires mandatory notification under the
Vienna Convention, shall provide the foreign consulate
with a list of the names and locations of all inmates in
its custody that have self-identified that nation as his
or her place of birth.
3.Implement and maintain procedures to process applications
for the transfer of prisoners to their countries of
origin and forward the applications to the Board of
Prison Terms for appropriate action.
Existing law requires that the Department of Corrections
and the California Youth Authority shall implement and
maintain procedures to identify, within 90 days of assuming
custody, inmates or wards who are undocumented felons
subject to deportation and sets forth specified things that
the procedures must include.
Existing law provides that the Department of Corrections
and the California Youth Authority shall refer to the
United States Immigration and Naturalization Service the
name and location of any inmate or ward who may be an
undocumented alien and who may be subject to deportation
for a determination of whether the inmate or ward is
undocumented. The case files should be made available to
the Immigration and Naturalization Service for purposes of
investigation.
Existing federal law provides that the State Criminal Alien
Assistance Program (SCAAP) provides federal payments to
states and localities that incurred correctional officer
salary costs for incarcerating undocumented criminal aliens
with at least one felony or two misdemeanor convictions for
violations of state or local law, and incarcerated for at
least 4 consecutive days during the reporting period.
(Section 241(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8
U.S.C. 1231(i), as amended, and Title II, Subtitle C,
Section 20301, Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement
Act of 1994, Public Law 103-322.)
This resolution makes the following statements:
1.The federal government has a legal and moral obligation
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to keep our borders secure and, if it does not, it should
pay the state the full cost of incarcerating undocumented
criminals.
2.Federal law states that when a chief executive officer of
a state submits a written request to the United States
Attorney General for reimbursement the Attorney General
will either enter into a contractual arrangement that
provides for compensation to the state to incarcerate the
undocumented criminal alien or take the undocumented
criminals into the custody of the federal government (8
U.S.C. Sec. 1231).
3.The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program was created
in 1994 for the purpose of reimbursing states for the
costs of incarcerating undocumented criminals.
4.Federal law provides that the State Criminal Alien
Assistance Program provide federal payments to states and
localities that incur costs for incarcerating
undocumented criminals.
5.Twelve percent of California's current prison population
is composed of undocumented criminals, with each inmate
costing the state $48,536 each year.
6.In fiscal year 2008-09, it cost the State of California
over $970 million to house undocumented criminals.
7.In fiscal year 2008-09 the State of California was
reimbursed only $111 million from the State Criminal
Alien Assistance Program, making up only 11 percent of
the total cost to house these undocumented criminals.
8.The President of United States recently announced his
intention to eliminate funding for the State Criminal
Alien Assistance Program in fiscal year 2010.
This resolution resolves that the Senate and the Assembly
of the State of California, jointly, that the Legislature
respectfully urges Congress and the President to restore
funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program.
This resolution further resolves that the Legislature urges
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Congress and the President to adequately fund the State
Criminal Alien Assistance Program to fully reimburse states
for the full cost of incarcerating undocumented criminal
aliens.
FISCAL EFFECT : Fiscal Com.: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 7/13/09)
California Correctional Peace Officers Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office:
The State Criminal Alien Assistance Program was
initiated in 1994. This program was created in order
to reimburse states and counties for the cost of
housing incarcerated undocumented criminal aliens in
their prisons and jails.
Federal law states that when a chief executive officer
of a state submits a written request to the United
States Attorney General for reimbursement, the
Attorney General will either enter into a contractual
arrangement that provides for compensation to the
state to incarcerate the undocumented criminal alien
or take the undocumented criminal alien into the
custody of the Federal government (Aliens and
Nationality 8 USC 1231).
On May 7, 2009 President Obama released his proposed
budget for fiscal year 2010. Within this budget, the
President eliminated or reduced funding for numerous
programs that he felt were under utilized or were no
longer needed. In this budget the President
eliminated the funding for the SCAAP program.
According to statistics obtained from the United
States Department of Justice, undocumented criminal
aliens comprise 12% of California's prison population
in 2008. Each inmate costs California taxpayers an
estimated $48,536. Between 2005 and 2008, there was
an 11% spike in the number of undocumented criminal
aliens housed in our state prisons.
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In the 2008-09 fiscal year, California's costs are
estimated to be $970 million. The Federal
Government's reimbursement of only $111 million does
not keep pace with the state's rising costs.
Since 2000, California has been forced to expend
almost $9 billion out of our state budget to cover
federal shortfalls on their legal obligation to
reimburse our state for housing undocumented criminal
aliens.
SJR 12 calls upon Congress and the President of the
United States to restore funding for the SCAAP in the
2010 fiscal year.
Furthermore, SJR 12 calls upon Congress and the
President to adequately fund the SCAAP program to
reimburse states the full cost of housing incarcerated
undocumented criminal aliens.
RJG:nl 7/13/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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