BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1799
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 12, 2000
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Carole Migden, Chairwoman
AB 1799 (Baugh) - As Amended: March 6, 2000
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill removes the $10,000 limit on compensation for a person
wrongly convicted of a crime, and specifies that compensation
shall be set at $100 per day of incarceration, contingent upon
legislative appropriation, and excludes such compensation from
gross income for tax purposes.
FISCAL EFFECT
Compensation for five years served at $100 per day would be
$182,500. Though the fiscal effect is indeterminable, it could
range from zero to hundreds of thousands of dollars annually,
depending upon the cases. In any case, restitution would
require specific legislative authorization.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, there are rare instances in
which imprisoned individuals have been found factually
innocent and merit restitution from the state. Last year AB
110 (Baugh), Chapter 619, Statutes of 1999, appropriated
$620,000 to Kevin Lee Green, who, after serving 17 years in
state prison for rape and murder, was exonerated by DNA
evidence.
This bill's proposed rate of compensation is based on the
Department of Corrections (CDC) practice of paying an inmate
$100 per day when the CDC is unable to release a prisoner on
the scheduled release date.
2)Precedent . Discussions with the CDC, the Department of
AB 1799
Page 2
Justice, the Board of Control (BOC), and the California
District Attorneys Association indicate it is unlikely there
will be many applicable cases. With advances in forensic DNA
procedures, however, the number of cases may increase.
Several states have established limits for wrongful
imprisonment - none near the amount appropriated in 1999 for
Kevin Lee Green by this bill - but it appears no state has
made more than one or two major appropriations for this
purpose.
According to a 1999 American Bar Association Journal article:
"Only 16 jurisdictions have statutes to compensate the
wrongfully imprisoned and only two of those - New York and
West Virginia - do not limit damages. Some caps on
compensation, such as California's, are miserly. New
Hampshire's cap is only $20,000. The federal system is the
stingiest of all, capping payments at $5,000. Those with the
highest limits are Maine with a $300,000 cap, and Ohio, which
awards up to $25,000 for each year in prison plus lost wages,
attorney fees, fines and court costs."
3)Current Law requires, if evidence shows the claimant did not
commit a crime, the BOC to report its recommendations to the
Legislature for the purpose of indemnifying the claimant. The
appropriation recommended by the BOC cannot exceed $10,000.
4)Civil Options . When there is no clear wrongdoing or
misconduct by law enforcement or the district attorney, a
civil suit is not an option for a wrongly imprisoned person.
To have a valid civil suit, a person must prove the police or
district attorney's office knew or should have known they were
violating a constitutional right of the person.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916)319-2081