BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 608
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   July 6, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                   SB 608 (DeSaulnier) - As Amended:  June 9, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              Public 
          SafetyVote:  7-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill authorizes the Prison Industry Authority (PIA) to 
          offer products and services for sale to nonprofit organizations 
          located in California that have entered into a memorandum of 
          understanding with local education agencies, and the products 
          and services are provided to public school students at no cost.  
           
           
           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)No state cost. 

          2)Unknown potential state savings to the extent that additional 
            PIA activity provides work for inmates that ultimately results 
            in sentence credits and reduced recidivism.

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . Under current law, only government organizations 
            may purchase goods or services from PIA.  This bill allows 
            non-profit entities affiliated with a school or school 
            district to purchase goods or services from the PIA in order 
            to support philanthropic endeavors of non-profits, who often 
            cannot afford to pay market prices. This bill also supports 
            PIA's rehabilitative and vocational mission.

            The sponsor of this bill, K to College, a non-profit based in 
            the East Bay, provides free school supplies to disadvantaged 
            students. K to College used volunteers to assemble these 
            school supply packets. Because volunteers were no longer able 
            to meet the increasing demand for the school supply packets, 








                                                                  SB 608
                                                                  Page  2

            in 2009, K to College worked with the author to create a 
            program with PIA workers at Folsom Prison. The Folsom inmates 
            assembled 150,000 school supply packets. To sustain and expand 
            this type of program, however, state statute must be amended 
            to explicitly allow non-profits to work with PIA.   

           2)Current law  specifies PIA products shall be purchased by the 
            state, and may be purchased by any local government, at the 
            prices fixed by PIA. State agencies shall make maximum 
            utilization of these products, and shall consult with the PIA 
            to develop new products and adapt existing products to meet 
            their needs. 

           3)PIA Background  . Created in 1982, PIA is designed to be a 
            self-sustaining operation to reduce the cost of incarceration 
            by increasing the safety of prisons and reducing the 
            recidivism rate of inmates who are released to their 
            communities after learning basic work skills. The PIA's 
            2010-11 Annual Plan projects a gross profit of $44 million, 
            with revenues of $180 million and $136 million in expenses. 
            PIA operates more than 60 business enterprises in 23 prisons, 
            employing some 6,800 inmates, providing goods and services for 
            state, local, and federal agencies.  PIA products include 
            food, furniture, metal, clothing, modular building products, 
            printing, optical, and laundry services. 

            According to the PIA's 2010 Strategic Business Plan, PIA 
            inmate workers have contributed more than $7 million - via a 
            compulsory contribution of 40% of their wages - in restitution 
            to crime victims since 1992-93. 

            Overall, the recidivism rate of CALPIA inmate workers is about 
            25% less than the recidivism rate of the California prison 
            general population.

           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081