BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1607|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1607
Author: Fox (D)
Amended: 8/19/14 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 6/24/14
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, De Le�n, Knight, Liu, Mitchell,
Steinberg
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-0, 8/14/14
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/23/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Sexually violent predators
SOURCE : Los Angeles County District Attorney
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
DIGEST : This bill, beginning January 1, 2016, provides that
the designated attorney for the county of domicile of a
conditionally released Sexually Violent Predator (SVP) patient -
the county to which the person will be released - shall be
determined by a newly defined process involving the court, the
county of commitment and each county that could be determined to
be the county of domicile.
ANALYSIS :
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Existing law:
1.Provides for the civil commitment for psychiatric and
psychological treatment of a prison inmate found to be a SVP
after the person has served his/her prison commitment.
2.Defines an "SVP" as a person who has been convicted of a
sexually violent offense against at least one victim, and who
has a diagnosed mental disorder that makes the person a danger
to the health and safety of others in that it is likely that
he/she will engage in sexually violent criminal behavior.
3.Provides that a person committed as an SVP shall be held for
an indeterminate term upon commitment.
4.Requires that an SVP patient have an annual examination on
his/her mental condition. The report on the examination shall
include consideration of whether or not conditional release to
a less restrictive alternative or an unconditional release is
in the SVP patient's best interest and what conditions would
adequately protect the community.
5.Provides that if the Director of State Hospitals (DSH)
determines that the an SVP patient's condition has so changed
that he/she no longer meets the SVP criteria, or that he/she
can be safely and conditionally released under supervision,
the SVP patient can file a petition for unconditional release
or a petition for conditional release.
6.Provides that, if the court finds the conditional release
petition is not frivolous, the court shall give notice of the
hearing date to the attorney designated to represent the
county of commitment, the attorney for the committed person,
and the DSH at least 30 court days before the hearing date.
7.Provides that the attorney designated the county of
commitment, shall represent the state and have the committed
person evaluated by experts chosen by the state, and that the
committed person shall have the right to the appointment of
experts, if he/she so requests.
8.Allows, after a minimum of one year on conditional release,
the committed person, with or without the recommendation or
concurrence of the DSH, to petition the court for
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unconditional discharge, as specified. If the court finds
probable cause that the person is no longer an SVP, the court
shall set the matter for jury trial. The state shall bear the
burden to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the person
remains an SVP.
This bill:
1.Provides that a person petitioning for conditional release is
entitled to assistance of counsel in the conditional release
and county of domicile hearings.
2.Provides that the procedure for a conditional release hearing
in a case in which the county of domicile has not yet been
determined by the court, proceed as follows:
A. The court, upon deeming that a conditional release
petition is not frivolous, shall provide notice to the
attorney for the committed person, the designated attorney
for the county of commitment, and the DSH of its intent to
set a conditional release hearing, and requires these
entities to notify the court within 30 court days of
receiving the notice of intent, if it is alleged that a
county other than the county of commitment is the domicile
county.
B. The court shall deem the county of commitment as the
county of domicile and set a date for the conditional
release hearing, with at least 30 court days' notice, as
specified, if no county, other than the county of
commitment, is alleged to be the county of domicile.
C. The court shall hold a hearing to determine the county
of domicile if any other county, other than the county of
commitment, is alleged to be the county of domicile.
Allows the designated attorney for any alleged county of
domicile, the attorney for the county of commitment, the
attorney for the petitioner, and the DSH to file and serve
declarations, documentary evidence, and other pleadings,
specific to the issue of domicile only, at least 10 court
days prior to the hearing. Allows the court, in its
discretion, to decide the issue of domicile based upon the
pleadings alone or permit such additional argument and
testimony as is in the interest of justice.
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D. The court, after determining county of domicile, shall
set a date for a conditional release hearing and give
notice of the hearing, as specified, including to the
designated attorney for the county of domicile at least 30
court days before the date of the hearing.
E. If the county of domicile is different than the county
of commitment, the designated attorney for the county of
domicile and the designated attorney for the county of
commitment may mutually agree that the designated attorney
for the county of domicile will represent the state at the
conditional release hearing. If the designated attorneys
do not make this agreement, the designated attorney for the
county of will represent the state at the conditional
release hearing.
F. At least 20 court days before the conditional release
hearing, the designated attorney for the county of
commitment is required to give notice to the specified
parties and to the court whether the state will be
represented by the designated attorney of the county of
domicile or the designated attorney of the county of
commitment.
G. The designated attorney for the county of domicile and
the designated attorney for the county of commitment should
cooperate with each other to ensure that all relevant
evidence is submitted on behalf of the state. No attorney
other than the designated attorney for the county
representing the state shall appear on behalf of the state
at the conditional release hearing.
H. The court's determination of a county of domicile
governs the current and any subsequent petition for
conditional release, as specified.
1.Requires the court, upon deeming that a conditional release
petition is not frivolous, to provide notice to the attorney
for the committed person, the designated attorney for the
county of commitment, and the DSH of the date of the
conditional release hearing at least 30 days prior to the
hearing.
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2.Provides that representation of the state at the conditional
release hearing is by the designated attorney for the domicile
county, if he/she so elects; otherwise the designated attorney
for the commitment county will represent the state.
3.Provides, if a committed person has been conditionally
released by a court to a county other than the county of
domicile and the jurisdiction of the person has been
transferred to that county, the notice required for a
subsequent conditional release hearing is to be given to the
designated attorney of the county of placement, who will
represent the state in any further proceedings.
4.Provides that if the committed person has been placed on
conditional release in a county other than the county of
commitment, jurisdiction of the person shall, upon the request
of the designated attorney of the county of placement, be
transferred to that county.
5.Provides that if a person who is conditionally released they
shall be placed in the county of the domicile of the person
prior to the person's incarceration, unless both of the
following conditions are satisfied:
A. The court finds that extraordinary circumstances require
placement outside the county of domicile.
B. The designated county of placement was given prior
notice and an opportunity to comment on the proposed
placement of the committed person in the county, as
specified.
1.Provides that these provisions will become operative January
1, 2016.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
Potentially significant state-reimbursable costs (General
Fund) for placing additional duties on counties, including a
county's designated counsel, with regard to conditional
releases of SVPs, including additional noticing requirements
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to the court and specified parties, participation in newly
established domicile hearings, when required, and additional
costs for designated attorneys of the county of domicile to
participate in conditional release hearings in the county of
commitment.
Potential future cost savings to local agencies and the courts
to the extent the formal and final court determination of the
county of domicile precludes attorneys from the county of
commitment and the county of domicile from filing additional
motions to appeal.
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/18/14)
Los Angeles County District Attorney (co-source)
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (co-source)
California District Attorneys Association
City of Palmdale
Crime Victims Action Alliance
Crime Victims United of California
Los Angeles Police Protective League
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/18/14)
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Public Defenders Association
Disability Rights of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The Los Angeles County District
Attorney's Office writes in part, "A person who has been
committed to a state hospital as an SVP may petition a court for
"conditional release" after one year of confinement. This is a
program that provides for supervised release in the community.
Under current law, the SVP must be released to the county of
domicile of the SVP prior to the person's incarceration
(generally, the SVP's permanent residence before he/she was sent
to prison), unless the court finds that 'extraordinary
circumstances' require placement outside the county of domicile.
Thus, there is a presumption that an SVP will be placed in the
domicile county."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : California Attorneys for Criminal
Justice writes, "This legislation is overly broad and vague as
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it proposes individual attorneys to travel to counties across
the state to examine witnesses without providing any criteria or
guidance for their newly proposed roles in judicial procedures
outside of their own counties for petitioners they may not even
know.
"These judicial proceedings are already governed by current
statutes that allow the judge to make a determination about
where the petitioner should reside, based on public safety, if
they've been effectively treated and ready to be placed in a
community. Existing law provides the courts the authority to
request and order testimony of experts or treatment staff about
residency options without having to add this legislation
requiring them to notice other counties attorneys who may or may
not even know the petitioner."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 75-0, 5/23/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon,
Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley, Dababneh,
Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox, Frazier,
Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gorell,
Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer,
Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal, Maienschein, Mansoor,
Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Nestande,
Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A. P�rez, Quirk,
Quirk-Silva, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner,
Stone, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk,
Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Bonilla, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, V. Manuel
P�rez, Vacancy
JG:e 8/19/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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