BILL ANALYSIS �
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Kevin de Le�n, Chair
SB 210 (Hancock) - Criminal procedure: release on defendant's own
recognizance.
Amended: As Introduced Policy Vote: Public Safety 5-1
Urgency: No Mandate: No
Hearing Date: January 21, 2014
Consultant: Jolie Onodera
This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill Summary: SB 210 would require a court to determine at
arraignment whether or not a defendant charged with a crime
punishable as a jail term felony (pursuant to Penal Code �
1170(h)) is eligible for release on his or her own recognizance
(OR), subject to specified factors. This bill also defines a
program of evaluation and supervision for pre-trial release to
be implemented at the discretion of a participating county.
Fiscal Impact:
Potentially major ongoing costs in excess of $3.5 million
(General Fund*) for additional court time for review of
felony jail term cases for OR release.
Potentially major future cost savings to local law
enforcement agencies due to reduced incarceration, offset in
part by increased costs for investigative staff to prepare
pre-trial investigative reports and supervision staff to
provide monitoring services. As an example, assuming a daily
jail rate of $105 vs. a daily supervision rate of $5, could
result in annual savings of $3.6 million per 100 inmates
released on OR.
Potential future increase in non-reimbursable local
enforcement and incarceration costs to the extent additional
violations for failure to appear subsequent to OR release
occur.
*Trial Court Trust Fund
Background: The most recent Board of State and Community
Corrections (BSCC) quarterly Jail Profile Survey (June 2013)
indicated that nearly 63 percent of the state's approximately
82,000 detainees are awaiting trial and represent the largest
category of inmates in county jails.
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According to a letter issued on May 30, 2013, by the Little
Hoover Commission (LHC) on jail overcrowding and pre-trial
services, "Many pre-trial detainees are poor or mentally ill and
remain jailed for weeks, sometimes months. Though not convicted
of any crime, they remain incarcerated because they cannot
afford to post a bail bond?Pre-trial release strategies to help
manage jail space are not widespread. Where they exist, they
vary considerably from county to county - without state
oversight, accountability, or systematic sharing of best
practices."
In its letter, the LHC recommended the mandatory use of
validated risk and needs assessments at the pre-trial stage in
each of the 58 counties to assist judges, sheriffs, and
probation departments make more informed choices when
considering jail alternatives such as the early release of
inmates due to overcrowding.
This bill seeks to establish an effective framework for
alternatives to pre-trial jail detention.
Proposed Law: This bill:
Requires a court at arraignment to determine if a defendant
being held on felony charges punishable by a jail term
pursuant to PC � 1170(h) is eligible for OR release.
Requires the court to consider the following factors in
determining conditions for pre-trial release and in setting,
reducing or denying bail:
The nature and circumstances of the charged offense,
including whether or not a drug offense involved large
quantities.
The history and characteristics of the defendant,
including ties to the community, employment, family,
duration of residence, educational or vocational program
enrollment, drug or alcohol dependence, and any drug or
alcohol treatment.
The previous criminal record of the defendant,
including whether the defendant was on probation, parole
or any form of release pending trial, sentencing or appeal
at the time of his or her arrest.
The defendant's record of appearance at past court
hearings or of flight to avoid arrest or prosecution.
Expands the list of entities that may employ an
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investigative staff to prepare pre-trial investigative
reports to determine OR release eligibility to include a
sheriff, county probation department, or other local
governmental agency (current law restricts this provision of
law to courts). Only one entity shall issue a report.
Provides that a pretrial OR release investigation report may
be prepared for any defendant not charged with a violent
felony or driving under the influence with injury.
Provides that a pre-trial OR release investigation report
shall include all results of an evidence-based pre-trial risk
assessment concerning the risk the defendant presents to
public safety and the probability the defendant will return
to court.
Provides that a court, sheriff, probation department, or
other designated agency may, with concurrence of the board of
supervisors, employ "supervision staff" to monitor the
defendant's compliance with the conditions of release.
Supervision staff may do any of the following:
Notify the defendant of court appearances or
obligations.
Require the defendant to report periodically in person
or by telephone or mail.
Monitor and assist the defendant with release
conditions.
Supervise a defendant's home detention, with or
without electronic monitoring.
Report violations of release conditions.
Provide information to assist law enforcement in
detaining any defendant for whom a bench warrant has been
issued.
Includes the numerous legislative findings and declarations:
Prior Legislation: SB 1180 (Hancock) 2012 was substantially
similar to this measure. SB 1180 did not come up for a vote on
the Senate Floor.
SB 210 (Hancock) 2012 was substantially similar to this measure.
SB 210 did not come up for a vote on the Assembly Floor.
Staff Comments: By specifying that a defendant charged with a
crime punishable as a jail term felony pursuant to PC � 1170(h)
is entitled to an OR release unless the court finds that an OR
release would jeopardize public safety or fail to ensure the
appearance of the defendant as required, this bill creates
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significant cost pressure on the courts to consider each
applicable case based on the expanded and redefined list of
factors.
According to data reported through March 2013 from the Chief
Probation Officers of California (CPOC) California Realignment
Dashboard, there are approximately 15,000 PC � 1170(h) felony
cases every six months. To the extent each of these cases
initially receives a court review to ensure that an OR release
would not compromise public safety or present a flight risk,
assuming 15 minutes of court time per review (based on an
estimated 8-hour daily court cost of $4,000), this bill could
result in increased near-term annual General Fund costs of
approximately $3.7 million. Future annual costs would be
dependent on the number of PC � 1170(h) felony cases before the
court.
The provisions of this bill could potentially result in major
cost savings to local law enforcement agencies to the extent
additional pre-trial release consideration by the court results
in reduced time spent by defendants in pre-trial detention. For
counties that choose to utilize investigative staff to prepare
pre-trial investigative reports and supervision staff to provide
monitoring services, estimated cost savings would be offset in
part and would be dependent on the level of resources committed
to these tasks. As an example, assuming a daily jail rate of
$105 vs. a daily supervision rate of $5, could result in annual
savings of $3.6 million per 100 inmates released on OR.
Existing law provides that any person who willfully fails to
appear, as specified, after being released on OR, is guilty of
an alternate felony-misdemeanor where the underlying charge or
conviction is a felony. Violation of this provision is
punishable by a fine of up to $5,000, a felony jail term of 16
months, two years, or three years, or a county jail term of up
to one year (PC � 1320). While some counties have implemented
alternatives to pre-trial detention that have resulted in a high
percentage of cases successfully making their court appearances,
to the extent the provisions of this measure result in
additional OR releases and subsequent increases in failures to
appear, this bill could result in increased non-reimbursable
local enforcement and incarceration costs.
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