BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1986
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Date of Hearing: May 2, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 1986 (Davis) - As Amended: March 29, 2012
Policy Committee: ElectionsVote:5-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill modifies provisions of recently enacted legislation
requiring the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(CDCR) to provide information to the Citizens Redistricting
Commission (CRC) regarding the last known address of inmates
incarcerated in adult correctional facilities within the state.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires CDCR to:
a) Provide the information regarding last known place of
residence by census block rather than ZIP Code.
b) Exclude all inmates in federal custody in a California
facility and all inmates in state custody for whom a last
known address cannot be determined.
2)Requests the CRC to:
a) Refrain from publishing any information regarding any
inmates' last known place of residence.
b) Exclude any inmates per (1) (b) and any inmates' whose
last known residence is outside California from the
population count for any district, ward, or precinct.
c) Adjust race and ethnicity data in districts, wards, and
precincts containing state prisons to reflect reductions
for inmates included in the population count of other
districts, wards, and precincts.
FISCAL EFFECT
AB 1986
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The bill's modifications to current law should, at most, have a
minor net fiscal impact to CDCR and the CRC.
COMMENTS
1)Background and Purpose . AB 420 (Davis)/Chapter 548 of 2011,
requested the CRC to count inmates, for purposes of
redistricting, in their last known address rather than their
place of incarceration. Because the state uses population data
from the U.S. Census Bureau for redistricting purposes,
individuals who are incarcerated in California traditionally
have been counted at the place of incarceration when district
lines are drawn for the state Legislature, Congress, and the
Board of Equalization (BOE). Critics of that practice argue
that it artificially inflates the political influence of
districts where prisons are located, at the expense of other
voters.
This bill makes a number of changes to the provisions of AB
420 in an attempt to allow for that bill to be more
effectively implemented. Specifically, this bill requires
CDCR to provide residence information for inmates by census
blocks, instead of by ZIP Codes, since census blocks are the
unit of geography typically used to draw district lines.
Additionally, this bill seeks to provide greater guidance to
the CRC about how to deal with inmates for whom reliable
residence information is not available.
2)CRC . The CRC was established through Proposition 11 in 2008 to
establish district lines for the Assembly, Senate and BOE.
Proposition 20 of 2010 expanded the CRC's responsibility to
include establishing lines for the state's congressional
districts. Because Propositions 11 and 20 established the CRC
in the California Constitution, and gave it the independent
authority, it is unclear whether the Legislature can require
the CRC to adjust census figures for redistricting purposes.
AB 420, therefore, did not require the CRC to adjust census
figures, but rather requested that it do so. AB 1986
similarly requested the CRC to comply with its modifications
to AB 420.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081
AB 1986
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