BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
SB 622 (Corbett)
Hearing Date: 5/2/2011 Amended: 4/7/2011
Consultant: Jolie Onodera Policy Vote: Public Safety 6-0
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BILL SUMMARY: SB 622 would clarify that sex offender
registration in California for an out-of-state conviction is
based on the elements of the conviction offense or proven or
stipulated facts in the record of conviction.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Sex offender registration Non-reimbursable local
costsLocal
Future incarceration Unknown, potentially moderate General
state costs and/or significant cost
savings
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STAFF COMMENTS:
This bill seeks to address the holding of In re Rodden (2010)
186 Cal.App.4th 24, which concluded that an out-of-state
conviction requires a defendant to register as a sex offender in
California only when the least adjudicated elements of the
offense satisfy all of the elements of a crime enumerated in
Penal Code section 290(c) or when the foreign jurisdiction
required the defendant to register as a sex offender.
This bill clarifies existing statute to permit consideration of
adjudicated or stipulated non-hearsay facts on the record of
out-of-state convictions to determine whether the offense would
have been punishable as an offense requiring sex offender
registration under California law. The Attorney General's office
advises that, until the Rodden decision, this was the test
employed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), and is consistent
with the test applicable to sentencing laws.
The DOJ indicates approximately 80 sex offenders have averted
mandatory sex offender registration in California since the
Rodden ruling in late June 2010, and estimates approximately 100
cases will avoid registration annually in the absence of
enactment of this bill. As the provisions of this bill are
consistent with the processes employed by the DOJ prior to the
SB 622 (Corbett)
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Rodden decision, the workload impact to the DOJ will be minor
and absorbable. Additional sex offender registrants will result
in increased non-reimbursable local costs to enforce residency
restrictions placed on the additional registered sex offenders.
No additional global positioning system (GPS) tracking costs
would be incurred due to the provisions of this bill, as
authority to require GPS monitoring would be based on the
requirement established in the state where the offense was
committed. These costs would be incurred notwithstanding the
provisions of this bill.
The requirement to register is initiated at the time the sex
offender is aware of the requirement, whether through
notification from his or her out-of-state parole officer upon
release or through notice by the DOJ or local law enforcement if
the individual is already residing in the State. Any person who
is required to register and who willfully violates this
requirement is guilty of a misdemeanor or felony, depending on
the seriousness of the offense for which they were convicted.
Both the DOJ and law enforcement have indicated that it is rare
for a sex offender to be prosecuted for non-registry once he or
she is aware of the registration requirement, but to the extent
a sex offender should knowingly fail to register and be
successfully prosecuted, moderate state or local incarceration
costs could result.
Alternatively, requiring mandatory registration of these
high-risk sex offenders may result in avoided crimes,
prosecution, and incarceration, resulting in significant local
and General Fund cost savings in the future.