BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 139|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 139
Author: Alquist (D)
Amended: 5/24/11
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 5/3/11
AYES: Hancock, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Anderson
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Corrections: Inspector General
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : The purpose of this bill is to (1) require the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to
oversee and conduct periodic and random searches of
employees and vendors entering the secure perimeter of a
state prison under the jurisdiction of CDCR for contraband,
as specified; (2) require CDCR to provide a written report
to the Legislature and the Inspector General at least
quarterly regarding these searches, as specified; and (3)
require the Inspector General to oversee, at a minimum,
CDCR's search of one staff shift per year at each adult
institution, in order to ensure the integrity of the
process and of the searches, and the accuracy of the
reports submitted by CDCR, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing law defines "contraband" in a prison
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as "anything which is not permitted, in excess of the
maximum quantity permitted, or received or obtained from an
unauthorized source." (15 Cal. Code of Regs. Section
3000.) Possession of a cellular telephone or any other
electronic communications device by an inmate is
specifically prohibited. (15 Cal. Code of Regs. Section
3000(c)(19).)
Existing law creates the office of the Inspector General
and requires the Inspector General to review departmental
policy and procedures, conduct audits of investigatory
practices and other audits, be responsible for
contemporaneous oversight of internal affairs
investigations and the disciplinary process, and conduct
investigations of the CDCR, as requested by either the
Secretary of the CDCR or a Member of the Legislature,
pursuant to the approval of the Inspector General under
policies to be developed by the Inspector General. The
Inspector General may, under policies developed by the
Inspector General, initiate an investigation or an audit on
his/her own accord. (Penal Code Section 6126(a)(1).)
This bill requires CDCR to oversee and conduct periodic and
random searches of employees and vendors entering the
secure perimeter of a state prison under the jurisdiction
of the department for contraband. These searches would
include random searches of property, personal or otherwise,
brought into the prison by those individuals. CDCR must
provide the Inspector General with no less than 24 hours'
notice prior to the dates of those random searches the
department plans to conduct.
This bill requires CDCR to provide a written report to the
Legislature and the Inspector General at least quarterly
detailing the following:
The names of the prisons where the searches took
place.
The dates of the searches.
The shifts during which the searches took place.
The number of employees searched.
The number of vendors searched.
The number of cell phones discovered.
The number of items of portable computer equipment
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found, including, but not limited to, iPods, MP3
players, DVD players, CD players, CDs, and portable
video game players.
Tobacco products found.
Illegal substances found, listed by type of
substance.
The report shall include a general comment section for use
by the Inspector General and the department to discuss the
issues they find relevant to the searches and shall include
a section detailing the actions taken as a result of the
discovery of contraband possessed by an employee or vendor
and the results of any disciplinary process resulting from
the discovery of contraband.
This bill authorizes the Inspector General, or its
successor, may oversee, at a minimum, CDCR's search of one
staff shift per year at each adult institution, in order to
ensure the integrity of the process and of the searches,
and the accuracy of the reports submitted pursuant to
Section 5040. Nothing in this paragraph shall be
interpreted to allow the Inspector General to direct CDCR
regarding when the random searches shall take place, to
allow the Inspector General to direct the department
regarding how the random searches shall be carried out, or
as requiring the Inspector General's approval prior to CDCR
conducting the random searches.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/24/11)
California District Attorney Association
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Life Support Alliance
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
the number of cell phones confiscated in prison in 2006 was
261. Last year, 8,675 cell phones were confiscated. That
constitutes an increase of 3224 percent. Recent stories in
the news report inmates paying $500 to $1500 per phone.
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A 2010 KCRA 3 report quoted Avenal spokesman saying inmates
with cell phones "can order hits. They can organize
escapes." An AP story discusses how Mexican drug
traffickers call prisons gangs in the United States via
cell phones when they "need someone killed or kidnapped or
drugs distributed in the United States." Several news
articles.
The California Senate Rules Committee for the last several
years has focused on cell phones entering prisons during
the confirmation hearings of CDCR officials.
In May of 2009, the Office of the Inspector General sent a
special report entitled "Inmate Cell Phone Use Endangers
Prison Security and Public Safety" to CDCR Secretary
Matthew Cate. Among other things the report found,
"Inmates' access to cell phone technology facilitates their
ability to communicate amongst themselves and their
associates outside of prison, to plan prison assaults, plot
prison escapes, and orchestrate a myriad of other illegal
activities. In addition, these devices can provide an
inmate unrestricted and unmonitored access to the Internet,
whereby they can communicate with unsuspecting victims,
including minors."
The report also found that, "In addition to staff, other
conduits for smuggling cell phones include visitors,
outside accomplices, minimum support facility inmates
working outside perimeter fences, and contracted
employees."
In July of 2008 CDCR's Department of Internal Affairs
conducted surprise screenings for two days called "Project
Disconnect." During these searches, one employee's vehicle
was searched and fifty cell phones, labeled with the
inmates' names, were found. Since November of 2009, CDCR
has continued the random once a month searches of employees
entering every prison in California with "Operation
Disconnect."
SB 139 codifies the activities of "Operation Disconnect"
into law and includes vendors as those subject to the
search. While cell phones are targeted, SB 139 aims to
halt all contraband entering prisons. SB 139 requires the
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OIG to oversee the searches to ensure the integrity of the
process. Finally, SB 1066 requires that CDCR and the
Office of the Inspector General submit a report to the
Legislature detailing the finding of the searches as well
as a general comment section.
RJG:do 5/24/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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