BILL ANALYSIS
SB 588
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 30, 2009
Counsel: Kathleen Ragan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Juan Arambula, Chair
SB 588 (Leno) - As Introduced: February 27, 2009
SUMMARY : Eliminates the January 1, 2010 sunset date of the Sex
Offender Management Board (SOMB). Specifically, this bill
deletes the provision of the SOMB statute which allows the SOMB
to remain in effect only until January 1, 2010 unless of later
enacted statute deletes or extends that date.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes the SOMB under the jurisdiction of the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). [Penal
Code Section 9001(a).]
2)Provides that the SOMB shall consist of 17 members, and states
that the membership shall reflect, to the extent possible,
representation of northern, central, and southern California,
as well as urban and rural areas. [Penal Code Section
9001(a).]
3)Requires that each member of the SOMB, regardless of the
appointing authority, shall have the following characteristics
[Penal Code Section 9001(a) (1) to (3)]:
a) Substantial prior knowledge of issues related to sex
offenders, at least insofar as related to his or her own
agency's practices.
b) Decision-making authority for, or direct access to those
who have decision-making authority for, the agency or
constituency he or she represents.
c) A willingness to serve on the SOMB and a commitment to
contribute to the SOMB's work.
4)Specifies the state and local government agencies that must be
represented in the membership of the SOMB, as well as
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non-governmental agencies who are mental health professionals
and recognized experts in the field of sexual assault and its
victims. [Penal Code Section 9001(b).]
5)Sets forth the duties of the SOMB to address any issues,
concerns, and problems related to the community management of
adult sex offenders, and states that the main objective of the
SOMB is to achieve safer communities by reducing
victimization. [Penal Code Section 9002(a).]
6)Requires the SOMB to conduct a thorough assessment of current
management practices for adult sex offenders, primarily those
under direct criminal justice or other supervision, residing
in California. [Penal Code Section 9002(a)(1).]
7)Requires the SOMB to develop recommendations, based on the
findings in the assessment, to improve management practices of
adult sex offenders in the community, with the goal of
improving community safety. Further requires the SOMB to
conduct public hearings, as it deems necessary, for gathering
information and receiving input regarding the work of the SOMB
from concerned stakeholders and the public. [Penal Code
Sections 9002(a)(2) and 9002(b).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author "Under current
statute, the SOMB will sunset on January 1, 2010. This bill
will eliminate that sunset and allow the SOMB to continue its
work into the future.
"In 2006, the California SOMB was enacted into law 'to address
any issues, concerns, and problems related to the community
management of adult sex offenders. The SOMB's Web site
provides the following information about its work:
a) " Vision : The vision of the California SOMB is to
decrease sexual victimization and increase community
safety.
b) " Mission : The vision will be accomplished by addressing
issues, concerns and problems related to community
management of adult sex offenders by identifying and
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developing recommendations to improve policies and
practices.
c) " Background : On September 20, 2006, Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 1015, which created the
California SOMB. AB 1015 had been introduced by Assembly
Members Judy Chu and Todd Spitzer and passed the California
Legislature with nearly unanimous bipartisan support.
"Because California is the most populated state in the Union
and has had lifetime registration for its convicted sex
offenders since 1947, California has more registered sex
offenders than any other state with about 88,000 identified
sex offenders (per the Department of Justice, August 2007.)
Currently, CDCR supervises about 10,000 of those 88,000
sex offenders, of which about 3,200 have been designated as
high-risk sex offenders (CDCR Housing Summit, March 2007).
Additionally, there are about 22,500 adult sex offenders
serving time in one of 32 state prisons operated by CDCR
(California Sex Offender Management Task Force Report, July
2007.)
"While it is commonly believed that most sexual assaults are
committed by strangers, the research suggests that the
overwhelming majority of sex offenders victimize people
known to them; approximately 90% of child victims know
their offenders, as do 80% of adult victims [per
Kilpatrick, D.G., Edmunds, C.N., & Seymour, A.K. (1992)
Rape in America, A Report to the Nation, Arlington, VA
National Victim Center.)
"The SOMB has produced a number of reports since its
inception:
i) "Progress Report, January 2009.
ii) "Adam Walsh Act Position Recommendation.
iii) "Homelessness Among Registered Sex Offenders in
California: The Numbers, the Risks and the Response,
November 2008.
iv) "An Assessment of Current Management Practices of
Adult Sex Offenders in California, January 2008.
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v) "GPS Response Letter to CDCR Secretary. (All
reports available on SOMB's Web site at
http://www.casomb.org/reports.htm .)"
2)Background : As detailed in some of the statements in support
of this bill, the work of the SOMB appears to be well
respected and relied upon by a variety of sources, including
CDCR. According to an article published January 14, 2009 by
the Gate House News Service, "CDCR works continuously and
aggressively to improve its policies on managing sex offenders
and frequently seeks input from the California Sex Offender
Management Board, which was created in 2006 to advise the
Legislature, the Governor, and CDCR in developing sound policy
and recommendations on sex offender management." (CDCR Places
Entire Sex Offender Parolee Population on GPS Monitoring,"
January 14, 2009, )
The Los Angeles Times noted that the SOMB "includes state and
local officials from law enforcement, judicial, and social
services backgrounds." [Rothfeld, Panel: Take Another Look
at Sex Offender Restrictions,", Los Angeles Times (January 14,
2009).] See .] This article
further notes that "California's Sex Offender Management Board
is urging lawmakers to reevaluate housing restrictions in
Jessica's Law that it says is costing the state millions" and
an apparent reference to the SOMB's December 2008 report,
Homelessness among Registered Sex Offenders in California:
The Numbers, The Risks, and the Response.
It is apparent that SOMB's work receives attention from the
media; through that and other resources, the SOMB informs the
citizens of California of pending issues, problems and
potential resolutions.
3)Composition of the SOMB : SOMB's December report lists among
its members California judges, representatives from the
Attorney General and CDCR, public defenders, district
attorneys, probation officers, police department detectives,
and Ph.D.'s. The above-referenced report on homelessness
indicates that the Division of Criminal Justice, California
State University Sacramento provided the researchers: an
attorney as the principal investigator and two Ph.D.'s as
associate investigators. The SOMB's Chair is the Executive
Director of the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault,
and the Vice-Chair represents the California Coalition on
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Sexual Offending.
The membership of the SOMB is set forth in the statute described
above. Members are appointed, according to the statute, by
the Judicial Council, the Senate Committee on Rules, the
Speaker of the Assembly, and the Governor.
4)Arguments in Support :
a) According to the California Coalition Against Sexual
Assault (the sponsor of this bill), "In 2006, the
California SOMB was created with the passage of AB 1015.
In light of the dramatic changes to sex offender policy at
hand, the legislature and the Governor agreed that such a
board would be absolutely necessary in order to ensure that
evidence based practices were promoted in California.
Moreover, the SOMB has been a forum for policy makers and
community members to voice concerns, learn about potential
solutions, and seek guidance from the broad range of
expertise afforded by such a group.
"The purpose of the SOMB is to address issues, concerns, and
problems related to the community management of the state's
adult sex offenders, with a goal of safer communities and
reduced victimization. After two years in existence, it is
apparent now, more than ever, that the SOMB is vital to
successful analysis and implementation of effective public
policy. As an asset to legislators and other policy
makers, we wholeheartedly agree that such a board should
continue indefinitely and the sunset date should be
removed."
b) According to the League of California Cities , "Sex
offender management is a complicated issue for the state
and local agencies that poses serious questions of law
enforcement, community services, victims, and other public
safety stakeholders. The League supports the efforts of
the SOMB to address issues, concerns, and problems related
to community management of adult sex offenders by
identifying and developing recommendations to improve
policies and practices. The League values our involvement
with the SOMB and their work to identify possible solutions
to make California's cities a safer place to live."
c) According to the Assistant Secretary for Legislation,
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CDCR , "Ongoing issues regarding the management of adult sex
offenders will continue well beyond SOMB's current sunset
date. Permanent establishment of the SOMB will ensure that
there is ongoing dialogue, development of best practices in
adult sex offender management, and a thoughtful and
objective approach to the handling of sex offenders in
communities in a way that will lead to improved public
safety.
"The SOMB is composed of a successful cross-section of
members from different backgrounds and occupations, which
helps ensure that varying points of view on the management
of sex offenders are represented in public discussion. SB
588 will allow for the continuation of the successful work
being conducted by the SOMB to improve public safety in
adult sex offender management."
d) According to the Western Center on Law and Poverty ,
"From its inception, the SOMB has grappled with the
extremely difficult problem of how to supervise, house, and
track sex offenders upon release from incarceration. We
appreciate SOMB's expertise in the field, their data
collection and their thoughtful analyses, which have
illuminated possible solutions.
"We have had to oppose legislation for several years that
purports to 'solve' the problem of released offenders, but
simply shifts it to lower income neighborhoods and rural
areas, where our clients live. Other efforts to 'solve'
the problem by extreme reliance on the not entirely
accurate Megan's Law website. We believe the SOMB is the
best hope for designing a real solution."
e) According to the Chief Probation Officers of California
and the California Probation, Parole and Correctional
Association , "The SOMB is tasked with addressing issues and
concerns related to the community management of the state's
adult sex offenders in order to enhance public safety and
reduce victimization. We recognize the value that this
SOMB offers to both local and state governments and we
support the continued operation of their efforts."
5)Related Legislation : AB 505 (Furutani) deletes the SOMB
sunset date of January 1, 2010; and requires the SOMB to
conduct an assessment of the increasing number of unmonitored
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transient adult sex offenders residing in California
communities and the increasing clustering of the housing of
adult sex offenders and provide a report to the Legislature
and the Governor, as specified. AB 505 is pending hearing by
this Committee.
6)Prior Legislation : AB 1015 (Chu) Chapter 338, Statutes of
2006, created the SOMB under CDCR's jurisdiction, with a
sunset date of January 1, 2010.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Coalition against Sexual Assault (Sponsor)
California Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation (Co-Sponsor)
California Probation, Parole and Correctional Association
California Rural Legal Assistance
California State Sheriffs' Association
Chief Probation Officers of California
Crime Victims United of California
League of California Cities
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
Western Center on Law and Poverty
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Kathleen Ragan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744