BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Senator Loni Hancock, Chair A
2013-2014 Regular Session B
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AB 2243 (Weber) 3
As Introduced February 21, 2014
Hearing date: June 17, 2014
Elections Code
JRD:sl
ELECTIONS:
VOTING RIGHTS GUIDE: INCARCERATED PERSONS
HISTORY
Source: Author
Prior Legislation: AB 149 (Weber) - Chapter 580, Statutes of
2013
Support: American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees, AFL-CIO; American Civil Liberties Union;
Broken No More; California Attorneys for Criminal
Justice; California Correctional Peace Officers
Association; California Public Defenders Association;
Drug Policy Alliance; A New PATH; Tax Payers for
Improving Public Safety
Opposition:Unknown
Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 59 - Noes 13
KEY ISSUE
SHOULD THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS AND REHABILITATION
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(CDCR) MAKE VOTING RIGHTS INFORMATION MORE ACCESSIBLE?
PURPOSE
The purpose of this legislation is to require CDCR to make
specified information relating to voting rights of incarcerated
persons available to the public.
Existing law requires the Legislature to provide for the
disqualification of electors while mentally incompetent or
imprisoned or on parole for the conviction of a felony. (Cal.
Const., Article II, � 4.)
Existing law requires that a person be a U.S. citizen,
California resident, not in prison or on parole for the
conviction of a felony, and at least 18 years of age at the time
of the next election to be entitled to register to vote in this
state. (Election Code � 2101.)
Existing law requires each county probation department to do one
of the following:
a) Establish and maintain on the county probation
department's Internet Website a hyperlink to the Internet
Website at which the Secretary of State's voting rights
guide for incarcerated persons may be found; or,
b) Post, in each county probation department where
probationers are seen, a notice that contains the Internet
Website address at which the Secretary of State's voting
rights guide for incarcerated persons may be found.
(Penal Code � 2101.5(a).)
Existing law requires the facility administrator of a local
detention facility to develop written policies and procedures
whereby the county registrar of voters allows qualified voters
to vote in local, state, and federal elections, pursuant to
election codes. (Cal. Code Regs., Title 15, � 1071.)
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This bill would require CDCR to either:
Establish and maintain on the department's Internet
Website a hyperlink to the Internet Website at which the
Secretary of State's voting rights guide for incarcerated
persons may be found; or,
Post, in each parole office where parolees are seen, a
notice that contains the Internet Website address at which
the Secretary of State's voting rights guide for
incarcerated persons may be found.
RECEIVERSHIP/OVERCROWDING CRISIS AGGRAVATION
For the last several years, severe overcrowding in California's
prisons has been the focus of evolving and expensive litigation
relating to conditions of confinement. On May 23, 2011, the
United States Supreme Court ordered California to reduce its
prison population to 137.5 percent of design capacity within two
years from the date of its ruling, subject to the right of the
state to seek modifications in appropriate circumstances.
Beginning in early 2007, Senate leadership initiated a policy to
hold legislative proposals which could further aggravate the
prison overcrowding crisis through new or expanded felony
prosecutions. Under the resulting policy, known as "ROCA"
(which stands for "Receivership/ Overcrowding Crisis
Aggravation"), the Committee held measures that created a new
felony, expanded the scope or penalty of an existing felony, or
otherwise increased the application of a felony in a manner
which could exacerbate the prison overcrowding crisis. Under
these principles, ROCA was applied as a content-neutral,
provisional measure necessary to ensure that the Legislature did
not erode progress towards reducing prison overcrowding by
passing legislation, which would increase the prison population.
In January of 2013, just over a year after the enactment of the
historic Public Safety Realignment Act of 2011, the State of
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California filed court documents seeking to vacate or modify the
federal court order requiring the state to reduce its prison
population to 137.5 percent of design capacity. The State
submitted that the, ". . . population in the State's 33 prisons
has been reduced by over 24,000 inmates since October 2011 when
public safety realignment went into effect, by more than 36,000
inmates compared to the 2008 population . . . , and by nearly
42,000 inmates since 2006 . . . ." Plaintiffs opposed the
state's motion, arguing that, "California prisons, which
currently average 150% of capacity, and reach as high as 185% of
capacity at one prison, continue to deliver health care that is
constitutionally deficient." In an order dated January 29,
2013, the federal court granted the state a six-month extension
to achieve the 137.5 % inmate population cap by December 31,
2013.
The Three-Judge Court then ordered, on April 11, 2013, the state
of California to "immediately take all steps necessary to comply
with this Court's . . . Order . . . requiring defendants to
reduce overall prison population to 137.5% design capacity by
December 31, 2013." On September 16, 2013, the State asked the
Court to extend that deadline to December 31, 2016. In
response, the Court extended the deadline first to January 27,
2014 and then February 24, 2014, and ordered the parties to
enter into a meet-and-confer process to "explore how defendants
can comply with this Court's June 20, 2013 Order, including
means and dates by which such compliance can be expedited or
accomplished and how this Court can ensure a durable solution to
the prison crowding problem."
The parties were not able to reach an agreement during the
meet-and-confer process. As a result, the Court ordered
briefing on the State's requested extension and, on February 10,
2014, issued an order extending the deadline to reduce the
in-state adult institution population to 137.5% design capacity
to February 28, 2016. The order requires the state to meet the
following interim and final population reduction benchmarks:
143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014;
141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and,
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137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.
If a benchmark is missed the Compliance Officer (a position
created by the February 10, 2016 order) can order the release of
inmates to bring the State into compliance with that benchmark.
In a status report to the Court dated May 15, 2014, the state
reported that as of May 14, 2014, 116,428 inmates were housed in
the State's 34 adult institutions, which amounts to 140.8% of
design bed capacity, and 8,650 inmates were housed in
out-of-state facilities.
The ongoing prison overcrowding litigation indicates that prison
capacity and related issues concerning conditions of confinement
remain unresolved. While real gains in reducing the prison
population have been made, even greater reductions may be
required to meet the orders of the federal court. Therefore,
the Committee's consideration of ROCA bills -bills that may
impact the prison population - will be informed by the following
questions:
Whether a measure erodes realignment and impacts the
prison population;
Whether a measure addresses a crime which is directly
dangerous to the physical safety of others for which there
is no other reasonably appropriate sanction;
Whether a bill corrects a constitutional infirmity or
legislative drafting error;
Whether a measure proposes penalties which are
proportionate, and cannot be achieved through any other
reasonably appropriate remedy; and,
Whether a bill addresses a major area of public safety
or criminal activity for which there is no other
reasonable, appropriate remedy.
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COMMENTS
1. Need for This Legislation
According to the author:
Civic participation can be a critical component of
re-entry and has been linked to reduced recidivism,
persons involved in our criminal justice system are
not apprised of their voting rights nor is accurate
voter information readily accessible to them. Rumors
and misinformation abound, and even from courts,
public defenders and elections officials often give
out incorrect information about voter eligibility.
AB 2243 is a modest measure that aims to ensure
persons involved in the criminal justice system are
given accurate information about their voting rights
and are afforded the opportunity to participate in the
civic life of their communities by either requiring
each county parole department to post hyperlink on its
internet website to the Secretary of State's voting
guide for current and formerly incarcerated persons or
by posting a notice with the Internet web address
containing the Secretary of State's voting rights
guide for incarcerated persons in each parole office
where parolees are seen.
2. Effect of Legislation
This legislation will require CDCR to publish, either on
its website or on postings at parole offices, the Secretary
of State's web address. According to those in support,
this will help to ensure that persons involved in the
criminal justice system are given accurate information
about their voting rights and are afforded the opportunity
to participate in the civic life of their communities.
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