BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 2499
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Date of Hearing: April 30, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 2499 (Bonilla) - As Amended: April 21, 2014
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 5-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill:
1)Increases the information a police department may receive from
the monitoring entity (sheriff or probation) regarding persons
on electronic monitoring to include global positioning system
(GPS) coordinates, if available, of a person on home detention
in lieu of confinement in county jail or a program under the
auspices of the probation officer, or a person who is on
electronic monitoring in lieu of bail.
2)Provides that a police department that receives information
may not use the information to conduct enforcement actions
based on administrative violations of the home detention
program, but requires a police department that has knowledge
that the subject in a criminal investigation is a participant
in an electronic monitoring program to make reasonable efforts
to notify the supervising agency prior to serving a warrant or
taking any law enforcement action against a participant in an
electronic monitoring program.
3)Adds the home detention programs specified in this bill to
existing law crediting days in custody toward the fine and/or
term of imprisonment.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Unknown, likely minor county savings to the extent clarifying
inmates on electronic monitoring receive credits commensurate
to incarcerated inmates results in marginally shorter jail
terms.
AB 2499
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2)Unknown, likely minor, state-mandated costs for police
departments to make reasonable efforts to notify the
supervising entity - generally the sheriff or probation -
prior to taking action against a participant in an electronic
monitoring program.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author and proponents - including the CA State
Sheriff's Association, the CA Police Chiefs Association, and
the CA Public Defenders Association, note that counties find
some inmates refuse to participate in electronic monitoring
programs because they do not earn conduct credits. The author
states, "In other words, an inmate could do less time by
remaining in custody where they can earn conduct credits;
therefore the inmate chooses to stay in county jail when they
could realistically be safely placed in the community. AB 2499
solves this problem by allowing inmates that participate in
alternative custody programs to earn credits as if they were
in county jail, which will free up county jail space for
inmates that need to remain in custody."
2)Current law authorizes the board of supervisors to authorize
the county correctional administrator to offer a voluntary or
involuntary home detention program in lieu of confinement in
the county jail, or in lieu of being held on bail in a county
jail, as specified.
3)Support. According to the CA State Sheriffs Association,
"Existing law prohibits law enforcement agencies from sharing
certain information regarding persons participating in an
electronic monitoring program. Now that sentenced, realigned
felons can participate in such programs, it is essential that
law enforcement is able to share information such as current
and historical GPS coordinates with other agencies. AB 2499
will allow this crucial information to be shared without
interfering with an offender's participation in the program.
"In addition, many offenders refuse to participate in electronic
monitoring programs because they are unable to accrue credits
that they can earn while remaining in custodial facilities.
This disincentive then creates housing problems by requiring
jail managers to house both inmates that need to remain in
custody along with inmates that could otherwise participate in
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community-based treatment and rehabilitative programing. AB
2499 fixes this problem by allowing inmates to obtain credits
regardless of whether they are in a custodial facility or
participating in an alternative custody program."
According to the CA Public Defenders Association, "This bill
will help ease overcrowding, will incentivize county jail
inmates to participate in rehabilitative programs, and will
make more equitable the allocation of custody and good conduct
credits, all while also increasing the ability of law
enforcement agencies to constantly know the location of
inmates released on electronic home detention."
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081