BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 220 (Solorio)
Hearing Date: 08/25/2011 Amended: 07/13/2011
Consultant: Jolie Onodera Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
_________________________________________________________________
____
BILL SUMMARY: AB 220 would extend the sunset on the Interstate
Compact for Juveniles (ICJ) from January 1, 2012, to January 1,
2014.
_________________________________________________________________
____
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Annual ICJ dues $37 $37 $37 General
Establish/maintain State Costs likely in excess of $25
annually General
Council
Compliance with Unknown; significant future cost General
compact pressure
_________________________________________________________________
____
STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE.
Existing law sets forth the Interstate Compact for Juveniles, a
multi-state agreement governing the out-of-state placement of
juvenile wards and procedures for the return to their home
states of juveniles who have run away or absconded. The ICJ,
enabled by the Federal Crime Control Act, 4 U.S.C. Section 12
(1965), is authorized and encouraged for cooperative efforts and
mutual assistance in the prevention of crime. The original
Juvenile Compact was developed in 1955. A new ICJ was written
and enacted in 2008 when the threshold of 35 states each
ratified the legislation.
Chapter 268/2009 repealed the old compact and authorized the new
ICJ in the State until January 1, 2012. This bill extends the
sunset on the ICJ to January 1, 2014. Current law assigns the
Executive Director of the Corrections Standards Authority (CSA)
as the Compact Administrator and required the CSA to convene an
Executive Steering Committee (ESC) to review and make
AB 220 (Solorio)
Page 1
recommendations regarding the ICJ, including whether permanent
membership in the ICJ would be the most effective and prudent
means to address supervision of out-of-state juvenile wards. The
CSA presented the ESC's final report to the Legislature in
January 2011.
In its report, the ESC recommended that the State should join
the ICJ and establish the required State Council as soon as
possible to begin immediately evaluating major issues and
reviewing existing ICJ rules to determine whether it is in the
State's best interests to remain in the ICJ permanently after
the January 2012 sunset. The report also stated it is imperative
that all court officers, judges, prosecutors and defense
attorneys, and probation and parole personnel who are or may be
involved in the interstate movement of juveniles be provided
ongoing training in the ICJ provisions.
In addition to the annual dues of $37,000, membership in the ICJ
will likely bring with it additional costs. There will be costs
to establish and maintain the State Council as required by the
ICJ. The ESC estimated an annual cost of $15,000 but commented
that the time required for members to complete
research/analysis, review new rules, and conduct meetings could
drive the estimated costs higher. Given the numerous issues
identified in the ESC report for the State Council to research
and analyze, costs for the State Council could exceed $25,000
annually.
There would be significant future cost pressure related to data
collection, as there are substantial reporting, data collection
and data analysis requirements for ICJ members. The ESC report
noted additional staff and an automated system will most likely
be needed. Although the Interstate Compact Offender Tracking
System (ICOTS) has been established for the Adult Compact, any
significant system changes to the system in order to accommodate
juvenile data would incur costs that would have to be paid for
by the ICJ member states. The Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) staff has indicated that the Interstate
Commission currently does not have a data system ready to be put
in place, but is currently initiating the bid process. CDCR
further indicated that the prospective costs of the data system
and maintenance would be paid by the Commission through the
annual dues paid by member states. There would be significant
cost pressure to increase annual dues to members in order to
subsidize costs associated with the development of a new data
system.
AB 220 (Solorio)
Page 2
The ESC report also noted additional costs related to returning
absconders/runaways to and/or from the State. While most
expenses would be covered by probation departments, social
services, or juveniles' families, the ESC recommended providing
the Department of Juvenile Justice with funds to purchase travel
tickets or other services to expedite the return of youth to
their home jurisdictions to ensure the State's compliance with
ICJ rules. It is unknown whether the State will be able to
comply with all compact requirements or to what extent the State
would be required to pay fines or fees for noncompliance with
ICJ provisions.
Notwithstanding the potential costs of ICJ membership, there are
likely costs to non-participation in the ICJ to the extent
non-members are not afforded the legal protections of the
Commission and/or individual agreements would need to be drafted
with other states. The two-year extension of the ICJ will
provide the State Council additional time to evaluate the major
issues identified in the ESC report to determine the extent of
the cost pressures associated with compliance and whether it is
in the best interests of the State to remain in the ICJ.
Staff notes AB 116 (Committee on Budget) the public safety
trailer bill eliminated the CSA and establishes the Board of
State and Community Corrections (Board) effective January 1,
2012. The Board would be independent of the CDCR and would
operate as a separate entity within the Administration. Any
statutory authority conferred on the CSA shall apply to the
Board on and after January 1, 2012. As a result, the head of the
Board would likely assume the role of Compact Administrator.
Prior Legislation. AB 1053 (Solorio), Chapter 268/2009 repealed
the ICJ previously in statute and enacted the new ICJ that is
proposed for extension under this measure.