BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 608
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 608 (DeSaulnier)
As Amended June 9, 2011
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :26-8
PUBLIC SAFETY 7-0 APPROPRIATIONS 16-0
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Knight, Cedillo, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Hagman, Hill, Mitchell, | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| |Yamada | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Donnelly, Gatto, Hall, |
| | | |Hill, Lara, Mitchell, |
| | | |Nielsen, Norby, Solorio, |
| | | |Wagner |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes the Prison Industry Authority (PIA) to offer
their goods and services for sale to nonprofit organizations.
Specifically, this bill provides that the nonprofit organizations
must meet all of the following conditions:
1)The nonprofit organization is located in California and is exempt
from taxation under specified federal tax laws.
2)The nonprofit organization has entered into a memorandum of
understanding with a local education agency, which is defined as a
school district, county office of education, state special school,
or charter school.
3)The products and services are provided to public school students
at no cost to students or their families.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes PIA to operate industrial, agricultural, and service
enterprises which will provide products and services needed by the
state, or any political subdivision thereof, or by the federal
government, or any department, agency, or corporation thereof, or
for any other public use. Products may be purchased by state
agencies to be offered for sale to inmates of the department and
to any other person under the care of the state who resides in
state-operated institutional facilities. Fresh meat may be
SB 608
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purchased by food service operations in state-owned facilities and
sold for onsite consumption.
2)States that all things authorized to be produced by PIA shall be
purchased by the state, or any agency thereof, and may be
purchased by any county, city, district, or political subdivision,
or any agency thereof, or by any state agency to offer for sale to
persons residing in state-operated institutions, at the prices
fixed by PIA. State agencies shall make maximum utilization of
these products, and shall consult with the staff of PIA to develop
new products and adapt existing products to meet their needs.
3)States that the purposes of PIA are to:
a) Develop and operate industrial, agricultural, and service
enterprises employing prisoners in institutions under the
jurisdiction of the California Department of Corrections (CDC),
which enterprises may be located either within those
institutions or elsewhere, all as may be determined by PIA;
b) Create and maintain working conditions within the
enterprises as much like those which prevail in private
industry as possible, to assure prisoners employed therein the
opportunity to work productively, to earn funds, and to acquire
or improve effective work habits and occupational skills; and,
c) Operate a work program for prisoners which will ultimately
be self-supporting by generating sufficient funds from the sale
of products and services to pay all the expenses of the
program, and one which will provide goods and services which
are or will be used by CDC, thereby reducing the cost of its
operation.
4)States that notwithstanding any other provision of existing law,
products and byproducts of agricultural and animal husbandry
enterprises, except nursery stock, may be sold to private persons,
at public or private sale, under rules prescribed by the Prison
Industry Board.
5)Provides that notwithstanding provisions of existing law, the
director of the Department of General Services or his or her
designee may procure goods from the private sector even though the
goods may be available from the PIA, when in his or her
discretion, it is cost beneficial to do so, and if the director or
his or her designee continues to include PIA in soliciting
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quotations for goods.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee:
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 : According to the author, "K to College, a non-profit
based in the East Bay, provides free school supplies to students
from disadvantaged backgrounds. Historically, K to College has used
volunteers to assemble these school supply packets. However over
time, volunteers were no longer able to meet the increasing demand
for their services. In response, in 2009, K to College worked with
Senator DeSaulnier's office to coordinate a program with PIA workers
at Folsom State Prison. The Folsom State inmates were able to
assemble 150,000 school supply packets, a project too large in scale
to be accomplished by volunteers. In order to make this program and
others like it sustainable, California statute must be amended in
order to explicitly allow non-profits to work with PIA. This bill
not only supports the philanthropic endeavors of California
non-profits, but also supports the rehabilitative and vocational
efforts of PIA.
"By 2012, K to College hopes to distribute as many as 500,000 school
packets across the state. Working with PIA is the only viable way
for these packets to be assembled and reach the students who so
desperately need them."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion of
this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
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