BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    �



                                                                  SB 852
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 17, 2011

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                     SB 852 (Harman) - As Amended:  May 31, 2011 

          Policy Committee:                              Public 
          SafetyVote:  7-0

          Urgency:     Yes                  State Mandated Local Program: 
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill authorizes a crime victim to request notification of 
          an offender's custody status by 
          e-mail, if that method is available, and makes numerous 
          conforming changes.

          (This bill requires a  floor vote as it amends an initiative 
          statute (Proposition 9, 2008) that so requires.)  
           
           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Annual costs of about $275,000 to cover the cost of the 
            contract CDCR has entered into with Appriss, Inc to provide 
            the Statewide Automated Victim Information & Notification 
            System (SAVIN) to CDCR. 

            CDCR indicates these costs are to be paid from the Restitution 
            Fee Special Deposit Fund (SDF), which is currently used to 
            offset CDCR's administrative costs related to restitution 
            collection. According to CDCR, the SDF balance is about $2.5 
            million and the redirection of this amount from the SDF is 
            expected to assist CDCR's restitution efforts as victims 
            contact information will be stored via the new data system. 


            CDCR received a $500,000 federal grant, matched by CDCR, in 
            2009 for development and installation of the California Victim 
            Information and Notification Everyday (VINE) program. 
            Subsequent ongoing costs, beginning this fiscal year, will be 
            paid from the SDF. 









                                                                  SB 852
                                                                  Page  2


          2)Unknown potential moderate GF savings to the extent that a 
            more automated victim notification system reduces personnel 
            costs and increases efficiencies.

           COMMENTS  


           1)Rationale  . The intent of this bill is to explicitly authorize 
            e-mail victim notifications to allow CDCR to implement the 
            VINE program the department has already contracted with 
            Appriss to provide.    

           2)Support  . CDCR supports the bill, as does the CA State Sheriffs 
            Association, the CA Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and SEUI 
            1000. 

           3)There is no registered opposition  .
           4)VINE  is proprietary software developed and operated by 
            Appriss, Inc, a Kentucky-based company that provides similar 
            services to many counties and states. According to its SWeb 
            site, Appriss provides VINE services to 46 states and 2,000 
            communities. 

            Appriss, Inc states on its Web site that its "flagship 
            product, VINE, is the nation's leading automated victim 
            notification solution?. VINE gives crime victims and other 
            concerned citizens access to timely and reliable information 
            about criminal cases and the custody status of offenders 24 
            hours a day - over the telephone, through the Internet, or by 
            e-mail." 



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