Amended in Senate May 27, 2014

Amended in Senate April 2, 2014

Amended in Senate March 18, 2014

Senate Bill No. 892

Introduced by Senator Hancock

(Coauthors: Senators De León, Lara, Leno, and Steinberg)

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ammiano and Skinner)

January 13, 2014

An act to amend Section 12838.1 of the Government Code, and to amend Sections 2932, 2933.6, and 6126 of, and to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 2696) to Chapter 4 of Title 1 of Part 3 of, the Penal Code, relating to state prisons.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 892, as amended, Hancock. State prisons.

Existing law establishes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to oversee the state prison system. Existing law authorizes the Governor to appoint 4 officers, subject to Senate approval, to the Division of Adult Institutions within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, to oversee specified categories of adult institutions.

This bill would authorize an additional officer appointment by the Governor, to oversee the security threat group validation and Security Housing Unit operations and conditions within that division.

Existing law authorizes Security Housing Units for segregation of certain prisoners for disciplinary or security purposes, and because of gang membership or association.

This bill would require specified due process procedures for determining if an inmate is a member of or an associate of a gang, and subject to placement in a Security Housing Unit. The bill would require the Office of the Inspector General, commencing July 1, 2015, to review every determination completed on or after July 1, 2015, prior to the offender being placed in a Security Housing Unit, and in which confidential information was used, that an inmate is a gang member or associate, to determine whether the minimum level of due process was provided and that the determination was supported by the evidence. If the Inspector General concludes that the determination was not supported by the evidence, or that the inmate was not provided the minimum level of due process, the gang member or associate classification would be deleted and the inmate would not be placed in a Security Housing Unit.

The bill would require an inmate subject to an indeterminate Security Housing Unit term to be placed in a multistep program designed to promote positive behavior and cessation of gang-related activities, and promotion of successful assimilation of the inmate back into the general prison population. The bill would require the Inspector General, on or before July 1, 2016, to review the central files of each inmate who is subject to an indeterminate Security Housing Unit term who is denied progression within the program to assess the department’s compliance with the program.

The bill would require an inmate subject to a determinate Security Housing Unit term to receive an individualized plan to address the conduct giving rise to the term in the Security Housing Unit, and to promote successful assimilation back into the general prison population. The bill would authorize an inmate serving a determinate Security Housing Unit term to earn credits toward reducing that term.

The bill would require the Inspector General, commencing July 1, 2016, and annually thereafter, to provide an audit report to the Governor and the Legislature of inmates subject to a determinate term in a Security Housing Unit to assess compliance by the department.

The bill would require an inmate in a Security Housing Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit to have access to educational programming, to have begin delete daily end delete begin insert weekly end insert face-to-face interaction with uniformed and civilian staff, to have access to radio or television, and the opportunity to earn additional specified privileges and credits towards reduction of the inmate’s sentence. The bill would require the Inspector General, on or before July 1, 2016, and biennially thereafter, to perform an audit to assess the department’s compliance with these provisions.

The bill would require mental health screening for an inmate placed in the Security Housing Unit and subsequent mental health assessments, as specified. The bill would require the Inspector General, on or before July 1, 2016, and biennially thereafter, to perform an audit to assess the department’s compliance with these provisions. The bill would require the department to employ 2 begin delete ombudsman end delete begin insert ombudsmen end insert to act as offender resource specialists at each begin insert institution that has a end insert Security Housing Unit begin delete and end delete begin insert or end insert Psychiatric Services Unit, to be responsible for, among other things, assisting an inmate with concerns about the inmate’s responsibilities and rights during confinement in one of those units, and responding to an inmate’s family member’s inquiries. The bill would require the Inspector General to employ 2 secured housing specialists for each begin insert institution that has a end insert Security Housing Unit begin delete and end delete begin insert or end insert Psychiatric Services Unit to monitor the programming and conditions of those security housing units.

The bill would require the department, commencing July 1, 2015, to collect specified data regarding inmates subject to a term in a Security Housing Unit. The bill would require the Inspector General, commencing January 1, 2017, and biennially thereafter, to use the data to prepare reports for the Legislature on specified criteria pertaining to inmates in a Security Housing Unit and a Psychiatric Services Unit.

Existing law provides that an inmate placed in a Security Housing Unit for specified crimes or because of gang association or membership, or placed in a Psychiatric Services Unit, is ineligible to earn credits towards reducing his or her sentence during the time the inmate is in the Security Housing Unit.

This bill would provide that those inmates would be eligible to earn credits toward reducing their sentences while in a Security Housing Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit for a period during which the inmate has been free of disciplinary action for 6 consecutive months.

The bill would state findings and declarations by the Legislature relative to Security Housing Units and would make conforming changes.

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

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

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares the following:

(a) Prisons serve a vital role in California’s public safety and
criminal justice system. The prison system also is an increasingly
expensive government program.

(b) The mission of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation is to enhance public safety through safe and secure
incarceration of the most serious and violent offenders, and to
provide effective parole supervision and rehabilitative strategies
for the successful reintegration of offenders into our communities.

(c) The criminal justice system must be transparent and include
performance measures that hold it accountable for its results in
protecting the public, reducing reoffending, and conserving
taxpayers’ money.

(d) Currently, California places an offender in a setting isolated
from the general prison population solely because the offender is
a gang member. An offender is labeled a gang member or gang
associate through a process that is completely internal within the
department and that is not subject to any systematic independent
oversight.

(e) An offender in the Security Housing Unit is locked in a cell
for up to 23 hours a day. These offenders are typically given
minimal outdoor time alone in small, separately secured yards,
and eat their meals in their cells. An offender in a Security Housing
Unit cannot make telephone calls and has very limited access to
family member visits.

(f) As of February 27, 2014, there were 2,483 offenders serving
indeterminate terms in the Security Housing Unit and 1,466
offenders serving determinate terms in the Security Housing Unit
in California state prisons.

(g) As of February 27, 2014, there were 39 offenders who had
been in the Security Housing Unit for more than 25 years, and 46
offenders who had been in the Security Housing Unit for more
than 20 years. According to the department, the average time an
offender spends in the Security Housing Unit is 6.8 years.

(h) Mental health professionals and researchers have found that
offenders in solitary confinement, especially for an extended time,
suffer from a number of psychological and psychiatric illnesses.
Those illnesses include aggression, chronic insomnia, anxiety,
panic attacks, extreme paranoia, and an offender often exhibits the
signs and symptoms of psychosis, including hallucinations.

(i) Between September 2012 and September 2013, 273 offenders
were paroled directly into our communities from the Security
Housing Unit.

(j) Long-term segregated housing as a prison management
strategy should be used only as a last resort and should be limited
in duration. The conditions of confinement should include
evidence-based programs designed to return the offender to the
general prison population.

SEC. 2.  

Section 12838.1 of the Government Code is amended
to read:

12838.1.  

(a) There is hereby created within the Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation, under the Undersecretary for
Administration and Offender Services, the following divisions:

(1) The Division of Enterprise Information Services, the
Division of Facility Planning, Construction begin delete , and end delete begin insert and end insert Management,
and the Division of Administrative Services. Each division shall
be headed by a director, who shall be appointed by the Governor,
upon recommendation of the secretary, subject to Senate
confirmation, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

(2) The Division of Internal Oversight and Research. This
division shall be headed by a director, who shall be appointed by
the Governor, upon recommendation of the secretary, who shall
serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

(b) There is hereby created in the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation, under the Undersecretary for Health Care
Services, the Division of Health Care Operations and the Division
of Health Care Policy and Administration. Each division shall be
headed by a director, who shall be appointed by the Governor,
upon recommendation of the secretary, subject to Senate
confirmation, who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

(c) There is hereby created within the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation, under the Undersecretary for Operations, the
Division of Adult Institutions, the Division of Adult Parole
Operations, the Division of Juvenile Justice, and the Division of
Rehabilitative Programs. Each division shall be headed by a
director, who shall be appointed by the Governor, upon
recommendation of the secretary, subject to Senate confirmation,
who shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor.

(d) The Governor shall, upon recommendation of the secretary,
appoint five subordinate officers to the Division of Adult
Institutions, subject to Senate confirmation, who shall serve at the
pleasure of the Governor. Each subordinate officer appointed
pursuant to this subdivision shall oversee an identified category
of adult institutions, one of which shall be female offender
facilities, and one that shall oversee security threat group validation
and Security Housing Unit operations and conditions, as described
in Article 7 (commencing with Section 2696) of Chapter 4 of Title
1 of Part 3 of the Penal Code.

(e) (1) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, whenever
the term “Chief Deputy Secretary for Adult Operations” appears
in any statute, regulation, or contract, it shall be construed to refer
to the Director of the Division of Adult Institutions.

(2) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, whenever the
term “Chief Deputy Secretary for Adult Programs” appears in any
statute, regulation, or contract, it shall be construed to refer to the
Director of the Division of Rehabilitative Programs.

(3) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, whenever the
term “Chief Deputy Secretary for Juvenile Justice” appears in any
statute, regulation, or contract, it shall be construed to refer to the
Director of the Division of Juvenile Justice.

SEC. 3.  

Article 7 (commencing with Section 2696) is added
to Chapter 4 of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Penal Code, to read:

 

Article 7.  The Security Housing Unit

 

2696.  

begin insert (a) end insert begin insert   end insert The terms below, as used in this article, are defined
as follows:

begin delete

(a)

end delete

begin insert (1) end insert  “Custody” means the offender is in the physical custody of
the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

begin delete

(b)

end delete

begin insert (2) end insert  “Determinate Security Housing Unit term” means the
offender is placed in the Security Housing Unit for a determinate
period of time because the offender was found guilty of a serious
offense, as described in the department’s regulations.

begin delete

(c)

end delete

begin insert (3) end insert  “Indeterminate Security Housing Unit term” means that an
offender is assigned to the Security Housing Unit for an
indeterminate period. These offenders include security threat group
affiliates and offenders in protective custody.

begin delete

(d)

end delete

begin insert (4) end insert  “Psychiatric Services Unit” means a facility designed and
staffed to treat mentally disordered offenders who are serving
terms in the Security Housing Unit. begin insert There are three Psychiatric
Services Units in the state prison system located in Pelican Bay
State Prison, California State Prison, Sacramento, and California
Institution for Women. end insert

begin delete

(e)

end delete

begin insert (5) end insert  “Security Housing Unit” begin delete means housing for an offender who
is a difficult management case, a security threat group member,
or a maximum security offender end delete begin insert has the meaning assigned in the
department’s regulations end insert . There are four Security Housing Units
in the state prison system located in Pelican Bay State Prison,
California State Prison, Corcoran, California Institution for
Women, and California Correctional Institution.

begin delete

(f)

end delete

begin insert (6) end insert  “Security threat group,” begin delete which is used synonymously with
the term “gang,” means any ongoing formal or informal
organization, association, or group of three or more persons that
has a common name or identifying sign or symbol whose members
and associates, individually or collectively, engage or have engaged
on behalf of that organization, association, or group, in two or
more acts that include planning, organizing, threatening, financing,
soliciting, or committing unlawful acts or misconduct end delete begin insert has the
meaning assigned in the department’s regulations end insert .

begin delete

(g)

end delete

begin insert (7) end insert  “Security threat group affiliate” begin delete means an offender who has
been validated as either a member or associate of a security threat
group end delete begin insert has the meaning assigned in the department’s regulations end insert .

begin delete

(h)

end delete

begin insert (8) end insert  “Security threat group validation” means the process used
by the department to identify and document an offender affiliated
with a security threat group.

begin insert

(b) This article does not require the department to validate an
offender as an affiliate of a security threat group.

end insert

2696.5.  

(a)  begin delete The end delete begin insert In any case in which the department seeks to
validate an offender as a security group affiliate, the end insert department
shall provide an offender due process begin delete prior to validating an offender
in its custody as a security threat group affiliate end delete . An offender shall
be afforded, at a minimum, the following procedural protections:

(1) Timely, written, and effective notice that security threat
group validation is being considered, and the facts upon which
that consideration is based.

(2) Decisionmaking by a dedicated and specially trained
classification committee.

(3) A hearing at which the offender may be heard in person and,
absent an individualized determination of good cause, has a
reasonable opportunity to present available witnesses and
information.

(4) An interpreter, if necessary, for the offender to understand
or participate in the proceedings.

(5) An advocate to assist with the offender’s investigation.

(6) An independent determination by the committee of the
reliability and credibility of confidential informants. Information
supplied by an informant shall only be considered by the committee
if there is a finding begin insert , based on additional evidence, end insert that the
informant has personal and actual knowledge of the information
he or she has provided.

(7) A written statement in plain language setting forth the
specific evidence relied upon, and the reasons for, validation.

(b) Commencing July 1, 2015, the Office of the Inspector
General shall, prior to placement of an offender in a Security
Housing Unit, review every security threat group validation
completed on or after July 1, 2015, in which confidential
information was used, to determine whether the minimum level
of due process was provided to the validated offender and that the
validation was supported by the evidence. If the Office of Inspector
General concludes that the security threat group validation was
not supported by the evidence or that the offender was not provided
the minimum level of due process, the offender’s begin delete gang end delete validation
shall be deleted and the offender shall not be placed in the Security
Housing Unit.

2697.  

(a) Commencing on January 1, 2015, begin delete an offender who
is serving an indeterminate Security Housing Unit term, and
thereafter, end delete an offender placed in the Security Housing Unit, shall
be placed in the Step Down Program. begin insert Offenders who were placed
in the Security Housing Unit prior to January 1, 2015, shall be
placed in the Step Down Program by the department’s designated
review board no later than July 1, 2016. end insert The Step Down Program
is a multistep program designed to provide programming with the
ultimate goal of returning the offender to the general prison
population. The goal of the Step Down Program shall be to return
prisoners to the general population as rapidly as possible, consistent
with the safety and security of institutions of the department begin insert and
shall not consist of more than five steps end insert . It shall operate on the
presumption that every prisoner who enters the Step Down Program
can complete it in a timely manner.

(b) Within 30 days of an offender being placed into the Step
Down Program, and by July 1, 2015, for all offenders who began
serving an indeterminate begin delete security housing unit end delete begin insert Security Housing
Unit end insert term prior to January 1, 2015, the department shall develop
an individualized plan for the offender. The plan shall include, but
not be limited to, an assessment of the offender’s needs, an
individualized strategy to provide the offender with programming
to address those needs, and a statement of the expectations for the
offender to progress through the Step Down Program. The
department shall provide the plan to the offender and explain it so
that the offender can understand his or her responsibilities under
the plan. A copy of the plan shall be placed in the offender’s central
file.

(c) An offender in the Step Down Program shall be provided
with promising or evidence-based programming begin delete designed to
eliminate participation in security threat group-related activities end delete .
The programming shall include incentives to promote positive
behavior. The programming shall also promote the successful
assimilation of an offender back into the general prison population.
Information obtained from the offender during this programming
shall not be used in a rules violation report against the offender or
to keep the offender in the Security Housing Unit.

(d) The department shall track the offender’s progress in meeting
the requirements of the plan described in subdivision (b).

(e) An offender in the Step Down Program shall be assessed by
a correctional counselor every 90 days, in order to monitor the
offender’s progress. The correctional counselor and the offender
resource specialist shall meet with the offender and provide the
offender with a progress report that outlines what requirements
the offender is not meeting and what the offender is expected to
do to progress within the Step Down Program. An interpreter shall
be provided, if necessary, so that the offender can understand and
participate in the assessment. A copy of the report shall be placed
in the offender’s central file.

(f) An offender shall have the opportunity to advance to the
next step of the Step Down Program after successful participation
in the current step for 180 days.

(g) The department shall prepare a comprehensive reentry plan
for every offender who will parole directly out of the Security
Housing Unit or the Psychiatric Services Unit into the community.

(h) On or before July 1, 2016, begin insert and continually thereafter, end insert the
Office of the Inspector General shall review the central file of each
offender who is denied progress within the Step Down Program
to assess the department’s compliance with this section.

2697.5.  

(a) Within 30 days of an offender beginning a
determinate Security Housing Unit term, and by July 1, 2015, for
all offenders who began serving a determinate Security Housing
Unit term prior to January 1, 2015, the department shall develop
an individualized plan for the offender. The plan shall include an
assessment of the offender’s needs, an individualized strategy to
provide the offender with programming to address those needs,
and a statement of the expectations for the offender to progress
toward fewer restrictions and lower levels of custody based on the
offender’s behavior. The department shall provide the plan to the
offender and explain it, so that the offender can understand those
expectations. A copy of the plan shall be placed in the offender’s
central file.

(b) An offender serving a determinate Security Housing Unit
term shall be provided with promising or evidence-based
programming begin delete consistent with addressing the conduct giving rise
to the offender’s determinate Security Housing Unit term end delete . The
programming shall promote the successful assimilation of the
offender back into the general prison population. Information
obtained from the offender during the programming shall not be
used in a rules violation report against the offender, or to keep the
offender in the Security Housing Unit.

(c) The department shall track the offender’s progress in meeting
the requirements of the plan described in subdivision (a).

(d) An offender serving a determinate Security Housing Unit
term shall be assessed by a correctional counselor every 90 days,
in order to monitor the offender’s progress. The correctional
counselor and the offender resource specialist shall meet with the
offender and provide the offender with a progress report that
outlines what requirements the offender is not meeting and what
the offender is expected to do to be eligible for additional privileges
and early release from the Security Housing Unit. An interpreter
shall be provided, if necessary, so that the offender can understand
and participate in the assessment. A copy of the report shall be
placed in the offender’s central file.

(e) An offender serving a determinate Security Housing Unit
term shall be eligible to earn credits towards early release from
the Security Housing Unit. The department shall be responsible
for developing guidelines for earning those credits.

(f) The department shall prepare a comprehensive reentry plan
for every offender who will parole directly out of the Security
Housing Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit into the community.

(g) (1) Commencing on July 1, 2016, and annually thereafter,
the Inspector General shall provide an audit report to the Governor
and the Legislature of the offenders serving a determinate Security
Housing Unit term to assess the department’s compliance with
this section.

(2) The report required by paragraph (1) shall be submitted in
compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

2698.  

(a) An offender placed in the Security Housing Unit or
the Psychiatric Services Unit shall be provided with meaningful
forms of mental, physical, and social stimulation. Those forms of
stimulation shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) Access to educational programming, including in-cell
programming, that shall be developed for an offender who is not
permitted to leave his or her cell.

(2) Opportunities to exercise in the presence of other offenders,
provided however, that the offenders may be separated by security
barriers, if necessary.

(3)  begin delete Daily end delete begin insert Weekly end insert face-to-face interaction with both uniformed
and civilian staff or volunteers.

(4) Access to radio or television.

(b) The department shall create a behavior-driven progressive
incentives program that includes, but is not limited to, the
following, for any 30-day period where an offender in the Security
Housing Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit does not receive a rules
violation report:

(1) One additional phone call in the following month.

(2) One additional photograph, for a maximum of 10.

(3) Four additional hours of recreational yard time in the
following month.

(c) An offender shall be entitled to the privileges in subdivision
(b) if a disciplinary action is reversed, dismissed, or modified to
a minor rules violation.

(d) An offender is eligible to earn credits pursuant to Section
2933 or 2933.05 during the time that he or she is in the Security
Housing Unit or the Psychiatric Services Unit as provided in
Section 2933.6.

(e) On or before July 1, 2016, and biennially thereafter, the
Office of the Inspector General shall perform an audit to assess
the department’s compliance with this section.

2698.5.  

(a) (1) An offender shall undergo a mental health
screening by a qualified mental health professional within 30 days
before beginning a term in the Security Housing Unit. An offender
who has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness or who has
a history of serious mental illness and decompensation in
segregated settings shall not be placed in the Security Housing
Unit.

(2) All offenders segregated in a Security Housing Unit as of
January 1, 2015, shall undergo a mental health assessment by a
qualified mental health professional by March 31, 2015. Prisoners
found to be suffering from a serious mental illness shall be removed
from the Security Housing Unit.

(b) The mental health of an offender in the Security Housing
Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit shall be monitored as follows:

(1) Correctional staff shall maintain a daily log documenting
the offender’s behavior.

(2) A qualified mental health professional shall, at least weekly,
conduct rounds in the Security Housing Unit and the Psychiatric
Services Unit, speak to unit staff about any unusual behavior or
signs of psychological distress or vulnerability of any prisoner in
the unit, monitor the psychological condition of all prisoners in
the unit, review the offender log, and observe and speak to
offenders who are receiving mental health treatment.

(3) A qualified mental health professional shall perform a
comprehensive mental health assessment of an offender in the
Security Housing Unit or the Psychiatric Services Unit every 90
days, unless a qualified mental health professional determines that
the assessment is unnecessary based on observations made pursuant
to paragraphs (1) and (2), except that every offender in the Security
Housing Unit or the Psychiatric Services Unit shall be given a
comprehensive mental health assessment on at least an annual
basis.

(c) The department shall provide training to all correctional staff
in the Security Housing Unit and Psychiatric Services Unit on how
to respond to an individual experiencing a psychiatric crisis in
ways that reduce rather than escalate the crisis.

(d) On or before July 1, 2016, and biennially thereafter, the
Office of the Inspector General shall perform an audit to assess
the department’s compliance with this section.

2699.  

The department shall employ two begin delete ombudsman end delete
begin insert ombudsmen end insert to act as offender resource specialists for each
begin insert institution that has a end insert Security Housing Unit begin delete and end delete begin insert or end insert Psychiatric
Services Unit. The offender resource specialist’s responsibilities
shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(a) Assisting an offender with concerns and questions concerning
the offender’s responsibilities and rights during confinement in
the Security Housing Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit.

(b) Responding to inquiries from an offender’s family members.

(c) Explaining Security Housing Unit and Psychiatric Services
Unit policies to the public.

2699.5.  

(a) Commencing July 1, 2015, the department shall
collect the following data:

(1) Information relating to each offender who is going through,
or has gone through, the validation process for determining a
security threat group affiliate, including the following:

(A) The offender’s gender, age, mental health status, and race.

(B) The outcome at every step of the validation process.

(C) If the offender was validated, the date of validation.

(D) If the offender was validated, the level of validation that
the offender was assigned.

(2) Information relating to the offender being housed in the
Security Housing Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit, including the
following:

(A) The offender’s gender, age, mental health status, and race.

(B) The date the offender was placed in the Security Housing
Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit and the date of release.

(C) The reason the offender is serving a Security Housing Unit
term.

(D) If the offender is serving an indeterminate Security Housing
Unit term, the progress the offender has made in the Step Down
Program.

(E) For offenders in the Step Down Program, the time spent in
each step of the program.

(F) The number of visits from persons other than staff that the
offender was provided while serving a term in the Security Housing
Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit.

(G) The number of telephone calls the offender was provided
while serving a term in the Security Housing Unit.

(H) Whether the offender attempted to commit or committed
suicide.

(I) Any disciplinary action taken against the offender, and the
result of that action.

(J) Whether the offender was paroled directly out of the Security
Housing Unit or the Psychiatric Services Unit into the community.

(3) The number of administrative appeals filed by offenders in
the Security Housing Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit, the subject
matter of the appeals, and the outcome of the appeals.

(b) Commencing January 1, 2017, and biennially thereafter, the
Office of the Inspector General shall use the data described in
subdivision (a) to prepare a report to the Legislature that includes,
but is not limited to, the following information:

(1) The number of offenders investigated for security threat
group validation begin insert and the number of investigations that resulted in
a validation end insert .

(2) The number of cases in which the Office of Correctional
Safety recommended against validation and the outcome of those
cases.

(3) The number of cases in which the security threat group
committee decided not to validate the offender.

(4) The number of offenders who were not initially placed in
the Security Housing Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit but were
sent to the Security Housing Unit or Psychiatric Services Unit
within six months of validation.

(5) The number of offenders placed for an indeterminate
Security Housing Unit term or in the Psychiatric Services Unit.

(6) The number of offenders placed for a determinate Security
Housing Unit term or in the Psychiatric Services Unit.

(7) The average length of time offenders serving an
indeterminate Security Housing Unit term spent in the Security
Housing Unit or the Psychiatric Services Unit, or both.

(8) The average length of time offenders spent in each step of
the Step Down Program.

(9) The number of suicide attempts made by offenders in the
Security Housing Unit and the Psychiatric Services Unit.

(10) The number of suicides by offenders in the Security
Housing Unit and the Psychiatric Services Unit.

(11) The number of offenders in the Security Housing Unit and
the Psychiatric Services Unit who were paroled directly out of the
Security Housing Unit and the Psychiatric Services Unit into the
community.

(12) The number of disciplinary actions taken against offenders
in the Security Housing Unit and the Psychiatric Services Unit,
the type of actions, and the outcomes of the disciplinary actions.

(13) The number of visits by persons other than staff to offenders
in the Security Housing Unit and the Psychiatric Services Unit.

(14) The number of telephone calls provided to offenders in the
Security Housing Unit and the Psychiatric Services Unit.

(15) The number of administrative appeals filed by offenders
in the Security Housing Unit or the Psychiatric Services Unit, the
subject matter of the appeals, and the outcomes of those appeals.

(c) The report required by subdivision (b) shall be submitted in
compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.

SEC. 4.  

Section 2932 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

2932.  

(a) (1) For any time credit accumulated pursuant to
Section 2931 or 2933, not more than 360 days of credit may be
denied or lost for a single act of murder, attempted murder,
solicitation of murder, manslaughter, rape, sodomy, or oral
copulation accomplished against the victim’s will, attempted rape,
attempted sodomy, or attempted oral copulation accomplished
against the victim’s will, assault or battery causing serious bodily
injury, assault with a deadly weapon or caustic substance, taking
of a hostage, escape with force or violence, or possession or
manufacture of a deadly weapon or explosive device, whether or
not prosecution is undertaken for purposes of this paragraph.
Solicitation of murder shall be proved by the testimony of two
witnesses, or of one witness and corroborating circumstances.

(2) Not more than 180 days of credit may be denied or lost for
a single act of misconduct, except as specified in paragraph (1),
which could be prosecuted as a felony whether or not prosecution
is undertaken.

(3) Not more than 90 days of credit may be denied or lost for a
single act of misconduct which could be prosecuted as a
misdemeanor, whether or not prosecution is undertaken.

(4) Not more than 30 days of credit may be denied or lost for a
single act of misconduct defined by regulation as a serious
disciplinary offense by the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation. Any person confined due to a change in custodial
classification following the commission of any serious disciplinary
infraction shall, in addition to any loss of time credits, be ineligible
to receive participation or worktime credit for a period not to
exceed the number of days of credit which have been lost for the
act of misconduct or 180 days, whichever is less. Any person
confined in a Security Housing Unit for having committed any
misconduct specified in paragraph (1) in which great bodily injury
is inflicted upon a nonprisoner shall, in addition to any loss of time
credits, be ineligible to receive participation or worktime credit
for a period not to exceed the number of days of credit which have
been lost for that act of misconduct. In unusual cases, an inmate
may be denied the opportunity to participate in a credit qualifying
assignment for up to six months beyond the period specified in
this subdivision if the Secretary of the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation finds, after a hearing, that no credit qualifying
program may be assigned to the inmate without creating a
substantial risk of physical harm to staff or other inmates. At the
end of the six-month period and of successive six-month periods,
the denial of the opportunity to participate in a credit qualifying
assignment may be renewed upon a hearing and finding by the
director.

(5) The prisoner may appeal the decision through the
department’s review procedure, which shall include a review by
an individual independent of the institution who has supervisorial
authority over the institution.

(b) For any credit accumulated pursuant to Section 2931, not
more than 30 days of participation credit may be denied or lost for
a single failure or refusal to participate. Any act of misconduct
described by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as
a serious disciplinary infraction if committed while participating
in work, educational, vocational, therapeutic, or other prison
activity shall be deemed a failure to participate.

(c) Any procedure not provided for by this section, but necessary
to carry out the purposes of this section, shall be those procedures
provided for by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
for serious disciplinary infractions if those procedures are not in
conflict with this section.

(1) (A) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall,
using reasonable diligence to investigate, provide written notice
to the prisoner. The written notice shall be given within 15 days
after the discovery of information leading to charges that may
result in a possible denial of credit, except that if the prisoner has
escaped, the notice shall be given within 15 days of the prisoner’s
return to the custody of the secretary. The written notice shall
include the specific charge, the date, the time, the place that the
alleged misbehavior took place, the evidence relied upon, a written
explanation of the procedures that will be employed at the
proceedings and the prisoner’s rights at the hearing. The hearing
shall be conducted by an individual who shall be independent of
the case and shall take place within 30 days of the written notice.

(B) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation may
delay written notice beyond 15 days when all of the following
factors are true:

(i) An act of misconduct is involved which could be prosecuted
as murder, attempted murder, or assault on a prison employee,
whether or not prosecution is undertaken.

(ii) Further investigation is being undertaken for the purpose of
identifying other prisoners involved in the misconduct.

(iii) Within 15 days after the discovery of information leading
to charges that may result in a possible denial of credit, the
investigating officer makes a written request to delay notifying
that prisoner and states the reasons for the delay.

(iv) The warden of the institution approves of the delay in
writing.

The period of delay under this paragraph shall not exceed 30
days. The prisoner’s hearing shall take place within 30 days of the
written notice.

(2) The prisoner may elect to be assigned an employee to assist
in the investigation, preparation, or presentation of a defense at
the disciplinary hearing if it is determined by the department that
either of the following circumstances exist:

(A) The prisoner is illiterate.

(B) The complexity of the issues or the prisoner’s confinement
status makes it unlikely that the prisoner can collect and present
the evidence necessary for an adequate comprehension of the case.

(3) The prisoner may request witnesses to attend the hearing
and they shall be called unless the person conducting the hearing
has specific reasons to deny this request. The specific reasons shall
be set forth in writing and a copy of the document shall be
presented to the prisoner.

(4) The prisoner has the right, under the direction of the person
conducting the hearing, to question all witnesses.

(5) At the conclusion of the hearing the charge shall be
dismissed if the facts do not support the charge, or the prisoner
may be found guilty on the basis of a preponderance of the
evidence.

(d) If found guilty the prisoner shall be advised in writing of
the guilty finding and the specific evidence relied upon to reach
this conclusion and the amount of time-credit loss. The prisoner
may appeal the decision through the department’s review
procedure, and may, upon final notification of appeal denial, within
15 days of the notification demand review of the department’s
denial of credit to the Board of Parole Hearings, and the board
may affirm, reverse, or modify the department’s decision or grant
a hearing before the board at which hearing the prisoner shall have
the rights specified in Section 3041.5.

(e) Each prisoner subject to Section 2931 shall be notified of
the total amount of good behavior and participation credit which
may be credited pursuant to Section 2931, and his or her anticipated
time-credit release date. The prisoner shall be notified of any
change in the anticipated release date due to denial or loss of
credits, award of worktime credit, under Section 2933, or the
restoration of any credits previously forfeited.

(f) (1) If the conduct the prisoner is charged with also
constitutes a crime, the department may refer the case to criminal
authorities for possible prosecution. The department shall notify
the prisoner, who may request postponement of the disciplinary
proceedings pending the referral.

(2) The prisoner may revoke his or her request for postponement
of the disciplinary proceedings up until the filing of the accusatory
pleading. In the event of the revocation of the request for
postponement of the proceeding, the department shall hold the
hearing within 30 days of the revocation.

(3) Notwithstanding the notification requirements in this
paragraph and subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (c), in the event the case is referred to criminal
authorities for prosecution and the authority requests that the
prisoner not be notified so as to protect the confidentiality of its
investigation, no notice to the prisoner shall be required until an
accusatory pleading is filed with the court, or the authority notifies
the warden, in writing, that it will not prosecute or it authorizes
the notification of the prisoner. The notice exceptions provided
for in this paragraph shall only apply if the criminal authority
requests of the warden, in writing, and within the 15 days provided
in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (c), that the
prisoner not be notified. Any period of delay of notice to the
prisoner shall not exceed 30 days beyond the 15 days referred to
in subdivision (c). In the event that no prosecution is undertaken,
the procedures in subdivision (c) shall apply, and the time periods
set forth in that subdivision shall commence to run from the date
the warden is notified in writing of the decision not to prosecute.
In the event the authority either cancels its requests that the prisoner
not be notified before it makes a decision on prosecution or files
an accusatory pleading, the provisions of this paragraph shall apply
as if no request had been received, beginning from the date of the
cancellation or filing.

(4) In the case where the prisoner is prosecuted by the district
attorney, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall
not deny time credit where the prisoner is found not guilty and
may deny credit if the prisoner is found guilty, in which case the
procedures in subdivision (c) shall not apply.

(g) If time credit denial proceedings or criminal prosecution
prohibit the release of a prisoner who would have otherwise been
released, and the prisoner is found not guilty of the alleged
misconduct, the amount of time spent incarcerated, in excess of
what the period of incarceration would have been absent the alleged
misbehavior, shall be deducted from the prisoner’s parole period.

(h) Nothing in the amendments to this section made at the
1981-82 Regular Session of the Legislature shall affect the granting
or revocation of credits attributable to that portion of the prisoner’s
sentence served prior to January 1, 1983.

SEC. 5.  

Section 2933.6 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

2933.6.  

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, a person who is
placed in a Security Housing Unit, Psychiatric Services Unit,
Behavioral Management Unit, or an Administrative Segregation
Unit for misconduct described in subdivision (b) or upon validation
as a prison gang member or associate is ineligible to earn credits
pursuant to Section 2933 or 2933.05 during the time he or she is
in the Security Housing Unit, Psychiatric Services Unit, Behavioral
Management Unit, or the Administrative Segregation Unit for that
misconduct.

(b) This section applies to the following offenses:

(1) Murder, attempted murder, and solicitation of murder. For
purposes of this paragraph, solicitation of murder shall be proven
by the testimony of two witnesses, or of one witness and
corroborating circumstances.

(2) Manslaughter.

(3) Assault or battery causing serious bodily injury.

(4) Assault or battery on a peace officer or other nonprisoner
which results in physical injury.

(5) Assault with a deadly weapon or caustic substance.

(6) Rape, attempted rape, sodomy, attempted sodomy, oral
copulation, or attempted oral copulation accomplished against the
victim’s will.

(7) Taking a hostage.

(8) Escape or attempted escape with force or violence.

(9) Escape from any departmental prison or institution other
than a camp or reentry facility.

(10) Possession or manufacture of a deadly weapon or explosive
device.

(11) Arson involving damage to a structure.

(12) Possession of flammable, explosive material with intent to
burn any structure or property.

(13) Solicitation of assault with a deadly weapon or assault by
means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, arson, or a
forcible sex act.

(14) Intentional destruction of state property in excess of four
hundred dollars ($400) during a riot or disturbance.

(c) This section does not apply if the administrative finding of
the misconduct is overturned or if the person is criminally
prosecuted for the misconduct and is found not guilty.

(d) This section does not apply during any period during which
an offender in the Security Housing Unit has remained free of
disciplinary action for six consecutive months.

SEC. 6.  

Section 6126 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

6126.  

(a) The Inspector General shall be responsible for
contemporaneous oversight of internal affairs investigations and
the disciplinary process of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, pursuant to Section 6133 under policies to be
developed by the Inspector General.

(b) When requested by the Governor, the Senate Committee on
Rules, or the Speaker of the Assembly, the Inspector General shall
review policies, practices, and procedures of the department. The
Inspector General, under policies developed by the Inspector
General, may recommend that the Governor, the Senate Committee
on Rules, or the Speaker of the Assembly request a review of a
specific departmental policy, practice, or procedure that raises a
significant correctional issue relevant to the effectiveness of the
department. When exigent circumstances of unsafe or life
threatening situations arise involving inmates, wards, parolees, or
staff, the Inspector General may, by whatever means is most
expeditious, notify the Governor, Senate Committee on Rules, or
the Speaker of the Assembly.

(c) (1) Upon completion of a review, the Inspector General
shall prepare a complete written report, which shall be held as
confidential and disclosed in confidence, along with all underlying
materials the Inspector General deems appropriate, to the requesting
entity in subdivision (b) and the appropriate law enforcement
agency.

(2) The Inspector General shall also prepare a public report.
When necessary, the public report shall differ from the complete
written report in the respect that the Inspector General shall have
the discretion to redact or otherwise protect the names of
individuals, specific locations, or other facts that, if not redacted,
might hinder prosecution related to the review, or where disclosure
of the information is otherwise prohibited by law, and to decline
to produce any of the underlying materials. Copies of public reports
shall be posted on the Office of the Inspector General’s Internet
Web site.

(d) The Inspector General shall, during the course of a review,
identify areas of full and partial compliance, or noncompliance,
with departmental policies and procedures, specify deficiencies in
the completion and documentation of processes, and recommend
corrective actions, including, but not limited to, additional training,
additional policies, or changes in policy, as well as any other
findings or recommendations that the Inspector General deems
appropriate.

(e) The Inspector General, pursuant to Section 6126.6, shall
review the Governor’s candidates for appointment to serve as
warden for the state’s adult correctional institutions and as
superintendents for the state’s juvenile facilities.

(f) The Inspector General shall conduct an objective, clinically
appropriate, and metric-oriented medical inspection program to
periodically review delivery of medical care at each state prison.

(g) The Inspector General shall conduct an objective,
metric-oriented oversight and inspection program to periodically
review delivery of the reforms identified in the document released
by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in April 2012,
entitled The Future of California Corrections: A Blueprint to Save
Billions of Dollars, End Federal Court Oversight, and Improve the
Prison System (the blueprint), including, but not limited to, the
following specific goals and reforms described by the blueprint:

(1) Whether the department has increased the percentage of
inmates served in rehabilitative programs to 70 percent of the
department’s target population prior to their release.

(2) The establishment of an adherence to the standardized
staffing model at each institution.

(3) The establishment of an adherence to the new inmate
classification score system.

(4) The establishment of and adherence to the new prison gang
management system, including changes to the department’s current
policies for identifying prison-based gang members and associates
and the use and conditions associated with the department’s
security housing units.

(5) The implementation of and adherence to the Comprehensive
Housing Plan described in the blueprint.

(h) The Inspector General shall, in consultation with the
Department of Finance, develop a methodology for producing a
workload budget to be used for annually adjusting the budget of
the Office of the Inspector General, beginning with the budget for
the 2005-06 fiscal year.

(i) The Inspector General shall employ two secured housing
specialists for each begin insert institution that has a end insert Security Housing Unit
begin delete and end delete begin insert or end insert Psychiatric Services Unit. The secured housing specialists
shall monitor the programming and conditions of those security
housing units, in addition to assuming any related duties determined
by the Inspector General.