BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 2263 (Bradford) - Probation: conditions.
Amended: August 7, 2012 Policy Vote: Public Safety 5-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: August 13, 2012
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: AB 2263 would authorize a person who was sentenced
to county jail for a felony conviction under criminal justice
realignment to apply for dismissal of his or her conviction and
the underlying charge if the defendant is not under mandatory
supervision and is not serving a sentence for, on probation for,
or charged with the commission of, any offense.
Fiscal Impact: Ongoing future court costs potentially in the
range of $67,500 to $337,500 (General Fund) per year for
petitions for dismissal, potentially offset to a minor degree by
petitioner reimbursement. This estimate assumes petitions for
one to five percent of annual sentences pursuant to Penal Code
section 1170(h) at a cost of $375 per 45-minute hearing.
To the extent additional petitions for expungement are granted
and assist an individual's ability to access housing and
employment, could result in a positive impact on the statewide
rate of recidivism through facilitating reentry into local
communities.
Background: Existing law provides that any defendant who has not
been convicted in the current or a prior case of one of a
specified class of felonies is to be sentenced to a term of
imprisonment in the county jail for a term of 16 months, two
years or three years, or the term provided in the crime of
conviction.
Existing law provides that where a court sentences a defendant
for a jail felony pursuant to PC section 1170(h), the court may
impose the full lower, middle, or upper term for the offense, or
a split sentence in which a portion of the term is spent under
supervision by the a county probation department. The portion of
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a defendant's sentenced term during which time he or she is
supervised by the county probation officer is known as mandatory
supervision. Under existing law, the court is also authorized to
impose dispositions for defendants charged under PC section
1170(h) including pretrial diversion, deferred entry of
judgment, or an order granting probation.
Under existing law, a defendant who has fulfilled the terms of
probation, been discharged from probation, or where the court
determines that a defendant should be granted relief in the
interests of justice, the defendant may, at any time after the
termination of the period of probation, and upon application, be
granted relief in the form of dismissal of the conviction or
allowance for the defendant to withdraw his or her guilty plea.
Existing law states that an order of dismissal does not relieve
the petitioner of the obligation to disclose the conviction in
response to any questions contained in any questionnaire or
application for public office or for licensure for any state or
local agency. Additionally, an order of dismissal does not
permit a person to own, possess, or have in his or her custody
or control any firearm, or permit a person prohibited from
holding public office as a result of that conviction to hold
public office.
Proposed Law: This bill would authorize the court, in its
discretion and in the interests of justice, to permit a
defendant to withdraw his or her plea of guilty or plea of nolo
contendere and enter a plea of not guilty in any case in which a
defendant was sentenced for a non-serious, non-violent, or
non-sexual offense to county jail, if both of the following
conditions are met:
The defendant is not under mandatory supervision.
The defendant is not serving a sentence for, on
probation for, or charged with the commission of, any
offense.
Related Legislation: AB 109 (Committee on Budget) Chapter
15/2011 the 2011Realignment Legislation addressing public
safety, realigned responsibilities for certain parolees and
newly convicted offenders deemed to be non-violent, non-serious,
and non-sex offenders from state to local jurisdiction.
Staff Comments: By authorizing felons sentenced to county jail
AB 2263 (Bradford)
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pursuant to public safety realignment to petition for
expungement of their felony convictions, this bill could result
in additional petitions for dismissal under Penal Code section
1203.4 that would not have occurred under existing law.
Approximately 15,000 individuals are currently serving felony
sentences in county jails pursuant to criminal justice
realignment (representing 10 months since Realignment took
effect on October 1, 2011), under varying terms of incarceration
and/or supervision. It is unknown what percentage of those cases
may petition for dismissal, but based on data from the courts
for 2009-10, approximately one percent of total felony filings
were categorized as "miscellaneous felony petitions," and
included other criminal proceedings not classified as statutory
offenses, and for which a new case must be opened (such as
Petitions for Certificate of Rehabilitation and Pardon) and
would include petitions for expungement.
Annualizing the caseload noted above would result in
approximately 18,000 individuals serving felony sentences
pursuant to PC section 1170(h) after one year. Assuming one to
five percent of the eligible caseload, or 180 to 900 individuals
would petition for expungement in any one year, would result in
additional court costs of $67,500 to $337,500 based on a
45-minute hearing cost of $375 (based a daily eight-hour court
cost of $4,000).
Under existing law, a person who petitions for a change of plea
may be required to reimburse the court, county, any city for the
actual cost of services rendered, whether or not the petition is
granted and the records are sealed or expunged. The ability to
make such reimbursement is determined by the court and is not
required in order for a person to be eligible to petition the
court. It is unknown what percentage of petitioners would be
determined by the court to have the ability to provide
reimbursement, but it is estimated that reimbursements to the
courts would likely be minor and insufficient to fully offset
the ongoing increased cost to the courts for new causes of
action.
In the absence of the provisions of this bill, individuals who
were unable to petition for expungement for felony county jail
sentences would have the alternative to pursue remedy through a
petition for a Certificate of Rehabilitation. It is unknown to
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what degree this alternative would be utilized, but is assumed
to be rare. Moreover, given the period of rehabilitation would
generally be at least seven years after the completion of
sentence, any minor avoided costs would not be realized for at
least seven years.
To the extent additional petitions for expungement are granted
and assist an individual's ability to access housing and
employment, could result in a positive impact through
facilitating reentry into local communities.
Recommended Amendments: Staff recommends a technical amendment
on page 3, line 36 of the bill, as follows:
(d) If a defendant is sentenced pursuant to paragraph (5) of
subdivision (h) of Section 1170 the court, in its discretion and
in the interests of justice, may order the relief provided
pursuant to subdivision (a) with regard to that defendant if
both of the following conditions are met:
(1) The defendant is not under supervision pursuant to
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5) of subdivision (h) of Section
1170.