BILL ANALYSIS �
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1141
Author: Hancock (D)
Amended: 8/22/14
Vote: 21
SENATE LABOR & INDUST. RELATIONS COMM. : 4-0, 3/26/14
AYES: Hueso, Wyland, Leno, Padilla
NO VOTE RECORDED: Yee
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 4/24/14 (Consent)
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett,
Correa, De Le�n, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani,
Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara,
Leno, Lieu, Liu, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen, Padilla,
Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Wright, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/27/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Unemployment insurance: use of information
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill gives the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) access to quarterly wage data of former
inmates who have been incarcerated within the prison system in
order to assess the impact of rehabilitation services. The data
will be provided for a period of one year, three years, and five
CONTINUED
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years, following the inmate's release, as specified.
Assembly Amendments add double-jointing language to avoid
chaptering out conflicts with AB 1792 (Gomez).
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides for the Unemployment
Insurance (UI) program, a federal-state program administered by
the Employment Development Department (EDD), which provides
weekly unemployment insurance payments for workers who lose
their job through no fault of their own.
Existing law requires every employer to keep and report to EDD
true and accurate work records of, among other things, all of
his/her workers and their status (i.e., employed, on layoff or
leave of absence), the wages paid to each worker, and other such
information that the Director of EDD deems necessary for
administration of its programs.
Under existing law, the EDD has the possession and control of,
among other things, all records and papers held in the
performance of the duties, powers, purposes, responsibilities,
and jurisdiction that are vested in EDD. A person who knowingly
accesses, uses, or discloses this confidential information
without authorization is guilty of a misdemeanor.
However, the Director of EDD can permit the use of any
information in his/her possession to the extent necessary for
specified purposes and may require reimbursement for all direct
costs incurred in providing any and all information specified,
with some exceptions.
Among others, existing law currently allows EDD to share
information for the following:
1. To provide any law enforcement agency with identifiable
information and work history of a victim, suspect, missing
person, potential witness, or persons with pending warrants.
2. To provide public employee retirement systems in California
with information relating to the earnings of any person who
has applied for or is receiving an income or allowance.
3. To enable the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement to seek
criminal, civil or administrative remedies in connection with
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the failure to pay wages.
4. To enable federal, state or local governmental departments or
agencies to administer child support enforcement programs.
5. To enable the State Department of Education, the University
of California, the California State University, and the
Chancellor of the California Community Colleges to obtain
quarterly wage data on students who have attended their
respective systems to assess the impact of education on the
employment and earnings of those students.
This bill requires the Director of EDD to additionally permit
CDCR to obtain quarterly wage data of former inmates who have
been incarcerated within the prison system in order to assess
the impact of rehabilitation services [or the lack of] on the
employment and earnings of former inmates. Specifically, this
bill requires quarterly data for a former inmate's employment
status and wage history for a period of one year, three years,
and five years following release, as specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/27/14)
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
SEIU Local 1000
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office, this
bill requires that EDD allow access of quarterly wage data of
former inmates to CDCR to assess the impact of rehabilitation
services on the employment and earnings of these former inmates.
The goal of prison rehabilitation programs is to not only
decrease the overall prison population, but also to release
productive citizens out into society. With access to wage and
employment data of former inmates, the author's office argues,
CDCR will be able to assess which rehabilitation programs are
successful or unsuccessful in training inmates for future
employment. If the data shows a large number of former inmates
work in a certain labor sector after being released from prison,
CDCR can increase job training in order to provide inmates with
useful training specific to that area of employment.
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Proponents also note that California is currently under federal
court order to reduce prison overcrowding to 137.5% of capacity
by 2016. They argue that in order to meet this population cap
requires taking meaningful steps to reduce recidivism and a good
job is key. Therefore, they argue, it is imperative that
vocational and educational programs in prisons are keeping with
the times and are properly preparing prisoners for jobs that
will exist upon their release.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/27/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden,
Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A.
P�rez, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Harkey, Vacancy
PQ:d:n 8/27/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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