BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1210|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 1210
Author: Lieu (D)
Amended: 5/30/12
Vote: 27
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/17/12
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Calderon, Harman, Liu, Price,
Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 7-0, 5/24/12
AYES: Kehoe, Walters, Alquist, Dutton, Lieu, Price,
Steinberg
SUBJECT : Victim restitution: realignment
SOURCE : California District Attorneys Association
Crime Victims Action Alliance
Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office
DIGEST : This bill makes essentially technical revisions
to victim restitution statutes to include persons subject
to local supervision according to provisions of the 2011
Public Safety Realignment, as specified.
ANALYSIS : Existing provisions in the California
Constitution state that all persons who suffer losses as a
result of criminal activity shall have the right to
restitution from the perpetrators of these crimes.
Restitution shall be ordered in every case unless
compelling and extraordinary reasons exist to the contrary.
CONTINUED
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The Legislature shall adopt provisions to implement this
section during the calendar year following adoption of this
section. (California Constitution, Article 1, Section
28(b))
Existing law states legislative intent that a victim of
crime who incurs any economic loss as a result of the
commission of a crime shall receive restitution directly
from any defendant convicted of that crime. (Penal Code
(PEN) Section 1202.4, subd. (a)(1))
Existing law provides that where a defendant is committed
to prison and subject to parole, the court shall impose a
separate parole restitution fine in the same amount as the
restitution fine itself. This additional parole revocation
restitution fine is not subject to penalty assessments, as
specified, or a specified state surcharge, and shall be
suspended unless the person's parole is revoked. Parole
revocation restitution fine moneys are deposited in the
Restitution Fund in the State Treasury. (PEN Section
1202.45)
This bill revises this provision to provide additionally
that in every case where a person is convicted of a crime
and is subject to either postrelease community supervision,
as specified (PEN Section 3451), or mandatory supervision
as a felon sentenced pursuant to Pen Section
1170(h)(5)(jail felony sentencing), and the person violates
the terms of the postrelease community supervision or
mandatory supervision and is incarcerated in a county jail
for that violation, the person shall pay a fine that may be
collected by the agency designated by the board of
supervisors of the county in which the prisoner is
incarcerated.
Existing law generally provides for the enforcement of
fines, including restitution fines, as specified, and
provides that any "portion of a restitution order that
remains unsatisfied after a defendant is no longer on
probation or parole is enforceable by the victim pursuant
to this section." (PEN Section 1214)
This bill amends this section to include a reference to
defendants no longer on postrelease community supervision,
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as specified (PEN Section 3451), and mandatory supervision
imposed pursuant to PEN Section 1170(h)(5)(B)(jail felony
sentencing).
Existing law provides for the Secretary of the Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation to make deductions from
an inmate's wages and trust account deposits and
transferred for deposit in the Restitution Fund where a
prisoner owes a restitution fine, as specified. (PEN
Section 2085.5)
This bill provides that when a prisoner is punished by
imprisonment in a county jail pursuant to subdivision (h)
of Section 1170, in any case in which a prisoner owes a
restitution fine imposed pursuant to subdivision (a) of
Section 13967 of the Government Code, as operative prior to
September 28, 1994, subdivision (b) of Section 730.6 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code, or subdivision (b) of
Section 1202.4, the agency designated by the board of
supervisors in the county where the prisoner is
incarcerated is authorized to deduct a minimum of 20% or
the balance owing on the fine amount, whichever is less, up
to a maximum of 50% from the county jail equivalent of
wages and trust account deposits of a prisoner, unless
prohibited by federal law, and shall transfer that amount
to the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims
Board for deposit in the Restitution Fund in the State
Treasury. Any amount so deducted shall be credited against
the amount owing on the fine. The sentencing court shall
be provided a record of the payments.
This bill provides that when a prisoner is punished by
imprisonment in a county jail pursuant to subdivision (h)
of Section 1170, the agency designated by the board of
supervisors in the county where the prisoner is
incarcerated is authorized to deduct and retain from the
county jail equivalent of wages and trust account deposits
of a prisoner, unless prohibited by federal law, and
administrative fee that totals 10% of any amount
transferred to the California Victim Compensation and
Government Claims Board pursuant to subdivision (b) or (d).
The agency is authorized to deduct and retain from any
prisoner settlement or trial award, an administrative fee
that totals 5% of any amount paid from the settlement or
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award to satisfy an outstanding restitution order or fine
pursuant to subdivision (n), unless prohibited by federal
law. The agency shall deposit the administrative fee
monies in a special deposit account for reimbursing
administrative and support costs of the restitution program
of the agency. The agency is authorized to retain any
excess funds in the special deposit account for future
reimbursement to the agency's administrative and support
costs for the restitution program or may transfer all or
part of the excess funds for deposit in the Restitution
Fund.
This bill provides that any victim failing to provide a
current address within the specified period of time may
provide documentation to the agency designated by the board
of supervisors in the county where the prisoner punished by
imprisonment in a county jail pursuant to subdivision (h)
of Section 1170 is incarcerated, which in turn may verify
that monies were in fact collected on behalf of the victim.
Upon receipt of that verified information from the agency,
the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims
Board shall transmit the restitution revenues to the victim
in accordance with the provisions of subdivision (d) or
(h).
Existing law generally provides that restitution fines for
criminal offenses imposed by a superior court be referred
to the Franchise Tax Board for collection under guidelines
prescribed by the Franchise Tax Board, as specified.
(Revenue and Taxation Code Section 19280)
This bill revises this provision to expressly include a
juvenile court.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Ongoing potentially significant increased revenue to the
Restitution Fund, dependent upon the level and rate of
collection.
One-time and annual ongoing potentially significant costs
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to local agencies to update existing revenue collection
systems or fund increased vendor contracts to accommodate
the new and ongoing increased workload related to the
collection of restitution for realigned jail felons. To
the extent the 10 percent administrative fee does not
fully cover a county's total costs, any additional costs
could potentially be determined reimbursable
state-mandated costs (General Fund).
Minor ongoing costs to the Franchise Tax Board for debt
collection activities, fully offset by revenues
collected.
The 2012-13 Governor's Budget projections reflect a
Restitution Fund balance of $19.3 million 2011-12 and $8.4
million in 2012-13. Restitution fine revenue for the past
three years has been $66.8 million in 2008-09, $63.3
million in 2009-10, and $62.5 million in 2010-11.
SUPPORT : (Verified 5/30/12)
California District Attorneys Association (co-source)
Crime Victims Action Alliance (co-source)
Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office (co-source)
California Police Chiefs Association
Crime Victims United of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states:
Last year, AB 109 realigned public safety services in
California. As part of the Realignment plan thousands of
convicted felons are no longer being sent to the
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(CDCR), instead they are being housed in local jails.
Unfortunately, the Realignment plan failed to give
sheriffs the authority to collect restitution for victims
from these convicted felons. SB 1210 corrects this
oversight by providing California's sheriffs the
authority to collect restitution from these offenders in
order to help the victims of their crimes receive the
restitution they are rightfully due.
Restitution is mandated by the California Constitution
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and was amended in 1989 to explicitly state that it is
"the unequivocal intention of the People of the State of
California that all persons who suffer losses as a result
of criminal activity shall have the right to seek and
secure restitution from the persons convicted of the
crimes causing the losses they suffer." (Cal. Const.,
Art. I � 28, subd. (b)(13)(A).)
As part of a defendant's sentence, a court will order the
defendant to pay restitution to their victims for the
losses suffered by the victim as a result of the
defendant's criminal activity. In order to help crime
victims collect the restitution they are constitutionally
due, CDCR deducts a minimum of 20% up to a maximum of 50%
from the wages and trust account deposits a prisoner has
and transfers that money to the California Victim
Compensation and Government Claims Board for direct
payment to the victim.
As part of last year's Realignment plan, defendants
convicted of certain felony crimes must be incarcerated
in county jails rather than a state prison.
Unfortunately, when this occurs, the Realignment plan
failed to include any provisions for the collection of
restitution by county sheriffs.
SB 1210 provides local governments with the same
authority the state has to collect restitution from these
offenders in order to help the victims of their crimes
and to collect fines owed to the state when offenders are
incarcerated in a county jail instead of a state prison.
SB 1210 would also give counties the right to collect a
parole revocation fine when an offender violates parole
after being incarcerated in county jail instead of state
prisons. The parole revocation fines are used by the
California Victim Compensation Program to help cover
treatment and other support services for victims and
their families.
Right now felons who are sentenced to county jail rather
than state prison pursuant to California's newly enacted
realignment plan are not paying their victims for the
losses they caused by their criminal activity, despite
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the requirement in California's constitution that victims
have a right to restitution from their perpetrators for
the losses they suffered, nor are parolees who are
serving their parole revocation in county jails instead
of state prisons paying their parole revocation fines.
These oversights must be corrected so that crime victims
receive the restitution they deserve and so that these
prisoners do not receive an unforeseen windfall from the
Realignment plan.
RJG:kcm 5/30/12 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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