BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 1201
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   June 30, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                  SB 1201 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended:  June 16, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                             Public  
          SafetyVote:6-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the California Department of Corrections and  
          Rehabilitation (CDCR) to assess, using the State-Authorized Risk  
          Assessment Tool for Sex Offenders (SARATSO), every person on  
          parole who was transferred from another jurisdiction and has  
          been convicted of an offense that, if committed in California,  
          would require registration as a sex offender. 

          This assessment must be completed within 60 days of  
          determination by the Department of Justice that the person is  
          required to register as a sex offender. 
           
           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Minor absorbable annual GF costs to CDCR, which reports it  
          currently oversees 71 parolees transferred to CDCR jurisdiction  
          over the past several years. CDCR also states that employing  
          SARATSO became current practice in the wake of the Garrido case  
          (see below).

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . The author wishes to explicitly require risk  
            assessment for parole transfers from other states or the  
            federal system and cites the Philip Garrido case as evidence  
            of this need. 

            According to the author, "Under current law when a parolee is  
            transferred from another state or by the federal government to  
            California, they are not required to undergo the same risk  
            assessment that all sex offenders who are convicted in  








                                                                  SB 1201
                                                                  Page  2

            California must undergo. This loophole in current law was  
            brought to light through the arrest of Phillip Garrido, who  
            allegedly kidnapped and held Jaycee Duggard captive for 18  
            years? When Phillip Garrido's parole supervision was  
            transferred to CDCR he did not receive any type of risk  
            assessment. If Phillip Garrido would have been provided a risk  
            assessment, which was finally done after his arrest, his  
            parole agent would have known that he was at a high-risk of  
            re-offending and the agent would have been able to treat him  
            accordingly. This would have included putting him on a  
            high-risk sex offender caseload. Unfortunately, because of  
            this loophole in current law, Phillip Garrido was able to  
            continue holding Jaycee Duggard captive while under CDCR's  
            supervision for over 10 years." 


           2)Current law  requires CDCR to assess incarcerated registered  
            sex offenders, using SARATSO; if possible, at least four  
            months before release, but no sooner than 10 months before  
            release. If a parolee was not evaluated before release from  
            prison, the parolee must be assessed at least four months  
            before termination of parole, but no sooner than 10 months  
            before termination of parole.


            The Department of Mental Health (DMH) must employ SARATSO on  
            registered sex offenders committed to that department; if   
            possible, at least four months before release from commitment,  
            but no sooner than 10 months before release from commitment. 


            Each county probation department must employ SARATSO on  
            registered sex offenders not otherwise assessed. 



           Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081