BILL ANALYSIS
SB 128
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 128 (Polanco)
As Amended August 24, 1999
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :21-18
PUBLIC SAFETY 5-3 APPROPRIATIONS 14-7
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|Ayes:|Honda, Cedillo, Keeley, |Ayes:|Migden, Cedillo, Davis, |
| |Romero, Washington | |Hertzberg, Kuehl, Papan, |
| | | |Romero, Shelley, |
| | | |Steinberg, Thomson, |
| | | |Wesson, Wiggins, Wright, |
| | | |Longville |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Cunneen, Battin, Oller |Nays:|Brewer, Ackerman, |
| | | |Ashburn, Battin, |
| | | |Maldonado, Runner, Zettel |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Board of Prison Terms (BPT) to set a
release date during the third year of incarceration for an
inmate making "satisfactory progress" on his or her performance
plan, unless BPT makes a specified finding that nullifies the
need to set a release date. Specifically, this bill :
1)Declares the Legislature's finding that the primary purpose of
the California Department of Corrections (CDC) and the state
prison system is to promote and enhance public safety.
2)Declares the Legislature's finding that providing inmates
early advice and direction how best to live safely upon parole
will greatly diminish the probability that inmates will
re-offend.
3)Requires BPT, during an inmate's third year of incarceration,
to meet with each inmate to discuss the following:
a) What the subsequent process will be for determining the
inmate's eligibility for parole (including the timeline and
procedures of parole eligibility hearings);
b) What the inmate's minimum eligible release date is and
the significance of it; and,
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c) What factors are important in finding an inmate eligible
for parole.
4)Requires BPT at the meeting described in #3 above to discuss
and prepare an inmate performance plan, which consists of the
following requirements that BPT considers the inmate must meet
in order to be eligible for parole:
a) Participation in educational classes;
b) Job skills training;
c) Substance abuse classes;
d) Life skills classes;
e) Victim offender awareness programs;
f) Other activities relevant to the inmate's personal and
criminal history;
g) The importance of offender accountability;
h) The importance of victim restitution; and,
i) The importance of remaining free of discipline problems
(including abstention from involvement with prison gangs or
other activities that lead to rules violations).
5)Requires BPT to state in writing why an inmate is being denied
parole and what the inmate must do to become suitable for
parole.
6)Requires BPT to set a release date if BPT finds that the
inmate is making "satisfactory progress" on his or her inmate
performance plan.
7)Requires the determination of suitability for parole to be
based on an inmate's record as a whole, including any
performance or psychological evaluations included in the
inmate's file. Further requires BPT to specify in writing the
reasons for its determination.
8)Declares legislative intent not to require additional hearings
for an inmate or additional personnel to perform the hearings.
"Rather, it is the intent of the Legislature that those
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inmate performance plans be one additional requirement in the
process that is already occurring to evaluate an inmate's
suitability for parole."
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis, unknown annual General Fund costs, likely in
the range of $100,000, to prepare an inmate performance plan for
the 500 or so inmates who undergo initial parole hearings.
Specifies legislative intent not to require additional hearings
or additional personnel, but to add the provisions of this bill
to the current process.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "This bill is about the
discretion of the BPT. In the Penal Code, the Legislature has
given the BPT the discretion to determine who is suitable for
parole. This bill proposes to redefine how the BPT makes such a
determination by requiring them to develop an inmate performance
plan for every inmate with a life term. The BPT would then use
that plan to ultimately determine whether that inmate has proven
that he or she is suitable to be released back into the
community.
"Although many would argue with the need for change in this
area, a recent hearing, convened by the Joint Legislative
Committee on Prison Construction and Operations, showed the
necessity for this bill.
"The Penal Code creates a presumption that an inmate be given a
release date, after a certain minimum period of incarceration,
unless certain findings are made. At the hearing, we heard from
many witnesses who testified that, in practice, the opposite is
true. In fact, granting a release date is the exception, not
the rule. Less than 1% of all life term inmates are given a
release date."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a more
comprehensive discussion of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Harry Dorfman / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0002500