BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2127
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 27, 2012
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 2127 (Hernández) - As Introduced: February 23, 2012
SUMMARY : Authorizes a sheriff or other official to permit a
person in a work release program to receive work-release credit
for participation in educational, vocational, substance abuse,
life skills or parenting programs. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires that participation in educational, vocational,
substance abuse, life skills or parenting programs be
considered in lieu of performing labor in a work release
program on an hour-for-hour basis, with eight work-related
hours to equal one day of custody credit.
2)Provides that a sheriff or other official may permit a
participant in a work release program to, upon documented
proof of employment and verification of attendance at the
worksite, receive work release credit for actively seeking and
ultimately obtaining regular employment upon release from
custody.
3)The sheriff or other official may award up to five days of
work release credit for the job search.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Authorizes the board of supervisors of any county to authorize
the sheriff or other official in charge of county correctional
facilities to offer a voluntary program under which any person
committed to the facility may participate in a work release
program in which one day of participation will be in lieu of
one day of confinement. ÝPenal Code Section 4024.2(a).]
2)Provides that the work release program shall consist of any of
the following:
a) Manual labor to improve or maintain levees or public
facilities, including, but not limited to, streets, parks
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and schools;
b) Manual labor in support of nonprofit organizations, as
approved by the sheriff or other official in charge of the
correctional facilities. As a condition of assigning
participants of a work release program to perform manual
labor in support of nonprofit organizations pursuant to
this section, the board of supervisors shall obtain
workers' compensation insurance which shall be adequate to
cover work-related injuries incurred by those participants;
c) Performance of graffiti cleanup for local governmental
entities, including participation in a graffiti abatement
program, as approved by the sheriff or other official in
charge of correctional facilities;
d) Performance of weed and rubbish abatement on public and
private property, as approved by the sheriff or other
official in charge of the correctional facilities; and
e) Performance of house repairs or yard services for senior
citizens and the performance of repairs to senior centers
through contact with local senior service organizations, as
approved by the sheriff or other official in charge of the
correctional facilities. Where a work release participant
has been assigned to this task, the sheriff or other
official shall agree upon in advance with the senior
service organization about the type of services to be
rendered by the participant and the extent of contact
permitted between the recipients of the services and the
participant. ÝPenal Code Section 4024.2(b)(1).]
3)States that any person who is not able to perform manual labor
as specified because of a medical condition, physical
disability, or age, may participate in a work release program
involving any other type of public sector work that is
designated and approved by the sheriff or other official in
charge of the correctional facilities. ÝPenal Code Section
4024.2(b)(1)(F).]
4)Provides that a sheriff or other official may permit a
prisoner participating in a work release program to receive
work release credit for participation in education programs,
vocational training, or substance abuse programs in lieu of
performing labor in a work release program on an hour-for-hour
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basis. However, credit for that participation may not exceed
one-half of the hours established for the work release
program, and the remaining hours shall consist of manual
labor. ÝPenal Code Section 4024.2(b)(2).]
5)As a condition of participating in a work release program, a
person shall give his or her promise to appear for work or
assigned activity by signing a notice to appear before the
sheriff or at the education, vocational, or substance abuse
program at a time and place specified in the notice and shall
sign an agreement that the sheriff may immediately retake the
person into custody to serve the balance of his or her
sentence if the person fails to appear for the program at the
time and place agreed to, does not perform the work or
activity assigned, or for any other reason is no longer a fit
subject for release. Any person who willfully violates his or
her written promise to appear at the time and place specified
is guilty of a misdemeanor. ÝPenal Code Section 4024.2(c).]
6)Authorizes the board of supervisors of any county in which the
average daily inmate population is 90 percent of the county's
correctional system's mandated capacity may authorize the
sheriff or other official in charge of county correctional
facilities to operate a program under which any person
committed to the facility is required to participate in a work
release program pursuant to criteria described in subdivision
(b) of Section 4024.2. Participants in this work release
program shall receive any sentence reduction credits that they
would have received had they served their sentences in a
county correctional facility. Priority for participation in
the work release program shall be given to inmates who
volunteer to participate in the program. ÝPenal Code Section
4024.3(a).]
7)Allows the sheriff, chief of police, or any other person
responsible for a county or city jail to apply to the
presiding judge of the superior court to receive general
authorization for a period of 30 days to accelerate the
release, discharge, or expiration of sentence date of
sentenced inmates up to a maximum of five days. The total
number of inmates released pursuant to this section shall not
exceed a number necessary to balance the inmate count and
actual bed capacity. Inmates closest to their normal release,
discharge, or expiration of sentence date shall be given
accelerated release priority. The number of days that
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release, discharge, or expiration of sentence is accelerated
shall in no case exceed 10 percent of the particular inmate's
original sentence, prior to the application thereto of any
other credits or benefits authorized by law. (Penal Code
Section 4024.1.)
8)Provides that county boards of supervisors may authorize the
release jail inmates on work furlough. (Penal Code Section
1208.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "Many local
county jails are under a federal mandate to keep their inmate
population below full capacity level in order to prevent jail
overcrowding. Currently San Bernardino County has over 1000
inmates on electronic monitoring that receive full time credit
24/7. They are cleared to work away from their home while
being monitored and they get full custody credit. They can
even elect to just pay for the monitoring and get full custody
credits for just staying home instead of working. As the need
arises, the Sheriff can authorize early releases to control
jail population. We should be able to give a sentenced inmate
credit for working.
"Current law does not allow for the Sheriff to give work credits
for sentenced inmates who are gainfully employed, or spend the
majority of a day searching for employment. The whole
direction of this effort would be to encourage and reward
positive behavior and actively seeking or obtaining employment
would seem to qualify."
2)Education and Employment Related to Successful Reentry :
Higher levels of education provide opportunities for
employment, which is associated with lower rates of
reoffending. A national study found that "Ýv]ery few jail
inmates participate in vocational or educational programs
while incarcerated. Indeed, just 14 percent of inmates report
that they participate in educational programs in jail,
compared with 52 percent of state prisoners. Less than five
percent of jail inmates participate in vocational programs,
compared with nearly one-third of inmates in state prison."
ÝLife After Lockup: Improving Reentry from Jail to the
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Community (May 2008) <
http://www.jjay.cuny.edu/Final_Life_After_Lockup.pdf> (as of
March 21, 2012).] After realignment, the average length of
stay in a county jail will increase. The more time a person
spends in confinement, the more difficult it will be for
successful reentry. Incentivizing inmates to participate in
vocational and educational training, as well as awarding an
inmate's efforts to find employment, will result in lower
levels of reoffending.
3)Arguments in Support :
a) According to the Drug Policy Alliance , "This bill is a
smart response to public safety realignment. AB 2127
upgrades work release - which is already a useful tool for
managing jail populations and takes a community-based
approach to reducing recidivism - to better incentivize
participation in programs like vocation training and
substance abuse treatment that address the root causes of
low-level offenses by improving the credit ratio for these
programs.
"This bill also makes an important step forward by
incentivizing participants to acquire or retain full-time
employment. Employment, whether new or existing, that is
retained post-arrest is proven to reduce recidivism. Also,
allowing work release credit for employment will reduce
costs to the county by reducing the number of participants
being supervised at a work release site."
b) According to the Association for Los Angeles Deputy
Sheriffs , "AB 2127 rewards those who choose their detention
time in a positive way. AB 2127 will authorize a sheriff
or designee to permit a participant in a work release
program to receive work release credit for documented
participation in educational programs, vocational programs,
substance abuse programs, life skills programs, or
parenting programs. This measure will require that
participation in these programs be considered in lieu of
performing labor in a work release program on an
hour-for-hour basis with 8 work-related hours to equal to
one day of custody credit, and would not limit the credit
received for that participation nor require that the
participant perform manual labor. This will also authorize
the sheriff to permit a participant in a work release
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program to, upon documented proof of employment and
verification of attendance at the worksite, receive work
release credit for actively seeking and ultimately
obtaining regular employment upon release from custody."
4)Previous Legislation : AB 109 (Committee on Budget). Chapter
15, Statutes of 2011, realigned responsibilities for certain
parolees and newly convicted offenders who are deemed to be
non-violent, non-serious and non-sex offenders from state to
local jurisdictions.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department (Sponsor)
California State Sheriffs Association (Co-Sponsor)
Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (Co-Sponsor)
Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California State Association of Counties
Californians United for a Responsible Budget
County of San Bernardino
Drug Policy Alliance
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
Regional Council of Rural Counties
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
Urban Counties Caucus
Opposition
California District Attorneys Association
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744