Bill Text: CA SB530 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Exoneration: compensation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2024-02-01 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB530 Detail]
Download: California-2023-SB530-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Senate
March 29, 2023 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Senate Bill
No. 530
| Introduced by Senator Bradford |
February 14, 2023 |
An act to amend Section Sections 4900, 4902, 4903, and 4904 of, and to add Section 4904.1 to, the Penal Code, relating to exoneration.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 530, as amended, Bradford.
Exoneration: compensation.
Existing law allows a person who was erroneously convicted of a felony and imprisoned in the state prison or a county jail to present a claim to the Victim’s Compensation Board for the injury sustained by the person through the erroneous conviction and imprisonment or incarceration. Existing law requires the board to provide a recommendation to the Legislature that an appropriation be made for the purpose of indemnifying the claimant for the erroneous conviction injury. Existing law requires that the amount of the appropriation recommended by the board be equivalent to $140 per day of incarceration served. Existing law, on and after July 1, 2024, if specified appropriations are made, additionally requires the amount recommended to include $70 per day served on parole or supervised release. Existing law requires that these amounts be updated annually to account for changes in the United
States Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, West Region.
This bill, commencing on July 1, 2024, if specified conditions are met, would remove the requirement that the claimant be imprisoned in state prison or county jail to present a claim. The bill would remove the requirement that the claimant show they have sustained an injury through their erroneous conviction and imprisonment. The bill would, in certain circumstances, extend the deadline from 30 days to 90 days from the filing of a claim for the California Victim Compensation Board to calculate the compensation for the claimant and approve payment to the claimant. The bill would, if specified appropriations are made, additionally compensate the claimant for $70 per day that the claimant
was on the Sex Offender Registry solely as a result of the former erroneous conviction, and for reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred by or on behalf of the claimant in overturning the conviction, securing a pardon, or obtaining compensation under specified provisions. The bill would additionally, if specified appropriations are made, authorize a person who spent time on parole or supervised release prior to July 1, 2024, to bring a petition for compensation under these provisions until July 1, 2027.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 4900 of the Penal Code, as added by Section 19 of Chapter 771 of the Statutes of 2022, is amended to read:4900.
(a)(b) If a state or federal court has granted a writ of habeas corpus or if a state court has granted a motion to vacate pursuant to Section 1473.6 or paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1473.7, and the charges were subsequently dismissed, or the person was acquitted of the charges on a retrial, the California Victim Compensation Board shall, upon application by the person, and without a hearing, approve payment to the claimant if sufficient funds are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, pursuant to Section 4904, unless the Attorney General establishes pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 4902, that the claimant is not entitled to compensation.
(c) This section shall become operative on July
1, 2024, only if General Fund moneys over the multiyear forecasts beginning in the 2024–25 fiscal year are available to support ongoing augmentations and actions, and if an appropriation is made to backfill the Restitution Fund to support the actions in this section.
SEC. 2.
Section 4902 of the Penal Code is amended to read:4902.
(a) If the provisions of Section 851.865 or 1485.55 apply in(b) As to any a claim to which Section 851.865 or 1485.55 does not apply, the Attorney General shall respond to the claim within 60 days or request an extension of time, upon a showing of good cause.
(b)
(c) Upon receipt of a response from the Attorney General, the board shall fix a time and place for the hearing of the claim, and shall mail notice thereof to the claimant and to the Attorney General at least 15 days prior to the time fixed for the hearing. The board shall use reasonable diligence in setting the date for the hearing and shall attempt to set the date for the hearing at the earliest date convenient for the parties and the board.
(c)
(d) If the time period for response elapses without a request for
extension or a response from the Attorney General pursuant to subdivision (a), the board shall fix a time and place for the hearing of the claim, mail notice thereof to the claimant at least 15 days prior to the time fixed for the hearing, and make a recommendation based on the claimant’s verified claim and any evidence presented by the claimant.
(d)
(e) If subdivision (b) of Section 4900 applies in any claim, the California Victim Compensation Board shall calculate the compensation for the claimant pursuant to Section 4904 and approve payment to the claimant if sufficient funds are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature, unless the Attorney General objects in
writing, within 45 days from when the claimant files the claim, with clear and convincing evidence that the claimant is not entitled to compensation. The Attorney General may request a single 45-day extension of time, upon a showing of good cause. If the Attorney General declines to object within the allotted period of time, then the board shall issue its recommendation pursuant to Section 4904 within 60 90 days thereafter. Upon receipt of the objection, the board shall fix a time and place for the hearing of the claim, and shall mail notice thereof to the claimant and to the Attorney General at least 15 days prior to the fixed time for the hearing. At a hearing, the Attorney General shall bear the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the claimant committed the acts constituting the offense. If the
Attorney General fails to meet this burden, the board shall approve payment to the claimant, calculated pursuant to Section 4904, if sufficient funds are available upon appropriation by the Legislature.
SEC. 3.
Section 4903 of the Penal Code is amended to read:4903.
(a) Except as provided in Sections 851.865 and 1485.55, and in subdivision (b) of Section 4900, the board shall fix a time and place for the hearing of the claim. At the hearing the claimant shall introduce evidence in support of the claim, and the Attorney General may introduce evidence in opposition thereto. The claimant shall prove the facts set forth in the statement constituting the claim, including the fact that the crime with which they were charged was either not committed at all, or, if committed, was not committed by the claimant, and the(b) For claims falling within subdivision (b) of Section 4900 in which the Attorney General objects to the claim pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 4902, the board shall fix a time and place for the hearing of the claim. At the hearing, the Attorney General shall bear the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the claimant committed the acts constituting the offense. The claimant may introduce evidence in support of the claim.
(c) In a hearing before the board, the factual findings and credibility determinations establishing the court’s basis for writ of habeas corpus, a motion to vacate pursuant to Section 1473.6 or paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1473.7, or an application for a certificate of factual innocence as described in Section 1485.5 shall be binding on the
Attorney General, the factfinder, and the board.
(d) A conviction reversed and dismissed is no longer valid, thus the Attorney General may not rely on the fact that the state still maintains that the claimant is guilty of the crime for which they were wrongfully convicted, that the state defended the conviction against the claimant through court litigation, or that there was a conviction to establish that the claimant is not entitled to compensation. The Attorney General may also not rely solely on the trial record to establish that the claimant is not entitled to compensation.
(e) The board shall deny payment of any claim if the board finds by a preponderance of the evidence that a claimant pled guilty with the specific intent to protect another from prosecution for the underlying conviction for which the claimant is seeking compensation.
(f) A presumption does not exist in any other proceeding if the claim for compensation is denied pursuant to this section. No A res judicata or collateral estoppel finding shall not be made in any other proceeding if the claim for compensation is denied pursuant to this section.
SECTION 1.SEC. 4.
Section 4904 of the Penal Code, as amended by Section 20 of Chapter 771 of the Statutes of 2022, is amended to read:4904.
(a) If the evidence shows that the crime with which the claimant was charged was either not committed at all, or, if committed, was not committed by the claimant, or for claims pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 4900, the Attorney General’s office has not met their burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the claimant committed the acts constituting the offense, the California Victim Compensation Board shall approve payment for the purpose of compensating the claimant if sufficient funds are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The amount of the payment shall be a sum equivalent to one hundred forty dollars ($140) per day of incarceration served solely as a result of the(b) (1) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2024, only if General Fund moneys over the multiyear forecasts beginning
in the 2024–25 fiscal year are available to support ongoing augmentations and actions, and if an appropriation is made to backfill the Restitution Fund to support the actions in this section. If those conditions are met, this section is repealed January 1, 2025.
(2) The amendments made by the act adding this subdivision shall become operative on January 1, 2023.
SEC. 2.SEC. 5.
Section 4904 of the Penal Code, as added by Section 21 of Chapter 771 of the Statutes of 2022, is amended to read:4904.
(a) If the evidence shows that the crime with which the claimant was charged was either not committed at all, or, if committed, was not committed by the claimant, or for claims pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 4900, the Attorney General’s office has not met their burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the claimant committed the acts constituting the offense, the California Victim Compensation Board shall approve payment for the purpose of compensating the claimant if sufficient funds are available, upon appropriation by the Legislature. The amount of the payment shall include the following:(1) A sum equivalent to one hundred forty dollars ($140) per day of incarceration served solely as a result of the former erroneous conviction, and shall include any time spent in custody, including in a county jail, that is considered to be part of the term of incarceration.
(2) A sum equivalent to seventy dollars ($70) per day served on parole pursuant to Section 3000 or 3000.1 or on supervised release solely as a result of the former
erroneous conviction, or on the Sex Offender Registry pursuant to Section 290 solely as a result of the former erroneous conviction.
(3) Reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred by or on behalf of the claimant in overturning the claimant’s conviction or securing a pardon.
(4) Reasonable attorney fees and costs incurred by or on behalf of the claimant in obtaining compensation under this section or obtaining a finding of factual innocence under Section 851.8, 851.86, 1473.7, or 1485.55. Claimant’s attorneys may not collect any fees or costs in excess of the amounts
awarded under this section.
(b) The amounts provided in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a) shall be updated annually to reflect changes in the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, West Region, commencing one year after this section becomes effective.
(c) Funds received by the claimant under this section shall not be treated as gross income to the recipient under the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2024, only if General Fund moneys over the multiyear forecasts beginning in the 2024–25 fiscal year are available to support ongoing augmentations and actions, and if an appropriation is made to backfill the Restitution Fund to support the actions in this
section.
SEC. 3.SEC. 6.
Section 4904.1 is added to the Penal Code, to read:4904.1.
(a)(b) Any A person who previously brought a petition under Section 4900, and who who, solely due to an erroneous conviction, spent time on parole pursuant to Section 3000 or 3000.1, or on supervised release pursuant to Section 3074, or who was required to register as a sex offender, may bring a supplementary petition on or before July 1, 2027, for compensation
under paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 4904. If the prior petition was granted, the petitioner on a supplementary petition need only prove the applicability of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 4904.
(c) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2024, only if General Fund moneys over the multiyear forecasts beginning in the 2024–25 fiscal year are available to support ongoing augmentations and actions, and if an appropriation is made to backfill the Restitution Fund to support the actions in this section.
