BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Mark Leno, Chair S
2009-2010 Regular Session B
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SB 174 (Strickland)
As Amended April 22, 2009
Hearing date: April 28, 2009
Business and Professions Code; Civil Code; Code of Civil
Procedure;
Government Code; Health and Safety Code; Penal Code; Welfare and
Institutions Code
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PUBLIC SAFETY
HISTORY
Source: California District Attorneys Association
Prior Legislation: SB 1241 (Margett) - Ch. 699, Stats. 2008
SB 425 (Margett) - Ch. 302, Stats. 2007
SB 1422 (Margett) - Ch. 901, Stats. 2006
SB 1107 (SCoPS) - Ch. 279, Stats. 2005
SB 1796 (SCoPS) - Ch. 405, Stats. 2004
SB 851 (SCoPS) - Ch. 468, Stats. 2003
SB 1852 (SCoPS) - Ch. 545, Stats. 2002
SB 485 (SCoPS) - Ch. 473, Stats. 2001
SB 832 (SCoPS) - Ch. 853, Stats. 1999
SB 1880 (SCoPS) - Ch. 606, Stats. 1998
Support: Unknown
Opposition:None known
(THIS ANALYSIS REFLECTS AUTHOR'S AMENDMENTS: SEE COMMENT 10.)
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KEY ISSUE
SHOULD TECHNICAL AND CORRECTIVE CHANGES BE MADE IN VARIOUS CODE
SECTIONS RELATING GENERALLY TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE LAWS, AS
SPECIFIED?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to make technical and corrective
changes to various code sections relating generally to criminal
justice laws, as specified.
Existing law provides that the Attorney General shall maintain
summary criminal history information and shall furnish the
information to specified persons. (Penal Code 11105.)
Existing law provides that the Department of Justice shall make
a determination whether an explosives permit can be granted to a
person. (Health and Safety Code 12101.)
This bill makes it clear that the Department of Justice can
provide subsequent arrest and conviction information to the
permit issuing authority if the applicant becomes ineligible.
Existing law requires people convicted of specified sex
offenders to register with local authorities including people
who are transients. (Penal Code 290 et. seq.)
This bill clarifies that if a transient convicted in another
jurisdiction enters the state, he shall register within five
working days of coming into California with the chief of police
of the city in which he or she is present, or the sheriff of the
county, if he or she is present in an unincorporated area or
city that has no police department.
Existing law provides that any person who receives money for the
purpose of obtaining or paying for services, labor, materials or
equipment and willfully fails to apply such money for such
purpose by either willfully failing to complete the improvement
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for which funds were provided or willfully failing to pay for
services, labor, materials or equipment provided incident to
such construction, and wrongfully diverts the funds to a use
other than that for which the funds were received shall be
guilty of a wobbler, if the amount diverted is in excess of
$1,000 and by a misdemeanor if the amount is less than $1,000.
(Penal Code 484.)
This bill clarifies that if the amount diverted is $1,000 or
less, it is punishable as a misdemeanor.
Existing law provides that in order for a person to be certified
to roll fingerprints for non-law enforcement purposes, the
applicant must submit a copy of his or her fingerprints along
with a notarized written application. (Penal Code
11102.1(d)(3).)
This bill deletes the requirement that the application be
notarized.
Existing law provides that every public agency or bona fide
research body immediately concerned with the prevention or
control of crime, the quality of criminal justice, or the
custody or correction of offenders may be provided with such
criminal offender record information as is required for the
performance of its duties, provided that any material
identifying individuals is not transferred, revealed, or used
for other than research or statistical activities and reports or
publications derived therefrom do not identify specific
individuals, and provided that such agency or body pays the cost
of processing of such data as determined by the Attorney
General. (Penal Code 13202.)
This bill clarifies that the Department of Justice may release
specified identifying information to public agencies and
research bodies.
Existing law provides that a law enforcement agency shall
release, upon request, a complete copy of a juvenile police
record without notice or consent from the person who is the
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subject of the juvenile police record only to specified persons
or entities including other California law enforcement agencies
including the office of the Attorney General of California, any
district attorney, the Department of Corrections, the Department
of the Youth Authority, and any peace officer as specified.
(Welfare and Institutions Code 827.9(b)(1).)
This bill allows this information to be shared with law
enforcement in other states.
Existing law provides no employee or agent of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Board of Parole Hearings, or
State Department of Mental Health shall disclose to any person
the name, address, telephone number, or other identifying
information of a person who was involved in a civil commitment
hearing under this article as a victim of a sex offense except
where authorized or required by law. (Welfare and Institutions
Code 6603.5.)
This bill deletes a couple of outdated report requirements.
(Penal Code 290.4(g), 290.46(n).)
This bill makes technical changes to the following: Business and
Professions Code section 21606.5; Civil Code section 1670.7;
Code of Civil Procedure section 1219(a); Government Code section
27388(a); Penal Code sections 290.46(b)(2)(S), 1094, 12076(b)(3)
&(c)(2), 12650, 13010(g); and Welfare and Institutions Code
section 1767.35(b).
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
California continues to face a severe prison overcrowding
crisis. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)
currently has about 170,000 inmates under its jurisdiction. Due
to a lack of traditional housing space available, the department
houses roughly 15,000 inmates in gyms and dayrooms.
California's prison population has increased by 125% (an average
of 4% annually) over the past 20 years, growing from 76,000
inmates to 171,000 inmates, far outpacing the state's population
growth rate for the age cohort with the highest risk of
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incarceration.<1>
In December of 2006 plaintiffs in two federal lawsuits against
CDCR sought a court-ordered limit on the prison population
pursuant to the federal Prison Litigation Reform Act. On
February 9, 2009, the three-judge federal court panel issued a
tentative ruling that included the following conclusions with
respect to overcrowding:
No party contests that California's prisons are
overcrowded, however measured, and whether considered
in comparison to prisons in other states or jails
within this state. There are simply too many
prisoners for the existing capacity. The Governor,
the principal defendant, declared a state of emergency
in 2006 because of the "severe overcrowding" in
California's prisons, which has caused "substantial
risk to the health and safety of the men and women who
work inside these prisons and the inmates housed in
them." . . . A state appellate court upheld the
Governor's proclamation, holding that the evidence
supported the existence of conditions of "extreme
peril to the safety of persons and property."
(citation omitted) The Governor's declaration of the
state of emergency remains in effect to this day.
. . . the evidence is compelling that there is no
relief other than a prisoner release order that will
remedy the unconstitutional prison conditions.
. . .
Although the evidence may be less than perfectly
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<1> "Between 1987 and 2007, California's population of ages 15
through 44 - the age cohort with the highest risk for
incarceration - grew by an average of less than 1% annually,
which is a pace much slower than the growth in prison
admissions." (2009-2010 Budget Analysis Series, Judicial and
Criminal Justice, Legislative Analyst's Office (January 30,
2009).)
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clear, it appears to the Court that in order to
alleviate the constitutional violations California's
inmate population must be reduced to at most 120% to
145% of design capacity, with some institutions or
clinical programs at or below 100%. We caution the
parties, however, that these are not firm figures and
that the Court reserves the right - until its final
ruling - to determine that a higher or lower figure is
appropriate in general or in particular types of
facilities.
. . .
Under the PLRA, any prisoner release order that we
issue will be narrowly drawn, extend no further than
necessary to correct the violation of constitutional
rights, and be the least intrusive means necessary to
correct the violation of those rights. For this
reason, it is our present intention to adopt an order
requiring the State to develop a plan to reduce the
prison population to 120% or 145% of the prison's
design capacity (or somewhere in between) within a
period of two or three years.<2>
The final outcome of the panel's tentative decision, as well as
any appeal that may be in response to the panel's final
decision, is unknown at the time of this writing.
This bill does not appear to aggravate the prison overcrowding
crisis outlined above.
COMMENTS
1. Purpose of This Bill
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<2> Three Judge Court Tentative Ruling, Coleman v.
Schwarzenegger, Plata v. Schwarzenegger, in the United States
District Courts for the Eastern District of California and the
Northern District of California United States District Court
composed of three judges pursuant to Section 2284, Title 28
United States Code (Feb. 9, 2009).
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This is the annual omnibus bill. In past years, the omnibus
bill has been introduced by all members of the Committee on
Public Safety. This year, Senator Strickland is carrying the
bill. This bill is similar to the ones introduced as Committee
bills in the past, in that it has been introduced with the
following understanding:
The bill's provisions make only technical or minor
changes to the law; and
There is no opposition by any member of the Legislature
or recognized group to the proposal.
This procedure has allowed for introduction of fewer minor bills
and has saved the Legislature time and expense. The following
bills had the same intent as this bill:
SB 1241 (Margett) - Ch. 699, Stats. 2008
SB 425 (Margett) - Ch. 302, Stats. 2007
SB 1422 (Margett) - Ch. 901, Stats. 2006
SB 1107 (Senate Committee on Public Safety) - Ch. 279,
Stats. 2005
SB 1796 (Senate Committee on Public Safety) - Ch. 405,
Stats. 2004
SB 851 (Senate Committee on Public Safety) - Ch. 468,
Stats. 2003
SB 1852 (Senate Committee on Public Safety) - Ch. 545,
Stats. 2002
SB 485 (Senate Committee on Public Safety) - Ch. 473,
Stats. 2001
SB 832 (Senate Committee on Public Safety) - Ch. 853,
Stats. 1999
SB 1880 (Senate Committee on Public Safety) - Ch. 606,
Stats. 1998
2. Amendment to Health and Safety Code Section 2101
Currently, subsequent arrest and conviction information is not
provided for explosives permit holders under Health and Safety
Code section 12101. The change in this bill will allow the DOJ
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to provide such information to local agencies.
3. Amendment to Penal Code Section 290.011
The Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA - Penal Code
290-290.023) requires that offenders convicted in other
jurisdictions must register in California if certain
requirements set out in Penal Code section 290.005 are met.
However, the statute needs to be clarified regarding the duty to
register transient sex offenders who come into the state from
other jurisdictions. While it is clear that a sex offender from
another jurisdiction who moves into a residence has 5 working
days to register (Penal Code 290(b)), it is not clear that
such an offender who is transient has 5 working days after
entering California to register, wherever he or she is located
on that date. This amendment clarifies the duty of such a
transient sex offender to register.
4. Amendment to Penal Code Section 484b
Penal Code section 484b (Diversion of Construction Funds) makes
it an alternate felony/misdemeanor to divert in excess of $1,000
in construction funds. The statute also makes it a misdemeanor
to divert less than $1,000 in construction funds. It thus fails
to address a diversion of $1,000 exactly. The statute should be
amended to make it a misdemeanor to divert $1,000 or less in
construction funds.
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5. Amendment Penal Code Section 11102.1(d)(3)
In order for a person to be certified to roll fingerprint images
for non-law enforcement purposes, the applicant must submit a
copy of his or her fingerprints along with a notarized written
application. This notarization requirement is unique to this
application type and is redundant in light of the fact that
fingerprints must be submitted along with the application. This
requirement should be deleted.
6. Amendment Penal Code Section 13202
Penal Code sections 11105 (g), 13305(a) and 13202 conflict
regarding the use of criminal history information for research
purposes. While sections 11105(g) and 13305(a) specifically
state that it is a violation of law to release the identity of
the subject of a record, section 13202 states that certain
public agencies and bona fide research bodies are authorized to
receive personal identifiable information on the subject of a
record. This amendment clarifies that the Department of Justice
may release identifying information to public agencies and
research bodies.
7. Amendment to Welfare and Institutions Code Section
827.9(b)(1)
This proposal seeks to amend California Welfare and Institutions
Code section 827.9(b)(1) to allow for vital information sharing
with other law enforcement agencies in neighboring states. Over
the last few years, we have seen a tremendous increase in the
number of gang members who are living, or now residing in
neighboring states such as in Las Vegas, Nevada, Phoenix, and
Arizona. Some of these gang members are juveniles. In an
effort to better communicate and information share with other
law enforcement agencies, we have developed a computer
information sharing system called CopLink that will assist law
enforcement with information sharing. The problem law
enforcement has run into is that the Welfare and Institutions
Code section 827.0 (b)(1) only allows law enforcement to share
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information on juveniles to "California" law enforcement
agencies, which means that California's neighboring states that
share information with our law enforcement cannot get access to
California information or databases. The proposal also makes
two other technical, non substantial, changes to that section.
8. Amendment to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 6603.5
Last year, AB 2410 (Stats. 2008 Chapter 155) was enacted. The
amended statute ensures the protection of the name, address,
telephone number, or other identifying personal information of
victims and witnesses from being released to a respondent,
his/her family, or anyone else in Sexually Violent Predator
petitions. In drafting the regulations to implement the
provisions of AB 2410, the Board of Parole Hearings and the
Department of Mental Health requested more explicit authority
than what is granted in Welfare and Institutions Code sections
6601(d) and (h) to authorize the release of information to the
district attorney (prosecuting attorney). This amendment
expressly addresses the release of this information to the
prosecuting attorney.
9. Other Changes
As noted in the Purpose section of this analysis, other changes
in this bill are technical, grammatical, or nonsubstantive
changes.
10. Delete Changes to Penal Code Section 830.1c
As it leaves Committee, this bill will be amended to delete the
changes to Penal Code Section 830.1c.
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