BILL ANALYSIS �
SB 1098
Page 1
Date of Hearing: June 12, 2012
Chief Counsel: Gregory Pagan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
SB 1098 (La Malfa) - As Amended: May 9, 2012
SUMMARY : Requires the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) to provide all inmate classification,
reclassification, and re-admission score sheets in its
possession to the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
(CAL FIRE) personnel assigned to the conservation camp in which
an inmate has been placed.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Provides that inmates and wards may be assigned to perform
public conservation projects, including, but not limited to,
forest fire prevention and control, forest and watershed
management, recreational area development, fish and game
management, soil conservation, and forest watershed
re-vegetation. (Penal Code Section 6202.)
2)Provides that any division, department, bureau or other agency
of the State of California or the Federal Government may use
or cause to be used convicts confined in the state prison to
perform work necessary and proper to be done by them at
permanent, temporary, and mobile camps established under this
law. (Penal Code Section 2780.)
3)States that CDCR may, during declared fire emergencies, allow
the Director of the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
to use prisoners for fire suppression efforts outside of the
boundaries of California, not in excess of 25 miles from the
California border, along the borders of Oregon, Nevada, or
Arizona. (Penal Code Section 2780.5.)
4)States that the Director of CDCR shall determine which
prisoners are eligible for employment in conservation camps,
and may return to prison any prisoner transferred to a camp
when the need for the prisoner's labor has ceased, or when the
prisoner is guilty of violation of any rules and regulations
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of the prison or camp. (Penal Code Section 2781.)
5)States that the Director of CDCR shall have full jurisdiction
and control over the discipline of the convicts performing
work at the camps. (Penal Code Section 2788.)
6)Dictates that when any prisoner escapes, the Director of the
CDCR shall determine what portion of his or her earnings shall
be forfeited and such forfeiture shall be deposited with the
State Treasury in a fund known as the Inmate Welfare Fund of
the CDCR. (Penal Code Section 2700.)
7)Provides that any person, who, without authority, interferes
with or in any way interrupts the work of any convict used
pursuant to this article and any person not authorized by law,
who gives or attempts to give to any state prison convict so
employed any controlled substances, or any intoxicating
liquors of any kind whatever, or firearms, weapons or
explosives of any kind is guilty of a felony and upon
conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the
state prison and shall be disqualified from holding any state
office or position in the employ of California. (Penal Code
Section 2790.)
8)Penalizes persons who interfere with the discipline or good
conduct of any convict while such convict is in such camps is
guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be
punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a term not
more than six months, by a fine of not more than $400, or by
both such fine and imprisonment. (Penal Code Section 2790.)
9)Provides that notwithstanding any other law, any inmate
assigned to a conservation camp by the CDCR who is eligible to
earn one day of credit for every day of incarceration shall
instead earn two days credit for each day of service. �Penal
Code Section 2933.3 (a).]
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "This bill would
require CDCR to provide all classification, reclassification
and readmission score sheets on each inmate to CalFIRE
personnel working in the conservation camp in with the inmate
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is placed. Currently, the CalFIRE personnel do not have
unfettered access to background information on the inmates in
their custody. This bill would allow only the personnel that
are employed in the specific conservation camp to view the
files."
2)Background on Fire Camps : "A CAL FIRE hand crew consists of a
fire captain and 15 to 17 firefighting inmates. The
firefighters that make up these crews are minimum-security
inmates and wards from the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). These fire crews are
directly supervised by a CAL FIRE fire captain. CAL FIRE
inmate hand crews are the infantry of the Department's
firefighting 'ground attack' resources. Their primary
function is to construct fire line by hand in areas where
heavy machinery cannot be used because of steep topography,
rocky terrain, or areas that may be considered environmentally
sensitive."
(.)
According to CDCR, "There are forty two adult and two Division
of Juvenile Justice Conservation Camps in California. CDCR
jointly manages 39 adult and juvenile camps with the
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection and five
adult camps with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
Nearly 4,000 offenders participate in the Conservation Camp
Program, which has approximately 200 fire crews.
"CDCR's Conservation Camps Program provides the State of
California's cooperative agencies with an able-bodied, trained
workforce for fire suppression and other emergencies such as
floods and earthquakes. Fire crews also work on conservation
projects on public lands and provide labor on local community
service projects.
"In an average year, Conservation Camp Program inmates provide
approximately three million person hours in firefighting and
other emergencies, and seven million person hours in community
service project work, and save California taxpayers more than
$80 million annually on average."
(.)
According to a February 2012 report by the Legislative Analyst's
Office (LAO), "The CDCR currently operates 42 adult fire
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camps, which can accommodate about 4,500 low-level inmates."
�See Refocusing CDCR After the 2011 Realignment (Feb. 23,
2012), p. 17;
.
] "In order to be eligible for a fire camp, inmates must meet
a series of requirements. For example, inmates that have
committed certain crimes (such as arson) are ineligible. In
addition, inmates must be eligible for low-security housing.
These screening criteria make many inmates ineligible for fire
camps." (Id.)
3)Criminal Justice Realignment Act's Effect on CDCR Fire Camps :
Realignment limited which felons can be sent to state prison,
thus requiring that more felons serve their sentences in
county jails. Only minimum-security inmates may participate
in the Conservation Camps Program, and all inmates with
histories of violent crime are excluded. Since realignment
sent most inmates without histories of violent crime and most
minimum-security inmates to county jails instead of state
prisons, there will be fewer prisoners eligible to serve in
fire camps. The LAO estimated that the fire camp population
will decrease to approximately 2,500 inmates by 2016-17, a 38%
decrease from 2011. (Id.) After realignment bill AB 109
(Budget Committee), Chapter 95, Statutes of 2011, passed with
language specifically authorizing counties to contract back
with CDCR for state prison housing of county inmates, CDCR
estimated that they would charge $46.19 per inmate for housing
in fire camps. �See County of Madera: Public Safety
Realignment Act of 2011, Local Implementation and Post Release
Supervision Plan, Sept. 27, 2011,
p.5;.]
4)Argument in Support : According to the CDF Firefighters Local
2881 , "While we have no doubt that there are the best of
intentions between the varying agencies, it is clear that CAL
FIRE personnel do not have complete, unfettered access to the
histories of the inmates with whom they have custodial
responsibilities, as well as supervisorial responsibilities
under emergency conditions.
"It appears that in some camps there is easier access to inmate
background than in others - this includes not only the
bureaucratic protocol for accessing files, but also for
information that is actually available at the site. A captain
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may request the information from the cap lieutenant, but if
the lieutenant chooses not to allow access to the files, the
captain must contact two more layers of administration within
CAL FIRE before CDCR is contacted. This means a week or more
has passed before the captain gains access to the inmate
files."
5)Related Legislation : AB 1562 (Jeffries) would have authorized
CAL FIRE to enter into contracts with counties where CAL FIRE
operates fire camps and to establish county jail inmate fire
crews. AB 1552 was held on the Assembly Appropriations
Committee's Suspense File.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California Professional Firefighters
CDF Firefighters Local 2881
Opposition
None
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744