BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 139
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 139 (Alquist)
As Amended August 26, 2011
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :39-0
PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Knight, Cedillo, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Hagman, Hill, Mitchell, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Skinner | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| | | |Hall, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Solorio, Wagner |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the California 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 for contraband. Specifically, this bill :
1)Specifies that these searches shall include random searches of
property, personal or otherwise, brought into the prison by
those individuals.
2)Specifies that the searches shall be conducted at each
institution at least once per month.
3)Specifies that the Secretary of CDCR may cancel a search at an
institution in a given month provided that for each search not
conducted at an institution in a month, an additional search
must be conducted an another institution within the same
month, and no institution may go more than three months
without a search.
4)Requires CDCR to provide a written report to the Legislature
at least quarterly detailing 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
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phones discovered; the number of items of portable computer
equipment found, including but not limited to iPods, MP3
players, DVD players, CD players, CDs, and portable video game
players; tobacco products found, and illegal substances found,
listed by type of substance.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Mandates that the Inspector General (IG) shall review CDCR
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 CDCR, as
requested by either the CDCR Secretary or a Member of the
Legislature, pursuant to the approval of the IG under policies
to be developed by the IG. The IG may, under policies
developed by the IG, initiate an investigation or an audit on
his or her own accord.
2)States that any person who knowingly brings into any state
prison or other institution under the jurisdiction of CDCR, or
into any prison camp, prison farm, or any other place where
prisoners or inmates of these institutions are located under
the custody of prison or institution officials, officers, or
employees, or into any county, city and county, or city jail,
road camp, farm or any other institution or place where
prisoners or inmates are being held under the custody of any
sheriff, chief of police, peace officer, probation officer, or
employees, or within the grounds belonging to any institution
or place, any alcoholic beverage, any drugs, other than
controlled substances, in any manner, shape, form, dispenser,
or container, or any device, contrivance, instrument, or
paraphernalia intended to be used for unlawfully injecting or
consuming any drug other than controlled substances, without
having authority so to do by the rules of CDCR, the rules of
the prison, institution, camp, farm, place, or jail, or by the
specific authorization of the warden, superintendent, jailer,
or other person in charge of the prison, jail, institution,
camp, farm, or place, is guilty of a felony.
3)States any person in a local correctional facility who
possesses a wireless communication device, including, but not
limited to, a cellular telephone, pager, or wireless Internet
device, who is not authorized to possess that item is guilty
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of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not more than
$1,000.
4)Provides any person housed in a local correctional facility
that possesses any tobacco products in any form, including
snuff products, smoking paraphernalia, any device that is
intended to be used for ingesting or consuming tobacco, or any
container or dispenser used for any of those products, is
guilty of an infraction, punishable by a fine not exceeding
$250. Money collected pursuant to this section shall be
placed into the inmate welfare fund, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, minor General Fund (GF) costs to CDCR as this bill
essentially mirrors the department's existing random search
practice in Operation Disconnect. To the extent however, CDCR
discontinued Operation Disconnect, this bill would result in the
following annual GF costs for two years:
1)Likely in excess of $200,000, to staff the proposed searches.
This assumes at least four additional staff per search, for
one hour at one gate, at 33 prisons, 12 times per year.
2)Annual CDCR reporting costs of about $25,000.
3)Potentially significant annual GF costs for overtime to the
extent random searches backup staff entry into the prison and
require staff to stay on post longer than scheduled. For
example, if 400 staff per prison were delayed by an average of
10 minutes, 12 times per year, at 33 prisons, the resulting
overtime could cost the state close to $1 million per year.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "The number of cell phones
confiscated in prison in 2006 was 261. Last year, 10,761 cell
phones were confiscated. That constitutes an increase of 4023%
percent. Recent stories in the news report inmates paying $500
to $1500 per phone.
"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.'
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"The California Senate Rules Committee for the last several
years has focused on cell phones entering prisons during the
confirmation hearings of California Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation (CDCR) officials.
"In May of 2009, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) 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 visitor, 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 allows the OIG to oversee the searches
to ensure the integrity of the process. Finally, SB 139
requires that CDCR and the OIG submit a report to the
Legislature detailing the finding of the searches as well as a
general comment section."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
SB 139
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Analysis Prepared by : Milena Nelson / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0002262