BILL NUMBER: AB 788 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Maldonado
FEBRUARY 24, 1999
An act to add and repeal Article 29 (commencing with Section 988)
of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating
to juveniles, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect
immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 788, as introduced, Maldonado. Juveniles.
Existing provisions of the Juvenile Court Law authorize the
juvenile court to commit any minor adjudged a ward of the court to
specified facilities and programs.
This bill would enact a pilot program in up to 3 counties selected
by the Judicial Council, at the option of those counties, as
provided. The pilot program would apply to juveniles adjudged a ward
of the juvenile court by reason of the commission of a nonviolent
misdemeanor offense who have never been adjudged a ward of the
juvenile court by reason of the commission of any violent offense and
who have not attended a victim-offender reconciliation program, and
to juveniles who are undergoing specified programs of supervision.
The bill would require these juveniles to attend a victim-offender
reconciliation program, as specified, perform community service as
required, and pay restitution to the victim pursuant to specified
provisions. These provisions would be repealed on January 1, 2003.
The bill would provide that participation in a pilot program would be
a county option and that the state has no obligation to provide
funding for the pilot programs unless funds are appropriated for that
purpose.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
Vote: 2/3. 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 hereby finds and declares as follows:
(a) There is a need to preserve existing prison and jail space for
habitual violent offenders to guarantee public safety.
(b) To reach this goal, it is the intent of the Legislature to
create punishment options that fall in a continuum between
traditional probation and traditional incarceration.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to promote the long-term
safety and security of the community by expanding the array of
cost-effective sanctions for holding minors accountable to victims
and the community for their delinquent conduct, and by enhancing
community-based rehabilitation efforts.
(d) Crime results in injury to the victim, the community, and the
offender. The criminal justice system must seek to repair those
injuries.
(e) In promoting justice, victims and communities should be
actively involved in the criminal justice process at the earliest
point and to the maximum extent possible.
(f) Offenders should be held accountable for their actions.
Offenders should face their victim or victims and make things right.
Restitution is a central ingredient, as is victim-offender
reconciliation when appropriate.
(g) A nonviolent youthful offender must be taught that when a
crime is committed, it is a crime against a real victim, not a crime
against the state.
(h) It is essential that the criminal justice system support and
expand responses to crime which help bring the juvenile offender to a
point of remorse after a crime is committed.
(i) The following three objectives are critical for achieving
long-term public safety:
(1) Community protection through a continuum of appropriate
responses to delinquent conduct, ranging from supervision to
incapacitation, which protect citizens and victims from the threat to
public safety posed by the minor.
(2) Accountability of the minor through restoration of the losses
experienced by the victim and the community.
(3) Competency development of the minor in basic living skills
necessary for law-abiding citizenship.
SEC. 2. Article 29 (commencing with Section 988) is added to
Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
Article 29. Juvenile Justice Pilot Program
988. This article establishes a pilot program in up to three
counties selected by the Judicial Council, the board of supervisors
of which adopt a resolution agreeing to participate therein. One
county shall have a population of less than 100,000, one county shall
have a population of not less than 250,000 and not more than
500,000, and one county shall have a population of over 500,000.
This article shall apply to juveniles adjudged a ward of the juvenile
court pursuant to Section 602 by reason of the commission of a
nonviolent misdemeanor offense who have never been adjudged a ward of
the juvenile court pursuant to Section 602 by reason of the
commission of any violent offense and who have not previously
attended a victim-offender reconciliation program, and to juveniles
who are undergoing a program of supervision pursuant to Section 654
or 654.2. Nothing in this article shall be construed to require
victim participation.
988.1. Juveniles to whom this article applies shall be required
to do any or all of the following:
(a) Attend a victim-offender reconciliation program that is
modeled on existing community conflict resolution programs
established pursuant to Title 10.5 (commencing with Section 14150) of
Part 4 of the Penal Code, if appropriate.
(b) Perform community service as required, which may include
graffiti abatement and other established programs and projects that,
whenever possible, benefit the community where the crime was
committed.
(c) Pay restitution to the victim pursuant to Section 730.6.
988.2. Any juvenile justice pilot program established pursuant to
this article shall collect and evaluate data pertaining to the use,
effectiveness, and cost of the program on an annual basis. The
evaluation shall determine whether the amount of restitution
collected pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 988.1 is 40 percent
more than the amount collected through juvenile probation programs
and whether the rate of recidivism is 10 percent less than in
juvenile probation programs. This data shall be submitted annually
to the board of supervisors of the county in which the program
operates. At a minimum, the information collected and evaluated
shall include the following data:
(a) The number of offenders and victims participating in the
program.
(b) The number of eligible offenders who declined to participate
in the program.
(c) The number of victims who declined to participate in the
program.
(d) The success of the program, as measured by reported victim and
offender satisfaction, completion of the program by victims and
offenders, and any additional success factors identified and tracked
by the program.
(e) The annual operating administrative costs of the program.
(f) A description of the program's operation, including staffing,
volunteers, and any other pertinent information.
988.3. After data described in Section 988.2 is submitted to the
board of supervisors, it shall be provided to the Judicial Council
for evaluation. The Judicial Council shall then submit a report to
the following committees and officers of the Legislature:
(a) Assembly Appropriations.
(b) Assembly Public Safety.
(c) Speaker of the Assembly.
(d) Senate Appropriations.
(e) Senate Public Safety.
(f) Senate President pro Tempore.
988.4. This article shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2003, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted
statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2003, deletes or extends
that date.
SEC. 3. Participation in the pilot programs established by Section
2 shall be entirely at county option and shall be funded through
federal, state, or private grants or by appropriations for that
purpose. The state shall have no obligation to provide funding for
the pilot programs unless funds are appropriated for that purpose.
SEC. 4. This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the
meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate
effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order that our juvenile justice system be improved and the
safety of the public be enhanced at the earliest possible time, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately.