BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1562
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 20, 2012
Consultant: Jesse Stout
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 1562 (Jeffries) - As Introduced: January 30, 2012
SUMMARY : Authorizes county inmate fire crews. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Declares that prisoner fire crews are an important
rehabilitative opportunity for inmates of the California
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR); that
cooperation between CDCR and the Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is vital to the success of the fire
crew program, and that, because of realignment; many inmates
who would have been eligible to serve in prisoner fire crews
will instead be in county jails.
2)Authorizes CAL FIRE to enter into contracts with counties to
establish county inmate fire crews for the purposes of fire
prevention and suppression.
3)Requires 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.
4)Authorizes work performed by county 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.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that county boards of supervisors may issue orders
requiring county jail inmates to engage in the prevention and
suppression of forest, brush and grass fires in the county or
in adjacent counties. (Penal Code Section 4017.)
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2)Provides that county boards of supervisors may prescribe and
enforce rules and regulations under which inmates prevent and
suppress forest fires. (Penal Code Section 4018.)
3)Provides that inmates and wards may be assigned to perform
public conservation projects, including, but not limited to,
forest fire prevention and control, forest and watershed
management, recreational area development, fish and game
management, soil conservation, and forest watershed
re-vegetation. (Penal Code Section 6202.)
4)Provides that county jail inmate whom sheriffs assign to
conservation camps shall earn two days of credit every day of
service. �Penal Code Section 4019.2(a).] Provides that county
jail inmate firefighters assigned to conservation camps or
state correctional institutions shall earn two days of credit
for every day of service. �Penal Code Section 4019.2(b).]
5)Provides that county boards of supervisors may contract with
other counties to house their county jail inmates. (Penal
Code Section 4115.5.)
6)Provides that county boards of supervisors may release jail
inmates on work furlough. (Penal Code Section 1208.)
7)Provides that counties may contract with CDCR for the
commitment of convicted felons. (Penal Code Section 2057.)
8)Provides that county boards of supervisors may contract with
other public agencies to house inmates sentenced to county
jail in community correctional facilities. (Penal Code
Section 4115.55.)
9)Provides that any division, department, bureau or other agency
of the State of California or the Federal Government may use
or cause to be used convicts confined in the state prison to
perform work necessary and proper to be done by them at
permanent, temporary, and mobile camps established under this
law. (Penal Code Section 2780.)
10) States that CDCR may, during declared fire
emergencies, allow the Director of the Department of Forestry
and Fire Protection to use prisoners for fire suppression
efforts outside of the boundaries of California, not in excess
of 25 miles from the California border, along the borders of
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Oregon, Nevada, or Arizona. (Penal Code Section 2780.5.)
11) Provides that county boards of supervisors may
contract with CDCR to house inmates who are within 60 days of
release from state prison to a county jail. (Penal Code
Section 4115.56.)
12) States that the Director of CDCR shall determine
which prisoners are eligible for employment under Penal Code
Section 2780. (Penal Code Section 2781.) CDCR may return to
prison any prisoner transferred to a camp when the need for
the prisoner's labor has ceased, or when the prisoner is
guilty of violation of any rules and regulations of the prison
or camp. (Penal Code Section 2781.)
13) States that the Director of CDCR shall have full
jurisdiction and control over the discipline of the convicts
performing work at the camps. (Penal Code Section 2788.)
14) States that inmates eligible to earn day-for-day
work time credits under Penal Code Section 2933 shall be
awarded two days credit for each day of qualifying
performance. An inmate's ability to earn two-for-one credit
shall not begin until he/she is assigned and reports to an
established position in the conservation camp setting. �15
California Code of Regulations Section 3044(b)(2).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "AB 1562 works
to provide additional authority and flexibility to CAL FIRE
and the counties to address the threat to our State's fire
protection.
"This bill does not require anything by CAL FIRE or the
counties, and does not specify what the details of contracts
may be. The bill only expands the authority for CAL FIRE to
contract with counties.
"This bill also clarifies that inmates will remain under county
jurisdiction in regards to health care when involved in the
camps. This will avoid placing inmates within the costly and
complex state prison health care system.
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"AB 1562 removes roadblocks to a creative and cost-effective
solution to the threat posed to California's fire conservation
camps and the State's emergency preparedness."
2)Background on Fire Camps : "A CAL FIRE hand crew consists of a
fire captain and 15 to 17 firefighting inmates. The
firefighters that make up these crews are minimum-security
inmates and wards from the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). These fire crews are
directly supervised by a CAL FIRE fire captain. CAL FIRE
inmate hand crews are the infantry of the Department's
firefighting 'ground attack' resources. Their primary
function is to construct fire line by hand in areas where
heavy machinery cannot be used because of steep topography,
rocky terrain, or areas that may be considered environmentally
sensitive."
()
According to CDCR, "There are 42 adult and two Division of
Juvenile Justice Conservation Camps in California. CDCR
jointly manages 39 adult and juvenile camps with the
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and five
adult camps with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Nearly 4,000 offenders participate in the Conservation Camp
Program, which has approximately 200 fire crews.
"CDCR's Conservation Camps Program provides the State of
California's cooperative agencies with an able-bodied, trained
workforce for fire suppression and other emergencies such as
floods and earthquakes. Fire crews also work on conservation
projects on public lands and provide labor on local community
service projects.
"In an average year, Conservation Camp Program inmates provide
approximately three million person hours in firefighting and
other emergencies, and seven million person hours in community
service project work, and save California taxpayers more than
$80 million annually on average."
()
According to a February 2012 report by the Legislative Analyst's
Office (LAO), "The CDCR currently operates 42 adult fire
camps, which can accommodate about 4,500 low-level inmates."
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�See Refocusing CDCR After the 2011 Realignment (Feb. 23,
2012), p. 17;
.
] "In order to be eligible for a fire camp, inmates must meet
a series of requirements. For example, inmates that have
committed certain crimes (such as arson) are ineligible. In
addition, inmates must be eligible for low-security housing.
These screening criteria make many inmates ineligible for fire
camps." (Id.)
3)Criminal Justice Realignment Act's Effect on CDCR Fire Camps :
Realignment limited which felons can be sent to state prison,
thus requiring that more felons serve their sentences in
county jails. Only minimum-security inmates may participate
in the Conservation Camps Program, and all inmates with
histories of violent crime are excluded. Since realignment
sent most inmates without histories of violent crime and most
minimum-security inmates to county jails instead of state
prisons, there will be fewer prisoners eligible to serve in
fire camps. The LAO estimated that the fire camp population
will decrease to approximately 2,500 inmates by 2016-17, a 38%
decrease from 2011. (Id.) After realignment bill AB 109
(Budget Committee), Chapter 95, Statutes of 2011 passed with
language specifically authorizing counties to contract back
with CDCR for state prison housing of county inmates, CDCR
estimated that they would charge $46.19 per inmate for housing
in fire camps. �See County of Madera: Public Safety
Realignment Act of 2011, Local Implementation and Post Release
Supervision Plan, Sept. 27, 2011,
p.5;.]
4)Is this Bill Necessary ? Counties may already have the
authority to contract to create county inmate fire crews.
First, no law prohibits counties, county sheriffs, or county
boards of supervisors to contract with CAL FIRE to establish
county inmate fire crews. Second, many laws already allow
counties to have jail inmates fulfill their sentences in
various other correctional settings besides county jails,
including other counties' jails, state prisons, community
correctional facilities, road camps, and work furlough
programs. Furthermore, existing law permits counties to
establish rules and issue orders requiring jail inmates to
engage in fire prevention, control, and suppression in their
own counties or in nearby counties. Given that county
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sheriffs and boards of supervisors already have such
significant discretionary authority over where and how county
inmates serve their sentences, and given that counties are
specifically allowed to order their inmates to fight fires, it
is likely already legal for counties to contract with CAL FIRE
to create county inmate fire crews. Thus, is it really
necessary to pass a new law for this purpose?
5)Arguments in Support : According to the Regional Council of
Rural Counties , "�W]e are concerned that costs to counties
will dissuade counties - particularly those with large amounts
of convicted individuals serving their sentence locally - from
utilizing the existing CDCR-led process. As such, options
need to be explored. RCRC member counties would like to
further cement the option of directly contracting with CAL
FIRE. We believe AB 1562 solidifies a county's ability - at
the discretion of the county - to contract with CAL FIRE on
either an individual basis or with a group of counties."
According to the League of California Cities , "Inmate fire
crews are crucial to cities' fire prevention and suppression
efforts throughout the state. Members of the League's Fire
Chiefs Department praise the excellent work of their local
fire camps and cite the crews as the major reason for a high
level of success in combating wildland fires from both a cost
and tactical perspective. Their importance is magnified in
light of the fiscal challenges cities are facing and tough
budget decisions that city councils have made in each of the
last four years to keep their cities solvent."
6)Arguments in Opposition : According to the California
Professional Firefighters , "When practically applied, the
provisions of this bill could ultimately trigger conflict
between the state's fire agency and county fire departments
and disrupt local negotiations over the implementation of AB
109 and the Governor's realignment policy where it is not
otherwise necessary."
7)Related Legislation :
a) ABx1 42 (Jeffries) would have required CDCR to annually
allocate funds to reimburse the Department of Forestry and
Fire Protection for its costs associated with the
administration of the state prison inmate fire crew
program. AB 42 was never heard and died at the Assembly
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Desk.
b) SB 1098 (La Malfa) would require CDCR to provide all
inmate classification, reclassification, and readmission
score sheets in its possession to the Department of Fire
and Forestry Protection personnel assigned to the
conservation camp in which the inmate is being placed. SB
1098 is pending hearing by the Senate Public Safety
Committee.
c) SB 700 (La Malfa) would have required the Secretary of
CDCR to give local law enforcement agencies responsible for
prisoners' arrests ten days to file an objection to the
placement of the prisoner in fire camps. SB 700 was never
heard by the Senate Committee on Public Safety.
8)Prior Legislation :
a) AB 932 (Jeffries), Chapter 737, Statutes of 2007,
requires the Secretary of CDCR to provide inmates assigned
to fire suppression efforts with access to weight training
equipment in correctional facilities.
b) AB 824 (Saldana) of the 2007-08 Legislative Session,
would have established additional criteria for the
eligibility of inmates to participate in firefighting
camps. AB 824 was held on the Assembly Appropriations
Committee's Suspense File.
c) AB 191 (Cogdill) of the 2003-04 Legislative Session,
would have required CDCR to house, at the Central
California Women's Facility or the Valley State Prison for
Women, up to 120 inmates trained as conservation camp
inmates, and authorized CDCR and CAL FIRE to use these
inmates in the same manner as inmates housed at
conservation camps. AB 191 was held on the Assembly
Appropriations Committee's Suspense File.
d) AB 2673 (Cogdill), of the 2001-02 Legislative Session,
would have provided that a fire fighting camp of up to 120
female inmates be established at the Central California
Women's Facility or the Valley State Prison for Women. AB
2673 was vetoed. In his veto message, the Governor stated
in pertinent part that CAL FIRE's "'Assessment of the Need
for Additional Conservation Camps' report determined that
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the current number of camps is sufficient to meet the
state's needs at this time. AB 1999 also established a
method for setting priorities for locating any new camps
that might be built. Madera County, one of five locations
in the group, ranked as third priority for the location of
a new camp."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Regional Council of Rural Counties
League of California Cities
Opposition
California Professional Firefighters
Analysis Prepared by : Jesse Stout / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744