AB 1562 Assembly Bill

BILL NUMBER: AB 1562	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 9, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Jeffries

                        JANUARY 30, 2012

   An act to amend Section 2780 of the Penal Code, and to add Chapter
2 (commencing with Section 4965) to Part 4 of Division 4 of the
Public Resources Code, relating to inmate fire crews.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1562, as amended, Jeffries. Fire prevention and suppression:
county inmate fire crews.
   Existing law declares the existence of the California Conservation
Camp program which establishes camps for the purpose of receiving
prisoners and wards committed to the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,
Division of Juvenile Facilities, to perform fire prevention, fire
control, and other work. Existing law authorizes the various agencies
concerned with conservation projects to enter into contracts as may
be necessary for these purposes.
   This bill would authorize the Department of Forestry and Fire
Protection to enter into contracts with  those  counties
 in which the Department of Forestry and Fire  
Protection currently operates inmate fire camps  to establish
county inmate fire crews that would utilize county jail inmates for
the purposes of fire prevention and suppression. The bill would
require that county jail inmates remain under the constructive
custody and control of their respective county correctional
facilities, or an agreed-upon multicounty correctional facility,
while participating in the inmate fire crew.
   The bill would authorize work performed by inmate fire crews to be
coordinated with the efforts of conservation camps, provided that
the county would remain solely responsible for providing health and
medical care to each county inmate participating in the fire crew.
The bill would state that its provisions are severable.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  (a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
   (1) The use of California inmate fire crews is recognized as an
important rehabilitation opportunity for eligible inmates of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
   (2) The partnership and participation of the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection staff  , a   nd, in some
counties, local fire department staff,  in the coordination,
operation, and supervision of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation prison inmate rehabilitation program is a vital
component of the program's success.
   (3) Due to the criminal justice realignment of 2011, many inmates
who would have otherwise been eligible to participate in inmate fire
crews as state prison inmates will instead serve their sentences in
county jails.
   (b) Accordingly, it is the intent of the Legislature that,
pursuant to the following, counties  in which the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection currently operates inmate fire camps
 be authorized to enter into contracts with the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection in order to  continue operations and
to  utilize inmate fire crew programs as part of their inmate
rehabilitation efforts.
  SEC. 2.  Section 2780 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   2780.  (a) Any department, division, bureau, commission or other
agency of the State of California or the federal government may use
or cause to be used convicts confined in the state prisons to perform
work necessary and proper to be done by them at permanent,
temporary, and mobile camps to be established under this article. The
secretary may enter into contracts for the purposes of this article.

   (b) The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection may enter into
contracts with  those  counties  in which the Department
of Forestry and Fire Protection currently operates inmate fire camps
 to establish county inmate fire crews pursuant to Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 4965) of Part 4 of Division 4 of the Public
Resources Code.
  SEC. 3.  Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 4965) is added to Part
4 of Division 4 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 2.  COUNTY INMATE FIRE CREWS


   4965.   The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection may enter
into contracts with  those  counties  in which the
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection currently operates inmate
fire camps  to establish county inmate fire crews utilizing
county jail inmates for the purposes of fire prevention and
suppression.
   4967.  (a) Inmates utilized in county inmate fire crews pursuant
to contracts entered into pursuant to Section 4965 remain county jail
inmates for all purposes. Inmates utilized in county inmate fire
crews shall remain in the constructive custody and control of their
respective county correctional facilities, or an agreed-upon
multicounty correctional facility, while participating in inmate fire
crews.
   (b) Subject to subdivision (a), work performed by county inmate
fire crews established pursuant to Section 4965 may be coordinated
with the efforts of conservation camps established pursuant to
Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 4951), provided that the county
remains solely responsible for providing health and medical care to
each county jail inmate participating in the fire crew.
  SEC. 4.  The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision
of this act or its application is held invalid, that invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given
effect without the invalid provision or application.