BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 648|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 648
Author: Block (D) and Fletcher (R)
Amended: 8/15/11 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/28/11
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price,
Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 8-0, 7/11/11
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Emmerson, Pavley, Price,
Runner, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Lieu
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 68-0, 4/25/11 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Clemency
SOURCE : The Office of the San Diego County District
Attorney
DIGEST : This bill requires an application for
commutation of sentence be served on the district attorney
(DA) 10 days before the Governor can act. In addition,
this bill (1) authorizes the DA to submit a written
recommendation to the Governor regarding the commutation;
(2) requires the DA to make reasonable efforts to notify
the victim(s) of the crime or related crimes, as well as
the victims' families, who may also submit a recommendation
to the Governor regarding the commutation; and (3) recasts
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existing law that requires the Governor to report to the
Legislature at the beginning of each session, information
on each case of reprieve, pardon, and commutation, and
require the report to be made available to the public.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/15/11 clarify exceptions to
the clemency procedures created by the bill.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that subject to
application procedures provided by statute, the Governor,
on conditions the Governor deems proper, may grant a
reprieve, pardon, and commutation, after sentence except in
cases of impeachment. The Governor shall report to the
Legislature each reprieve, pardon, and commutation granted,
stating the pertinent facts and the reason for granting it.
The Governor may not grant a pardon or commutation to a
person twice convicted of a felony except on recommendation
of the Supreme Court, four judges concurring. (Article 5,
Section 8(a) of the California Constitution)
Existing law requires that at least 10 days before the
Governor acts upon any application for a pardon, written
notice of the intention to apply therefor, signed by the
person applying, shall be upon the DA in the county where
the conviction was had, and proof, by affidavit, of the
service must be presented to the Governor. (Penal Code
�PEN] Section 4804)
Existing law provides that the Board of Prison Terms (BPT)
may report to the Governor from time to time, the names of
all persons imprisoned in any state prison, who in its
judgment ought to have a commutation of sentence, or be
pardoned or set at liberty on account of good conduct, or
unusual term of sentence, or any other cause, including
evidence of intimate partner battering and its effects.
(PEN Section 4801(a))
Existing law states that in the case of a person twice
convicted of a felony, the application for pardon or
commutation of sentence shall be made directly to the
Governor, who shall transmit all papers and documents
relied upon in support of and in opposition to the
application to the BPT. (PEN Section 4802)
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Existing law provides that when an application is made to
the Governor for pardon or commutation of sentence, or when
an application is forwarded to the BPT, he/she may require
the judge of the court before which the conviction was had,
or the DA by whom the action was prosecuted, to furnish him
or it, without delay, with a summarized statement of the
facts proved on the trial, and of any other facts having
reference to the propriety of granting or refusing said
application, together with his recommendations for or
against his granting of the same and his reason for such
recommendation. (PEN Section 4803)
This bill requires that at least 10 days before the
Governor acts upon any application for a commutation of
sentence, written notice of the intention to apply
therefor, signed by the person applying, shall be served
upon the DA in the county where the conviction was had, and
proof, by affidavit, of the service shall be presented to
the Governor.
This bill specifies that the 10-day notice requirements in
this bill do not apply if the applicant is in imminent
danger of the death of the person convicted or if the term
of imprisonment of the applicant is within 10 days of
expiration.
This bill provides that the DA may submit a written
recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation
of sentence.
This bill requires the DA to make a reasonable effort to
notify the victim(s) of the crime(s) related to the
application and the victim's families who may also submit a
recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation
of sentence.
This bill recasts existing provision of law that require
the Governor, at the beginning of each Legislative Session
to report to the Legislature each case of reprieve, pardon,
or commutation, stating the name of the person convicted,
the crime of which the person was convicted, the sentence
and its date, and the date of the reprieve, pardon or
commutation and the reason for granting the same, and makes
these reports available to the public.
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FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Notification to victims Unknown; likely minor
state- General and families
reimbursable costs
Public availability of Minor and absorbable costs
to the General
report to Legislature Governor's Office
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/15/11)
The Office of the San Diego County District Attorney
(source)
Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs
California District Attorneys Association
California Fraternal Order of Police
California Narcotic Officers' Association
California Police Chiefs Association
County of San Diego
Crime Victims United
Long Beach Police Officers Association
Los Angeles County Peace Officers Association
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department
San Bernardino Sheriff-Coroner
San Diego County Police Chiefs' and Sheriff's Association
Santa Ana Police Officers Association
Victim Assistance Coordinating Council
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The San Diego County District
Attorney, the sponsor of this bill notes:
"We want to be very clear that this legislation is not,
in any way, attacking the Governor's power to grant
pardons, reprieves or commutations. We simply want to
change the process required by the applicant. Assembly
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Bill 648 will provide the DA of jurisdiction 10 days to
respond to the Governor's intended commutation. The
notice is by the person applying to have his/her sentence
commuted and must occur whether or not the Governor
intends to grant the commutation sought."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 68-0, 4/25/11
AYES: Achadjian, Allen, Ammiano, Beall, Bill Berryhill,
Block, Blumenfield, Bonilla, Bradford, Brownley,
Buchanan, Butler, Charles Calderon, Campos, Carter,
Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Davis, Dickinson, Eng, Feuer,
Fletcher, Fong, Fuentes, Galgiani, Garrick, Gatto,
Gordon, Grove, Hagman, Halderman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi,
Roger Hern�ndez, Hill, Huber, Huffman, Jeffries, Jones,
Knight, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Miller, Mitchell,
Monning, Morrell, Nestande, Nielsen, Norby, Pan, Perea,
V. Manuel P�rez, Portantino, Silva, Skinner, Smyth,
Solorio, Swanson, Torres, Valadao, Wagner, Wieckowski,
Williams, Yamada, John A. P�rez
NO VOTE RECORDED: Alejo, Atkins, Cedillo, Donnelly,
Furutani, Gorell, Hueso, Lara, Mansoor, Mendoza, Olsen,
Vacancy
RJG:kc 8/15/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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