BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2587
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 25, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Cameron Smyth, Chair
AB 2587 (Knight) - As Amended: April 12, 2012
SUBJECT : Correctional facility construction: local agreements.
SUMMARY : Authorizes the Secretary of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (Secretary) to enter into a
long-term agreement with the City of Adelanto to finance and
build a state prison facility for medium and maximum security
inmates. Specifically, this bill :
1)Authorizes, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Secretary to enter into a long-term agreement not to exceed 25
years, with the City of Adelanto to finance and build a state
prison facility for the incarceration of medium and maximum
security inmates.
2)Requires the facility to meet the specifications of the
Secretary.
3)Requires a facility erected pursuant to this section to be
staffed by employees of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (Department).
4)Requires, in determining the reimbursement rate, the Secretary
to take into consideration the cost incurred by the city for
the financing and construction of the facility, and any other
factors that are necessary and appropriate to fix the
obligations, responsibilities, and rights of the respective
parties.
5)Requires the payment to the City of Adelanto to include a
service fee component that takes into consideration the
investment, risk, and assistance of the city in siting,
financing, and constructing the facility.
6)Requires that inmates incarcerated at a facility erected
pursuant to this section to be subject, at all times, to the
rules and regulations of the Department, and that any facility
constructed pursuant to this section shall in all respects be
a state prison facility.
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7)Provides that the Secretary, in his or her discretion, may
elect to contract with the City of Adelanto to maintain the
facility, including maintaining the fixtures and improvements
which comprise the facility.
8)Makes findings and declarations that a special law is
necessary and that a general law cannot be made applicable
because of the unique circumstances in the City of Adelanto
that allow for needed prison construction to begin in a timely
manner.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Charges the Department with the responsibility of planning and
constructing state correctional facilities, and provides that
the Department is headed by the Secretary.
2)Authorizes the Secretary to enter into a long-term agreement
not to exceed 20 years with a city, county, or city and county
to place parole violators and other state inmates in a
specified facility.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed fiscal.
COMMENTS :
1)This bill is intended to authorize the state to enter into a
25-year agreement with the City of Adelanto to finance and
build a state prison facility for medium and maximum security
inmates. Such an agreement would permit the state to lower
its average annual payments by stretching the agreement beyond
the 20-year limit permitted under existing law. The measure
is sponsored by the City of Adelanto.
2)According to the author, "Assembly Bill 2587 authorizes the
Secretary of �the Department] to enter into a long-term
agreement, no longer than 25 years, with the City of Adelanto
to finance and build a state prison facility. This facility
will be fully staffed with �Department] employees and have the
ability to hold up to 3000 high-security inmates."
3)In January 2010, a three-judge panel convened by two United
Stated District Courts in California issued a final ruling
ordering the State of California to reduce its prison
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population by approximately 50,000 inmates over the next two
years. The United State Supreme Court subsequently upheld
that decision, declaring that "without a reduction in
overcrowding, there will be no efficacious remedy for the
unconstitutional care of the sick and mentally ill" inmates in
California's prisons. �Brown v. Plata (2011) 131 S.Ct. 1910,
1939]
According to a February 23, 2012 report by the Legislative
Analyst's Office, "�b]ased on CDCR's current population
projections, it appears that it will eventually reach the
court-imposed population limit, though not by the June 2013
deadline." Going on, "�i]n particular, the projections show
the state missing the final population limit of no more than
110,000 inmates housed in state prisons by June 2013.
Specifically, the projections show the state exceeding this
limit by about 6,000 inmates. However, the projections
indicate that the state will meet the court-imposed limit by
the end of 2014."
4)In 2011, the Governor signed AB 109 (Committee on Budget),
Chapter 15, Statutes of 2011, and AB 117 (Committee on
Budget), Chapter 39, Statutes of 2011, which aimed to reduce
the number of inmates in the state's 33 prison to 137.5
percent of design capacity by June 27, 2013, as ordered by the
three-judge court and affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court.
This shift towards a more local focus in corrections policy is
often referred to as "realignment."
As the author notes, "�d]ue to the recent adoption of
California's public safety realignment, inmate housing needs
are going to be changing drastically. The Legislative Analyst
Office (LAO) highlighted the long-term mismatch between inmate
population and bed capacity. The need for high-security beds
is apparent with the changing population of inmates due to
realignment. Something needs to be done in order to address
the need for higher security level beds for the changing
inmate populations."
The author goes on to state that "�w]ith the 2011 package of
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legislation passed last year, county governments are now
responsible for managing and supervising certain felon
offenders who were previously eligible for state prison due to
realignment. The significant reduction in inmate population
in state prisons due to the transfer of the inmates from the
state to county jails leaves a larger population of
higher-security inmates that will require the need for
additional high-security beds."
5)SB 1591 (Presley), Chapter 1450, Statutes of 1987, permitted
the Department to enter into long-term agreements, of up to 20
years duration, with local governments for the provision of
detention facilities for the housing of state parole
violators. Long-term financial
commitments would enable cities and counties to fund the
construction of these facilities, thereby relieving the state
of part of the burden of prison expansion, while helping
create jobs for the community. Prior to the passage of that
bill, local governments were precluded from entering into such
contracts longer than a five-year period.
AB 900 (Solorio), Chapter 7, Statutes of 2007, authorized up
to 40,000 new state prison beds, contingent upon significant
program enhancements designed to reduce recidivism. AB 900
also provided the Department with temporary authority to house
up to 8,000 inmates out-of-state until new construction is
completed and the results of enhanced anti-recidivism
programming impact the inmate population.
6)This bill was previously heard by the Public Safety Committee
on April 17, and was approved on a 6-0 (consent) vote.
7)Support arguments : According to the author, "I believe this
measure will help CDCR address the need to find additional
6500 high-security beds by the year 2015 as the City of
Adelanto is prepared to begin construction upon this
legislation being signed by Governor Brown."
Opposition arguments : None.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
City of Adelanto �SPONSOR]
AB 2587
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Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Hank Dempsey / L. GOV. / (916) 319-3958