BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
432 (Runner)
Hearing Date: 05/18/2009 Amended: 05/05/2009
Consultant: Jacqueline Wong-HernandezPolicy Vote: Public Safety
7-0
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 432 requires, when the court has ordered a
person to pay restitution to a victim, county probation officers
to provide CDCR with the restitution orders and victims' contact
information for the purpose of distributing the restitution
collected on behalf of the victim. The bill provides that the
victim must give consent before contact information is shared
with CDCR, and that information shall remain confidential.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 Fund
State Mandated Local Program Unknown, potentially
significant costs General
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STAFF COMMENTS: This bill meets the criteria for referral to the
Suspense File.
The workload increase to any individual probation officer should
be minimal. County probation officers already interview victims
to determine appropriate restitution order amounts. They have
ready access to both the victim's contact information and the
restitution order, and are already mandated to provide a report
to CDCR. However, in 2008 alone, there were 6,701 new direct
restitution orders statewide. It is unclear what the workload
would be for each county, and if the counties would have to
provide this information only for all cases after the enactment
date, or all previous direct restitution order cases for which
county probation departments may have victim contact
information.
However, by specifically adding a new duty to probation
officers, this bill constitutes a reimbursable state mandate.
Counties are entitled to request reimbursement from the state
for any additional costs associated with this mandate.
Staff recommends that the bill be amended to authorize county
probation officers and departments to release victim contact
information, as specified, rather than requiring the reporting
of contact information. This would eliminate the mandate, and
the fiscal impact to the state.