Bill Text: CA SB210 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Criminal procedure: release on defendant's own

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-08-22 - Read third time and amended. (Page 6086.) Ordered to third reading. [SB210 Detail]

Download: California-2011-SB210-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 210	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JANUARY 4, 2012

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hancock
    (   Principal coauthor:   Senator 
 Liu   ) 

                        FEBRUARY 8, 2011

   An act to  add Chapter 9.9 (commencing with Section 6280)
to Title 7 of Part 3   amend Section 3417  of the
Penal Code, relating to prisoners.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 210, as amended, Hancock. Prisoners:  alternative
incarceration.   community treatment program.  

   Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to establish and implement a community treatment
program, under which a women sentenced to state prison who has one or
more children under 6 years of age, whose child is born prior to
incarceration, or who is pregnant, shall be eligible for release with
her children to a public or private facility in the community
suitable to their needs. Existing law requires the department to deny
placement in the community treatment program, except as provided, to
certain women including, but not limited to, those who have been
convicted of the unlawful sale or possession for sale, manufacture,
or transportation of a controlled substance, as defined, if large
scale and for profit, as defined by the department.  
   This bill would exclude women from denial of placement in the
program who are convicted of planting, cultivating, harvesting,
drying, or processing any marijuana or any part thereof, and persons
who are convicted of possessing for sale any marijuana. 

   Existing law authorizes the Secretary of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation to enter into contracts with various
entities for the housing and other care of inmates who are subject to
the department's jurisdiction, but not incarcerated in a state
prison. Existing law authorizes the department to construct,
establish, and operate reentry program facilities with programs to
assist inmates and parole violators to reintegrate into society.
 
   This bill would state findings and declarations of the Legislature
relative to alternative incarceration for nonviolent inmates. The
bill would authorize the Secretary of the Department of Corrections
and Rehabilitation to enter into contracts with Alternative
Incarceration Facilities, as defined, for housing certain nonviolent
inmates who meet certain criteria. The bill would authorize the
secretary to adopt regulations to implement those purposes, set forth
criteria for inmates to meet in order to be transferred to
Alternative Incarceration Facilities, and establish a compensation
scheme for owners of those facilities. The bill would require a
retired, correctional officer with certain experience to always be
present at each facility for purposes of providing certain technical
assistance. 
   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.    Section 3417 of the   Penal
Code   is amended to read: 
   3417.  (a) Subject to reasonable rules and regulations adopted
pursuant to Section 3414, the Department of Corrections  and
Rehabilitation  shall admit to the program any applicant whose
child was born prior to the receipt of the inmate by the department,
whose child was born after the receipt of the inmate by the
department, or who is pregnant, if all of the following requirements
are met:
   (1) The applicant has a probable release or parole date with a
maximum time to be served of six years, calculated after deduction of
any possible good time credit.
   (2) The applicant was the primary caretaker of the infant prior to
incarceration. "Primary caretaker" as used in this chapter means a
parent who has consistently assumed responsibility for the housing,
health, and safety of the child prior to incarceration. A parent who,
in the best interests of the child, has arranged for temporary care
for the child in the home of a relative or other responsible adult
shall not for that reason be excluded from the category, "primary
caretaker."
   (3) The applicant had not been found to be an unfit parent in any
court proceeding. An inmate applicant whose child has been declared a
dependent of the juvenile court pursuant to Section 300 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code shall be admitted to the program only
after the court has found that participation in the program is in the
child's best interest and that it meets the needs of the parent and
child pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (e) of Section 361.5
of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The fact that an inmate
applicant's child has been found to come within Section 300 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code shall not, in and of itself, be grounds
for denying the applicant the opportunity to participate in the
program.
   (b) The Department of Corrections  and Rehabilitation 
shall deny placement in the community treatment program if it
determines that an inmate would pose an unreasonable risk to the
public, or if any one of the following factors exist, except in
unusual circumstances or if mitigating circumstances exist,
including, but not limited to, the remoteness in time of the
commission of the offense:
   (1) The inmate has been convicted of any of the following:
   (A) A sex offense listed in Section 667.6.
   (B) A sex offense requiring registration pursuant to Section 290.
   (C) A violent offense listed in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5.
   (D) Arson as defined in Sections 450 to 455, inclusive.
   (E) The unlawful sale or possession for sale, manufacture, or
transportation of controlled substances as defined in Chapter 6
(commencing with Section 11350) of Division 10  , except Sections
11358 and 11359,  of the Health and Safety Code, if large scale
for profit as defined by the department.
   (2) There is probability the inmate may abscond from the program
as evidenced by any of the following:
   (A) A conviction of escape, of aiding another person to escape, or
of an attempt to escape from a jail or prison.
   (B) The presence of an active detainer from a law enforcement
agency, unless the detainer is based solely upon warrants issued for
failure to appear on misdemeanor Vehicle Code violations.
   (3) It is probable the inmate's conduct in a community facility
will be adverse to herself or other participants in the program, as
determined by the  Director of Corrections  
Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 
or as evidenced by any of the following:
   (A) The inmate's removal from a community program which resulted
from violation of state laws, rules, or regulations governing
Department of  Corrections'   Corrections and
Rehabilitation's  inmates.
   (B) A finding of the inmate's guilt of a serious rule violation,
as defined by the  Director of Corrections  
Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation  ,
which resulted in a credit loss on one occasion of 91 or more days
or in a credit loss on more than one occasion of 31 days or more and
the credit has not been restored.
   (C) A current written opinion of a staff physician or psychiatrist
that the inmate's medical or psychiatric condition is likely to
cause an adverse effect upon the inmate or upon other persons if the
inmate is placed in the program.
   (c) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to limit the
discretion of the  Director of Corrections  
Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation 
to deny or approve placement when subdivision (b) does not apply.
   (d) The Department of Corrections  and Rehabilitation 
shall determine if the applicant meets the requirements of this
section within 30 days of the parent's application to the program.
The department shall establish an appeal procedure for the applicant
to appeal an adverse decision by the department. 
  SECTION 1.    This act shall be known, and may be
cited, as the Responsible Alternative Incarceration Facility Act.
 
  SEC. 2.    The Legislature finds and declares all
of the following:
   (a) The cost of incarcerating nonviolent prisoners who are serving
time in a state prison is higher than would be attainable through
alternative means.
   (b) Public safety is the primary purpose of incarceration and
public safety goals may continue to be achieved through less costly
alternatives for certain inmates convicted of nonviolent crimes.
   (c) It is the intent of the Legislature by enacting this measure
to create a program that encourages experienced correctional
personnel to organize and staff small, secured, managed residential
facilities to house nonviolent inmates meeting other appropriate
criteria, and that these facilities form a bridge between prison and
society that will enable inmates to become productive members of
society on a more expeditious and less costly basis. 

  SEC. 3.    Chapter 9.9 (commencing with Section
6280) is added to Title 7 of Part 3 of the Penal Code, to read:
      CHAPTER 9.9.  ALTERNATIVE INCARCERATION FACILITIES


   6280.  (a) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is
authorized to contract with an Alternative Incarceration Facility for
placement of inmates who meet the criteria set forth in Section
6281.
   (b) The department shall adopt regulations to implement this
chapter. The regulations shall include, but not be limited to, the
following criteria for certifying a facility as an Alternative
Incarceration Facility:
   (1) No more than 25 residents may be housed at the facility.
   (2) The facility is owned and operated by a natural person or
community organization knowledgeable in the area of providing
treatment or services for persons who have been incarcerated in a
state prison, and the owner and operator does not own or operate more
than two Alternative Incarceration Facilities.
   (3) The facility shall not be located within 1,000 feet of any
hospital, school, preschool, prison, jail, or other Alternative
Incarceration Facility.
   (4) The facility, including its staffing and security standards,
shall be certified by the American Correctional Association as
providing evidence-based programs for case management, drug
treatment, and mental health counseling, or as having access to
community-based case management, drug treatment, and mental health
counseling.
   6281.  (a) Inmates eligible for transfer to an Alternative
Incarceration Facility shall meet all of the following criteria:
   (1) Be an inmate in a state prison.
   (2) Have at least one-year incarceration left to serve.
   (3) Have served at least six months incarceration in a state
prison.
   (4) Is not currently serving and has not served a prior
indeterminate sentence or a sentence for a violent felony, a serious
felony, or a crime that requires him or her to register as a sex
offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Registration Act, and has
scored a low risk on the risk and needs assessment tool used by the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
   (5) Have requested to be transferred to an Alternative
Incarceration Facility.
   (6) Have completed a risk and needs assessment before entering the
facility.
   (b) The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation may establish additional standards for eligibility for
inmates to transfer to an Alternative Incarceration Facility. Those
standards shall include criteria for individual inmate evaluation and
designation to an Alternative Incarceration Facility specifically
suitable for that inmate.
   (c) The facility must agree to accept the inmate prior to transfer
of the inmate to the facility.
   (d) The operator of the facility may return an inmate to prison at
any time.
   (e) An inmate may return to prison or transfer to another
Alternative Incarceration Facility if that facility agrees to accept
that inmate.
   (f) The inmate shall complete a risk and needs assessment before
being released from the facility.
   6282.  Each Alternative Incarceration Facility shall have present,
at all times, a retired, qualified correctional peace officer with
at least five years of experience as a correctional peace officer and
at least two years management experience as a parole officer for the
purpose of providing technical assistance in the provision of
reentry services consistent with the purposes of this chapter.
   6283.  (a) The owner of an Alternative Incarceration Facility
shall be compensated by the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, as follows:
   (1) Monthly payment per resident of an amount equal to one-half
the sum determined by dividing the previous fiscal year's budget for
the department by the highest number of inmates incarcerated by the
department during that year.
   (2) Payment of five hundred dollars ($500) for each resident who
attains his or her General Education Diploma while residing at the
facility.
   (3) Payment of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each resident who
attains his or her Associate of Arts degree while residing at the
facility.
   (4) Payment of one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each resident who
completes a vocational education program approved by a local school
district and is accepted into a local union while residing at the
facility.
   (b) The operator of the facility may charge the resident
reasonable fees, based on ability to pay, for room, board, and so
much of the costs of administration as are allocable to that
resident. The fees may not exceed actual, demonstrable costs to the
department. No fees shall be collected from an inmate or parolee
after his or her residency in the facility has terminated.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no inmate or parolee
shall be denied placement in a facility authorized by this chapter on
the basis of inability to pay fees authorized by this section.
   6284.  For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions
shall apply:
   (a) A "natural person" means a human being, not a corporation,
partnership, limited liability company, corporative business, trust,
or similar entity.
   (b) "Alternative Incarceration Facility" means a secure
residential facility certified by the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to be used for the purpose of housing nonviolent
inmates who meet the criteria set forth in Section 6281.