BILL ANALYSIS
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 79|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 79
Author: Hayden (D)
Amended: 8/30/99
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 4-2, 6/22/99
AYES: Vasconcellos, Burton, Johnston, Polanco
NOES: McPherson, Rainey
(Motion passed to return amendments to Senate Floor for
consideration.)
SUBJECT : Three strikes: task force
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill establishes a task force to review and
assess the Three Strikes Law and recommend any changes that
may be required to serve its public safety purposes in a
fair and efficient manner. The task force would be
comprised of 11 members representing specified groups
including proponents of that law, law enforcement,
correctional personnel, victims rights advocates, academic
experts, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and
representatives of the families of inmates sentenced under
the Three Strikes Law. The members would be appointed as
specified by the Governor, the Attorney General, the Senate
Rules Committee, and the Speaker of the Assembly. The task
force would convene public meetings, take testimony, and
prepare a report of its findings and recommendations and
submit that report to the Legislature no later than July 1,
2000.
CONTINUED
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Senate Floor Amendments of 7/8/99 deleted all of the
original provisions of SB 79 - provisions that would have
allowed a life sentence under the "Three Strikes" law only
for a defendant convicted of a serious/violent felony and
instead they create a task force to assess the "Three
Strikes" law and recommend any changes necessary to fairly
and efficiently protect public safety.
Senate Floor Amendments of 8/30/99 (1) reduce the task
force from 25 individuals to 11, and make corresponding
changes in appointments; and (2) specify that individuals
appointed representing victims rights and inmate families
have prior advocacy experience.
ANALYSIS : Existing law provides that a defendant, who is
convicted of any current felony, with prior convictions of
two or more "violent" or "serious" felonies, must receive a
life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years.
Existing law further provides that where a defendant is
convicted of any felony with a prior conviction for a
single serious or violent felony, the sentence imposed must
be twice the term otherwise provided as punishment.
Existing law further provides that affected defendants may
not receive probation, there is no limitation on the
aggregate term, conduct credits are limited to 20% of the
term (instead of the usual 50%), and any additional
convictions must be imposed consecutively.
Existing law, unlike five year serious felony enhancement
provisions, does not require that prior qualifying
convictions arise in separate cases, and qualifying prior
"strike" convictions need not arise from separate
transactions that can otherwise not be separately punished.
Existing law provides that a juvenile adjudication of a
sixteen-year old must be counted as a prior "strike" if the
offense otherwise qualifies as an adult strike or would
establish presumptive unfitness for juvenile court under
Welfare and Institutions Code section 707(b), and the minor
was declared to be a ward of juvenile court for commission
of an offense listed in Welfare and Institutions Code
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section 707(b).
This bill provides that it is the intent of the Legislature
to convene a task force to review and assess the three
strikes law and recommend any changes that may be required
to serve its public safety purposes in a fair and efficient
manner.
The bill would require that the task force assess existing
evidence concerning the types of offenses committed by
individuals convicted under the Three Strikes Law, whether
there are inequities that should be addressed arising from
the different offenses that receive the same punishment,
the costs of correctional resources devoted to offenders
sentenced under the Three Strikes Law, and whether there
are reforms of the Three Strikes Law that could improve the
mission of increased sentences for chronic, repeat violent
offenders.
The bill would require the task force be composed of no
more than 11 persons, representing a range of individuals
with different points of view, including persons who are
proponents of the Three Strikes Law, correctional
personnel, victims rights advocates, academic experts,
prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges and representatives
of the families of inmates who have been sentenced pursuant
to the Three Strikes Law. The appointing parties must meet
and confer to ensure that the members of the task force
constitute
a full and fair representation of all the groups specified
in this bill. The appointing parties would also be
required to ensure that the appointees representing victim
rights advocates and families of inmates have a proven
history of advocacy with the Legislature and throughout the
state on behalf of their respective constituencies. The
members of the task force shall be appointed as follows:
1.The Governor shall appoint six members, including the
taskforce chairperson.
2.The Attorney General shall appoint one member.
3.The Senate Rules Committee shall appoint two members.
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4.The Speaker of the Assembly shall appoint two members.
The bill specifies that the duties of the task force would
be to convene public meetings, take testimony as needed,
seek consensus whenever possible, and prepare a report of
its findings and recommendations and submit that report to
the Legislature no later than July 1, 2000.
Upon release of the report the task force shall be
terminated.
The bill requires that the task force be staffed, to the
extent feasible, by legislative policy consultants to the
public safety and judiciary committees from both parties.
" Three Strikes" in More Detail
The "Three Strikes" law was enacted by AB 971 (Jones/Costa)
Chapter 12, Statutes of 1994 and by Proposition 184.
Mandatory provisions of "Three Strikes" beyond those listed
in "existing law," above include:
--A juvenile adjudication (a findings by a juvenile court
judge that the minor committed a crime) may constitute an
adult strike prior, although a juvenile cannot have a
jury trial of charges against him or her.
--A person sentenced under "Three Strikes" may not be
committed to any facility other than prison.
--"Three Strikes" prohibits plea-bargaining.
--"Three Strikes" eliminates any "washout" period,
requiring that any prior serious or violent felony
conviction be used regardless of when it occurred.
--Under "Three Strikes," the prosecuting attorney must
plead and prove each prior felony conviction.
--"Three Strikes" may only be amended by a two-thirds vote
of the Legislature or a ballot measure approved by the
electorate.
Violent and Serious Felonies Defined
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"Three Strikes" incorporates the definitions of violent and
serious felonies as they existed on June 30, 1993. For all
practical purposes, all "violent" felonies are "serious"
felonies. Thus the eligible "strikes" are aptly
demonstrated by the serious felony list, with additional
notations for violent offenses.
Serious and violent felonies, as defined by Penal Code
section 667.5(b) and section 1192.7, as they existed on
June 30, 1993, include the following:
--Murder or voluntary manslaughter (serious and violent).
--Mayhem (serious, and violent if by force or threat of
retaliation).
--Rape (serious and violent).
--Sodomy by force, violence, duress, menace, or fear of
bodily injury (serious and violent).
--Oral copulation by force, violence, duress, menace or
fear of bodily injury (serious and violent).
--Lewd act with child under fourteen years of age (serious
and violent).
--Any felony punishable by death or life imprisonment
(serious and violent).
--Any felony in which defendant inflicts great bodily
injury on defendant or personally uses a firearm (serious
and violent).
--Attempted murder (serious and violent).
--Assault with intent to commit rape/robbery (serious).
--Assault with a deadly weapon on peace officer (serious).
--Assault by life prisoner on a non-inmate (serious).
--Assault with a deadly weapon by inmate (serious).
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--Arson (serious, and violent if causes great bodily
injury).
--Exploding a destructive device with intent to injure
(serious).
--Explosion causing great bodily injury or mayhem
(serious).
--Explosion with intent to murder (serious and violent).
--Burglary of inhabited dwelling (serious, and violent if
resident is present and weapon used).
--Robbery or bank robbery (serious, and violent if the
robbery was a residential robbery with the use of a
weapon).
--Kidnapping (serious, and violent if for purposes of sex
crimes against a child).
--Inmate taking a hostage (serious).
--Attempted death or life crime (serious).
--Any felony where defendant personally uses a dangerous or
deadly weapon (serious).
--Sale or furnishing heroin, cocaine, PCP, or
methamphetamine to a minor (serious).
--Forcible foreign object rape (serious, and violent in
most cases).
--Grand theft involving a firearm (serious).
--Attempts to commit any felony listed in a-z except
assault (serious).
Similar legislation:
SB 873 (Vasconcellos), passed the Senate 23-12 (NOES:
Brulte, Haynes, Johannessen, Kelley, Knight, Leslie, Lewis,
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Monteith, Morrow, Mountjoy, Poochigian, Wright), currently
in Assembly Appropriations Committee.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/31/99)
ACLU
California Public Defenders Association
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California NORML
Lutheran Office of Public Policy
Families to Amend California's Three Strikes
numerous individuals
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : According to the author's office,
"the goal of the amended form SB 79 is twofold. First, it
provides an assessment of the three strikes - by those most
involved in the law - to determine whether there are
inequities in its application, its costs, and whether it
should be reformed to better achieve the goal of locking up
repeat, violent criminals.
"Second, it brings together three-strike stakeholders at
the same table to hold hearings, take testimony, discuss,
debate and reach consensus - if possible - on whether
reform is necessary and what shape those reforms should
take. Only when all the parties are engaged in discussion
on how three strikes is working and what, if anything,
should be done about the law can reform take place.
"Rather than conflict with SB 873, SB 79 would compliment
the study called for in Senator Vasconcellos' bill.
"SB 873 calls for a joint study by the LAO, in cooperation
with the Judicial Council, the Attorney General's Office
and the University of California on the effectiveness of
three strikes. As stated above, SB 79 allows for
stakeholders in the law to perform an assessment - through
public hearings, testimony, and existing studies - and make
recommendations to the Legislature. Reports called for by
SB 873 and SB 79 are due July 1, 2000, giving the
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Legislature a broad range of information and viewpoints to
consider."
RJG:sl 1/3/2000 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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