BILL NUMBER: SB 128 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 29, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 19, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 26, 1999
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 4, 1999
INTRODUCED BY Senator Polanco
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Migden)
DECEMBER 22, 1998
An act to amend Section 3041 of the Penal
add Sections 54233 and 54233.1 to the Government Code, relating
to imprisonment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 128, as amended, Polanco. Prisoners
Prisons: San Quentin .
Existing law provides for the establishment and operation of a
state prison at San Quentin in Marin County, and provides that all
death row inmates shall be incarcerated therein and all judgments of
death shall therein be executed.
This bill would direct the Department of Corrections to transfer,
by January 1, 2002, ownership of the property and facilities of the
state prison at San Quentin to the Department of General Services,
and would declare that property and facilities to be surplus land.
This bill would direct the Department of General Services to
establish and support a task force of specified state and local
representatives to determine the appropriate use and disposition of
the property, and to develop a land use master plan to be considered
for implementation by the department. This bill would also require
the Department of Corrections to develop, by June 30, 2001, a
proposal for the transfer of inmates housed in the state prison at
San Quentin, subject to specified criteria.
Existing law provides that, for persons sentenced to terms of
imprisonment other than under the determinate sentencing law, the
Board of Prison Terms shall meet with the inmate during the 3rd year
of incarceration to review the inmate's file, and to make
recommendations.
This bill would require the board to discuss with the inmate what
the subsequent process will be for determining the inmate's
eligibility for parole, and to prepare an inmate performance plan for
the inmate.
Existing law provides that one year prior to the inmate's minimum
eligible parole release date, a panel of the Board of Prison Terms
shall meet with each inmate and normally set a parole release date.
This bill would provide that if the board determines that an
inmate is not suitable for parole, it shall state in writing
specifically why the inmate is being denied parole.
Existing law requires the panel or board to set a release date
unless it makes certain determinations.
This bill would additionally provide that the board shall set a
release date if the board finds that the inmate is making
satisfactory progress on his or her inmate performance plan, unless
the board makes certain findings. The bill would require the board
to specify in writing the reasons for its determination.
Vote: majority. 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 finds and declares as
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:
(a) San Quentin State Prison, built in 1852 and the oldest prison
in California, is no longer cost-effective to maintain and operate.
Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent to retrofit the
prison and upgrade its infrastructure just to maintain minimum
structural integrity. In addition, millions of dollars are requested
every year to bring the prison up to modern standards.
(b) San Quentin State Prison was recently designated the most
seismically unsafe building in California.
(c) Any long-term land-use plans for the property at San Quentin
State Prison shall be consistent with local bay area regional
planning.
SEC. 2. Section 54233 is added to the Government Code, to read:
54233. (a) The Department of Corrections shall transfer the
ownership of the property, including all facilities, comprising the
California State Prison at San Quentin, located in Marin County, to
the Department of General Services no later than January 1, 2002.
Pursuant to Section 11011 of the Government Code, the Legislature
finds and declares this property, including all facilities, to be
surplus land.
(b) The Department of General Services shall establish and support
a task force of state and local representatives to recommend the
appropriate use and disposition of the property. The task force
shall include the Senate and Assembly representatives with districts
that include San Quentin State Prison, the chair of the joint
legislative committee with primary oversight of prison issues, one
representative from the City of Corte Madera, one representative from
the City of Larkspur, one representative from the City of San
Rafael, one representative from the City of Tiburon, three
representatives from the County of Marin, and one representative from
the City of San Francisco. The task force shall develop and
recommend a land use master plan which the Department of General
Services shall consider for implementation. The master plan may
include identifying a portion of the land as an historic landmark,
which portion may be transferred to the Department of Parks and
Recreation for maintenance.
SEC. 3. Section 54233.1 is added to the Government Code, to read:
54233.1. (a) By June 30, 2001, the Department of Corrections
shall develop a proposal for the transfer of inmates housed in San
Quentin State Prison to alternative sites consistent with the
criteria identified in subdivision (b) of this section.
(b) The Department of Corrections shall consider the following
criteria in developing the inmate transfer proposal:
(1) No property at San Quentin State Prison may continue to be
used to house inmates.
(2) Nothing in the proposal may exacerbate the unsafe working
conditions at overcrowded state facilities. Excluding inmates housed
on death row, no inmate may be transferred to any state run facility
operating at or above 160 percent of design capacity.
(3) Any new capacity deemed necessary to meet the criteria set
forth in this measure must be operated at least 10 percent below the
average state cost of incarceration. follows:
(a) The primary purpose of the Department of Corrections and the
state prison system is to promote and enhance public safety.
(b) Providing inmates early advice and direction regarding how
each of them can best prepare themselves for living safely upon
parole will greatly diminish the probability that they will
revictimize the public once released.
SEC. 2. Section 3041 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
3041. (a) In the case of any prisoner sentenced pursuant to any
provision of law, other than Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section
1170) of Title 7 of Part 2, the Board of Prison Terms shall meet with
each of those inmates during the third year of incarceration for the
purposes of reviewing the inmate's file, making recommendations, and
documenting activities and conduct pertinent to granting or
withholding postconviction credit. Specifically, the board shall
discuss with the inmate what the subsequent process will be for
determining the inmate's eligibility for parole, including the
timeline and procedures of parole eligibility hearings, what the
inmate's minimum eligible release date is and the significance of it,
and what factors are important in finding an inmate eligible for
parole. At that meeting, the board shall discuss and prepare an
inmate performance plan for the inmate. In the case of an inmate who
has already had the meeting required by this section, the board
shall prepare an inmate performance plan at the next regularly
scheduled parole hearing or other meeting set for that inmate. The
inmate performance plan shall consist of specific requirements that
the board determines the inmate must meet in order to be eligible for
parole. These requirements may include participation in educational
classes, job skills training, substance abuse classes, life skills
classes, victim offender awareness programs, or other activities that
are relevant to the inmate's personal and criminal history. The
plan may emphasize the importance of offender accountability, victim
restitution, and remaining free of discipline problems, including
abstention from involvement with prison gangs or other activities
that lead to rules violations. The requirements shall be realistic,
achievable, and relevant to that inmate. One year prior to the
inmate's minimum eligible parole release date a panel consisting of
at least two commissioners of the Board of Prison Terms shall again
meet with the inmate and shall normally set a parole release date as
provided in Section 3041.5. The release date shall be set in a
manner that will provide uniform terms for offenses of similar
gravity and magnitude in respect to their threat to the public, and
that will comply with the sentencing rules that the Judicial Council
may issue and any sentencing information relevant to the setting of
parole release dates. The board shall establish criteria for the
setting of parole release dates and in doing so shall consider the
number of victims of the crime for which the prisoner was sentenced
and other factors in mitigation or aggravation of the crime. If the
board determines that an inmate is not suitable for parole, it shall
state in writing specifically why the inmate is being denied parole,
and what he or she must do to become suitable for parole, consistent
with his or her inmate performance plan. At least one commissioner
of the panel shall have been present at the last preceding meeting,
unless it is not feasible to do so or where the last preceding
meeting was the initial meeting. Any person on the hearing panel may
request review of any decision regarding parole to the full board
for an en banc hearing. If a review is requested, a majority vote of
the full Board of Prison Terms in favor of parole is required to
grant parole to any prisoner.
(b) The board shall set a release date if the board finds that the
inmate is making satisfactory progress on his or her inmate
performance plan, unless it determines that the gravity of the
current convicted offense or offenses, or the timing and gravity of
current or past convicted offense or offenses, is such that
consideration of the public safety requires a more lengthy period of
incarceration for this individual, and that a parole date, therefore,
cannot be fixed at this meeting. The determination of suitability
for parole shall be based on the record as a whole, including any
performance or psychological evaluations included in the inmate's
file. The board shall specify in writing the reasons for its
determination.
(c) For the purpose of reviewing the suitability for parole of
those prisoners eligible for parole under prior law at a date earlier
than that calculated under Section 1170.2, the board shall appoint
panels of at least two persons to meet annually with each of those
prisoners until the time that the person is released pursuant to
those proceedings or reaches the expiration of his or her term as
calculated under Section 1170.2.
SEC. 3. It is not the intent of the Legislature, in enacting the
amendments in Section 2 of this act, to require any additional
hearings for an inmate, or to require any additional personnel than
are already assigned to perform the hearings. Rather, it is the
intent of the Legislature that those inmate performance plans be one
additional requirement in the process that is already occurring to
evaluate an inmate's suitability for parole.