BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 1512
Page 1
Date of Hearing: March 11, 2014
Counsel: Stella Choe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 1512 (Stone) - As Introduced: January 14, 2014
As Proposed to be Amended in Committee
SUMMARY : Extends the sunset date on provisions of law that
allow a county where adequate facilities are not available for
prisoners in its adult detention facilities to enter into
agreements with one or more counties that have adequate
facilities. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires transferred inmates to be sentenced misdemeanants,
persons sentenced to county jail pursuant to public safety
realignment, and persons required to serve a term of
imprisonment in county jail as a condition of probation.
2)Makes these provisions operative until July 1, 2018.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the board of supervisors of a county where, in the
opinion of the sheriff or the director of the county
department of corrections, adequate facilities are not
available for prisoners who would otherwise be confined in its
county adult detention facilities may enter into an agreement
with the board or boards of supervisors of one or more
counties whose county adult detention facilities are adequate
for and accessible to the first county, with the concurrence
of that county's sheriff or director of its county department
of corrections. When the agreement is in effect, commitments
may be made by the court. (Pen. Code, � 4115.5, subd. (a).)
2)Requires a county entering into an agreement with another
county to report annually to the Board of State and Community
Corrections on the number of offenders who otherwise would be
under that county's jurisdiction but who are now being housed
in another county's facility and the reason for needing to
house the offenders outside the county. (Pen. Code, � 4115.5,
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subd. (b).)
3)States that the above provisions shall become inoperative on
July 1, 2015, and, as of January 1, 2016, is repealed, unless
a later enacted statute, that becomes operative on or before
January 1, 2016, deletes or extends the dates on which it
becomes inoperative and is repealed. (Pen. Code, � 4115.5,
subd. (c).)
4)Starting July 1, 2015, authorizes the board of supervisors of
a county where adequate facilities are not available for
prisoners who would otherwise be confined in its county adult
detention facilities to enter into an agreement with the board
or boards of supervisors of one or more nearby counties whose
county adult detention facilities are adequate and are readily
accessible from the first county, permitting commitment of
misdemeanants, and any persons required to serve a term of
imprisonment in county adult detention facilities as a
condition of probation, to a jail in a county having adequate
facilities that is a party to the agreement. That agreement
shall make provision for the support of a person so committed
or transferred by the county from which he or she is
committed. When that agreement is in effect, commitments may
be made by the court and support of a person so committed
shall be a charge upon the county from which he or she is
committed. (Pen. Code, � 4115.5.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : "Criminal justice realignment under AB
109 placed greater responsibility on county jails in the
housing and rehabilitation of inmates. Monterey County Jail,
for example, has been highly impacted by an increase in inmate
capacity since realignment. A lawsuit was filed in May 2013 by
the Monterey County Public Defender's Office alleging that the
jail is severely overcrowded, making jail facilities unsafe
for both inmates and staff. AB 900 (Solorio, 2007) is
providing Monterey County Jail with $36.295 million to
construct new bed spaces, administrative support and space for
rehabilitation. The construction project is anticipated to be
completed in 2017. In order to protect the wellbeing and
safety of inmates and staff before construction is complete,
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Monterey County entered into an agreement in November 2013
with Alameda County to transfer a maximum of 82 male or female
sentenced inmates a year. As of January 2014, 60 inmates had
been transferred from Monterey to Alameda, where jail
facilities are better equipped to house and care for inmates
placed in county jail after realignment.
"AB 1512 would extend the provision that allows counties to
transfer inmates from one county jail to another provided the
transferring facility is not able to adequately house the
inmate(s). Only inmates who have been sentenced as
misdemeanants and those in county jail due to realignment
would be eligible to be transferred. The provision would be
extended for three years through 2018 and expire January 1,
2019. This would allow county jails undergoing renovation and
construction to complete construction projects and protect
inmates from being housed in county jails with inadequate and
highly impacted facilities."
2)Background : As part of the 2012 Budget Act, SB 1021
(Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter 41, Statutes
of 2012, expanded the authority of counties to contract with
other counties to house county jail inmates. (Pen. Code, �
4115.5.) After the passage of the Public Safety Realignment
Act of 2011 (AB 109 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 15,
Statutes of 2011), there were concerns that some counties with
already overcrowded jail populations would not be able to
adequately house new inmates sentenced under realignment to
serve time in county jails.
Prior to the enactment of SB 1021, counties were allowed to
contract with nearby counties for the housing of committed
misdemeanants and any persons required to serve a term of
imprisonment in a county jail as a condition of probation. SB
1021 expanded this authority by removing the requirement that
the receiving county must be a nearby county, and authorizing
any inmate confined to the county jail to be transferred
through a county-to-county contract.
By authorizing any inmate confined in a county jail to be
transferred to another county, SB 1021 authorized the transfer
of inmates sentenced under realignment as well as inmates who
are awaiting trial. Allowing pre-trial inmates to be
transferred to a county hundreds of miles away inhibits their
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access to counsel and interferes with their ability to prepare
a defense. Additionally, it would take up time and resources
to ensure that the inmate would be transferred back to the
county every time he or she had a court date.
AB 1512 excludes pre-trial inmates from being transferred
through county-to-county transfers. The bill also extends the
sunset date established in SB 1021 from July 1, 2015 to July
1, 2018, to allow counties undergoing renovation and
construction additional time to complete these projects. On
July 1, 2018, the law will revert back to the statute that
existed prior to version passed by SB 1021.
3)Arguments in Support : The California State Sheriffs'
Association , the sponsor of this bill, states "This bill is
essential for counties to retain flexibility to reduce
overcrowding in highly impacted county jail facilities.
"In addition, by temporarily extending the sunset date to 2020,
this measure allows county jails undergoing renovation and
construction the necessary time to complete current projects,
which will allow inmates to remain in the county."
4)Arguments in Opposition : The California Attorneys for
Criminal Justice (CACJ) argues "AB 1512 . . . does nothing to
reduce jail population. It just allows counties to move
bodies around without making more reasonable, fiscally
responsible, decisions. Housing a person in county jail is
expensive. Paying another county to house them is even more
expensive. So the taxpayers will be bitten by AB 1512.
"At the same time, evidence from many jurisdictions shows us
that separating an inmate from the community of residence
further damages family ties, employment prospects, and mental
state of the inmates. This, in turn, leads to higher rates of
recidivism after the inmate is released. New crimes increase
incarceration, costs, and jail population. The evidence of
these factors is so overwhelming that there is no doubt that
extension of Penal Code �4115.5 will lead to new crimes, jail
population problems, and higher costs to the counties which
implement transfers.
"Although CACJ is sure that this proposal has the best
intentions of helping corrections administrators to deal with
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population problems, AB 1512 would only prolong the failed,
expensive policies of the past. Rather than undermine the
progress AB 109 initiated toward a more effective policy on
crime and punishment, AB 1512 allows corrections officials to
continue to waste taxpayer funds to preserve a failed status
quo. It would be better to require them to adopt
evidence-based measures to reduce costs, decrease jail
populations, and reduce crime."
5)Related Legislation : AB 2356 (Gorell) increases the
authorization for revenue bonds from $500 million to $1.25
billion to finance the acquisition, design, and construction,
including renovation, of approved adult local criminal justice
facilities. AB 2356 is pending referral in the Rules
Committee.
6)Prior Legislation :
a) SB 1021 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chapter
41, Statutes of 2012, authorizes counties to enter into
agreements with other counties for the purpose of housing
any adult offenders confined in a county jail. SB 1021
established a sunset date of July 1, 2015 for these
provisions. Starting July 1, 2015, the statute reverts
back to the law that existed prior to the enactment of SB
1021 which requires that counties only contract with other
nearby counties and the inmates that are transferred must
be either misdemeanants committed to the jail or persons
serving a term of imprisonment in the county jail as a
condition of probation.
b) AB 109 (Committee on Budget), Chapter 15, Statutes of
2011, realigned responsibilities for certain parolees and
newly convicted offenders who are deemed to be non-violent,
non-serious and non-sex offenders from state to local
jurisdictions.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
California State Sheriffs' Association (Sponsor)
Rural Counties Representatives of California
AB 1512
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Sheriff of Calaveras County
Sheriff of Orange County
Sheriff of Santa Cruz County
Yolo County Sheriff's Office
Opposition
American Civil Liberties Union
American Friends Service Committee, Pacific Mountain Region
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
California Public Defenders Association
Californians United for a Responsible Budget
Community Works
Concerned Citizens for Jail/Prison Reform - Monterey County
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
One private individual
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744