Amended in Assembly August 13, 2014

Amended in Assembly August 12, 2014

Senate Bill No. 875

Introduced by Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review

January 9, 2014

An act to amend Sections 3042 and 3043 of the Penal Code, begin delete to amend Section 17012.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, end delete and to amend Section 51 of Chapter 26 of the Statutes of 2014, relating to public begin delete services end delete begin insert safety end insert , and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 875, as amended, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. Public begin delete services. end delete begin insert safety. end insert

Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings, upon request, to notify the victim, or next of kin of the victim, of any crime committed by a prisoner, of any hearing to review or consider the parole suitability or the setting of a parole date for that prisoner. Existing law requires that this notice be given by telephone, certified mail, or electronic mail, using the method of communication selected by the requesting party, if that method is available. Existing law also requires the board to send, by certified mail, written notice of the parole hearing to the judge of the superior court before whom a prisoner was tried.

This bill would instead require the board to send the notice to the judge of the superior court, and would authorize the board to send the notice to the victim or the victim’s next of kin, using United States mail.

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Existing law provides for the California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids (CalWORKs) program, under which each county provides cash assistance and other benefits to qualified low-income families and individuals. Existing law also requires each county to provide aid to its indigent residents not supported by other means. These county programs are known as general assistance programs. Existing law provides that an individual who is ineligible for CalWORKs is also ineligible for general assistance, but makes this provision inoperative on April 1, 2015, and repeals the provision on January 1, 2016.

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This bill would delete those inoperative and repeal dates.

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Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections to collect and maintain available information and data about state and community correctional policies, practices, capacities, and needs, as specified. Existing law also requires the board to develop incentives for units of local government to develop comprehensive regional partnerships whereby adjacent jurisdictions pool grant funds in order to deliver services to a broader target population and maximize the impact of state funds at the local level.

This bill would appropriate $5,000,000 from the Recidivism Reduction Fund to the Board of State and Community Corrections for the establishment of a social innovation financing program for counties.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 3042 of the Penal Code is amended to
read:

3042.  

(a) At least 30 days before the Board of Prison Terms
meets to review or consider the parole suitability or the setting of
a parole date for any prisoner sentenced to a life sentence, the
board shall send written notice thereof to each of the following
persons: the judge of the superior court before whom the prisoner
was tried and convicted, the attorney who represented the defendant
at trial, the district attorney of the county in which the offense was
committed, the law enforcement agency that investigated the case,
and where the prisoner was convicted of the murder of a peace
officer, the law enforcement agency which had employed that
peace officer at the time of the murder.

(b) The Board of Prison Terms shall record all those hearings
and transcribe recordings of those hearings within 30 days of any
hearing. Those transcripts, including the transcripts of all prior
hearings, shall be filed and maintained in the office of the Board
of Prison Terms and shall be made available to the public no later
than 30 days from the date of the hearing. No prisoner shall actually
be released on parole prior to 60 days from the date of the hearing.

(c) At any hearing, the presiding hearing officer shall state his
or her findings and supporting reasons on the record.

(d) Any statements, recommendations, or other materials
considered shall be incorporated into the transcript of the hearing,
unless the material is confidential in order to preserve institutional
security and the security of others who might be endangered by
disclosure.

(e) This section shall not apply to any hearing held to consider
advancing a prisoner’s parole date due to his or her conduct since
his or her last hearing.

(f) (1) The written notice to the judge of the superior court
before whom the prisoner was tried and convicted shall be sent by
United States mail.

(2) The judge receiving this written notice may forward to the
parole board any unprivileged information from the trial or
sentencing proceeding regarding the prisoner, witnesses, or victims,
or other relevant persons, or any other information, that is pertinent
to the question of whether the parole board should grant parole or
under what conditions parole should be granted. The judge may
also, in his or her discretion, include information given to him or
her by victims, witnesses, or other persons that bear on the question
of the prisoner’s suitability for parole.

(3) The parole board shall review and consider all information
received from the judge or any other person and shall consider
adjusting the terms or conditions of parole to reflect the comments
or concerns raised by this information, as appropriate.

(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the
type or content of information the judge or any other person may
forward to the parole board for consideration under any other
provision of law.

(h) Any person who receives notice under subdivision (a) who
is authorized to forward information for consideration in a parole
suitability hearing or the setting of a parole date for a person
sentenced to a life sentence under this section, may forward that
information either by facsimile or electronic mail. The Department
of Corrections shall establish procedures for receiving the
information by facsimile or electronic mail pursuant to this
subdivision.

SEC. 2.  

Section 3043 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

3043.  

(a) (1) Upon request to the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation and verification of the identity of the requester,
notice of any hearing to review or consider the parole suitability
or the setting of a parole date for any prisoner in a state prison
shall be given by telephone, certified mail, regular mail, or
electronic mail, using the method of communication selected by
the requesting party, if that method is available, by the Board of
Parole Hearings at least 90 days before the hearing to any victim
of any crime committed by the prisoner, or to the next of kin of
the victim if the victim has died, to include the commitment crimes,
determinate term commitment crimes for which the prisoner has
been paroled, and any other felony crimes or crimes against the
person for which the prisoner has been convicted. The requesting
party shall keep the board apprised of his or her current contact
information in order to receive the notice.

(2) No later than 30 days prior to the date selected for the
hearing, any person, other than the victim, entitled to attend the
hearing shall inform the board of his or her intention to attend the
hearing and the name and identifying information of any other
person entitled to attend the hearing who will accompany him or
her.

(3) No later than 14 days prior to the date selected for the
hearing, the board shall notify every person entitled to attend the
hearing confirming the date, time, and place of the hearing.

(b) (1) The victim, next of kin, members of the victim’s family,
and two representatives designated as provided in paragraph (2)
of this subdivision have the right to appear, personally or by
counsel, at the hearing and to adequately and reasonably express
his, her, or their views concerning the prisoner and the case,
including, but not limited to the commitment crimes, determinate
term commitment crimes for which the prisoner has been paroled,
any other felony crimes or crimes against the person for which the
prisoner has been convicted, the effect of the enumerated crimes
on the victim and the family of the victim, the person responsible
for these enumerated crimes, and the suitability of the prisoner for
parole.

(2) Any statement provided by a representative designated by
the victim or next of kin may cover any subject about which the
victim or next of kin has the right to be heard including any
recommendation regarding the granting of parole. The
representatives shall be designated by the victim or, in the event
that the victim is deceased or incapacitated, by the next of kin.
They shall be designated in writing for the particular hearing prior
to the hearing.

(c) A representative designated by the victim or the victim’s
next of kin for purposes of this section may be any adult person
selected by the victim or the family of the victim. The board shall
permit a representative designated by the victim or the victim’s
next of kin to attend a particular hearing, to provide testimony at
a hearing, and to submit a statement to be included in the hearing
as provided in Section 3043.2, even though the victim, next of kin,
or a member of the victim’s immediate family is present at the
hearing, and even though the victim, next of kin, or a member of
the victim’s immediate family has submitted a statement as
described in Section 3043.2.

(d) The board, in deciding whether to release the person on
parole, shall consider the entire and uninterrupted statements of
the victim or victims, next of kin, immediate family members of
the victim, and the designated representatives of the victim or next
of kin, if applicable, made pursuant to this section and shall include
in its report a statement whether the person would pose a threat to
public safety if released on parole.

(e) In those cases where there are more than two immediate
family members of the victim who wish to attend any hearing
covered in this section, the board shall allow attendance of
additional immediate family members to include the following:
spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandchildren, and grandparents.

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SEC. 3.  

Section 17012.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code
is amended to read:

17012.5.  

An individual ineligible for aid under Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 11200) of Part 3 pursuant to Section
11251.3, who is a member of an assistance unit receiving aid under
that chapter, shall also be ineligible for non-health-care benefits
under this part.

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begin insert SEC. 3. end insert   

Section 51 of Chapter 26 of the Statutes of 2014 is
amended to read:

Sec. 51.  

Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with
Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government
Code), until January 1, 2016, the department may implement and
administer Sections 45 to 50, inclusive, of this act by all-county
letters or similar instructions. The all-county letters or similar
instructions shall be developed in consultation with the Chief
Probation Officers of California, the County Welfare Directors
Association of California, and client advocates. The department
shall adopt regulations implementing Sections 45 to 50, inclusive,
of this act by January 1, 2016.

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begin insert SEC. 4. end insert   

The sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) is hereby
appropriated, in the 2014-15 fiscal year, from the Recidivism
Reduction Fund to the Board of State and Community Corrections
for the establishment of a social innovation financing program for
counties. The Board of State and Community Corrections may use
up to 5 percent of the total amount appropriated to administer this
program.

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begin insert SEC. 5. end insert   

This act is a bill providing for appropriations related
to the Budget Bill within the meaning of subdivision (e) of Section
12 of Article IV of the California Constitution, has been identified
as related to the budget in the Budget Bill, and shall take effect
immediately.