BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1799|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1799
Author: Baugh (R)
Amended: 8/7/00 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 6/13/00
AYES: Vasconcellos, Burton, Johnston, McPherson, Polanco,
Rainey
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 13-0, 8/23/00
AYES: Johnston, Alpert, Bowen, Burton, Escutia, Johnson,
Karnette, Kelley, Leslie, McPherson, Mountjoy, Perata,
Vasconcellos
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 77-0, 5/30/00 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Indemnification: erroneously convicted persons
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill increases the potential compensation
for wrongful incarceration after a person has been found
factually innocent from a maximum of $10,000 to a sum
equivalent to $100 per day of incarceration and to exclude
the amount received from the definition of gross income.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that any person who was
convicted of a felony and imprisoned in the state prison
who is later pardoned by the Governor because the crime was
not committed or the person was factually innocent of the
crime may present a claim against the state to the State
CONTINUED
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Board of Control (BOC) for pecuniary injury sustained by
him through such erroneous conviction and imprisonment.
Existing law provides that if the evidence shows that a
crime for which a claimant was convicted was either not
committed at all or, if committed, was not committed by the
claimant, BOC shall report the facts of the case and its
recommendations to the Legislature for the purpose of
indemnifying the claimant for pecuniary injury sustained as
the result of the erroneous conviction and incarceration.
Existing law provides that the amount of the appropriation
recommended by the BOC shall not exceed in any case,
$10,000.
Existing law excludes specific items from gross income tax
provisions.
This bill provides that an appropriation made to a claimant
who has been erroneously convicted and imprisoned shall be
a sum equivalent to $100 per day of incarceration served
subsequent to the claimant's conviction.
This bill provides that an appropriation shall not be
treated as gross income to the recipient under Revenue and
Taxation Code.
The bill provides that gross income may not include any
amount received in a taxable year by a claimant pursuant to
Section 4904 of the Penal Code.
Compensation in Other States
According to an 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
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$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. (Higgins, Michael,
"Tough Luck for the Innocent Man" (March 1999) ABA
Journal, at p.47.)
According to the article, many of the other states that do
place limits on the compensation provide for a yearly
maximum that is higher than California's total maximum of
$10,000.
$100 a Day
On October 2, 1980, in Orange County, Kevin Lee Green was
wrongly convicted of the 1979 murder of his unborn daughter
and the rape of his former wife. Green was cleared four
years ago through DNA testing, which had not yet been
developed at the time of his conviction. This incident
gave rise to AB 110 that appropriated $620,000 from the
General Fund to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to
recompense Green for his wrongful conviction and
incarceration. AB 110 used the rate of $100 per day of
incarceration in computing the total amount of the
appropriation. This bill makes the $100 rate per day the
standard to be used by the BOC in making recommendations to
the Legislature regarding appropriations in cases of
persons wrongly convicted.
According to the Assembly Appropriations March 6, 2000
analysis, "Discussions with the CDC, the Department of
Justice, the Board of Control 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.
According to the author, "there are rare instances where
imprisoned individuals have been found factually innocent.
Under existing law, the restitution for wrongful
imprisonment is limited to $10,000. Last year, in
connection with AB 110 (Baugh), Chapter 619, Statutes of
1999, and the Public Safety Committee recommendations, I
committed to make a systemic change to this procedure.
This bill would remove the cap and would instead set the
level of recompense at $100 per day. The $100 figure is
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based on the amount the California Department of
Corrections (CDC) presently compensates those individuals
who are held after their scheduled release date."
Prior Legislation
AB 110 (Baugh), Chapter 619, Statutes of 1999, passed the
Senate 31-1 (NOES: Schiff).
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2000-01 2001-02
2002-03 Fund
Compensation Indeterminable costsGeneral
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Aanestad, Ackerman, Alquist, Aroner, Ashburn,
Baldwin, Bates, Battin, Baugh, Bock, Brewer, Briggs,
Calderon, Campbell, Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Corbett,
Correa, Cox, Cunneen, Davis, Dickerson, Ducheny, Dutra,
Firebaugh, Florez, Frusetta, Gallegos, Granlund, Havice,
Honda, House, Jackson, Kaloogian, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl,
Leach, Lempert, Leonard, Longville, Lowenthal, Machado,
Maddox, Maldonado, Margett, Mazzoni, McClintock, Migden,
Nakano, Olberg, Oller, Robert Pacheco, Rod Pacheco,
Papan, Pescetti, Reyes, Romero, Runner, Scott, Shelley,
Steinberg, Strickland, Strom-Martin, Thomson, Torlakson,
Villaraigosa, Vincent, Washington, Wayne, Wesson,
Wiggins, Wildman, Wright, Zettel, Hertzberg
NOT VOTING: Floyd, Thompson, Vacancy
RJG:sl 8/25/00 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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