BILL NUMBER: AB 1479 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 11, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Committee on Budget (Skinner (Chair), Bloom, Campos,
Chesbro, Dababneh, Daly, Dickinson, Gordon, Jones-Sawyer, Mullin,
Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Rodriguez, Stone, Ting, and Weber)
JANUARY 9, 2014
An act relating to the Budget Act of 2014
to amend Sections 3042 and 3043 of the Penal Code, and to amend
Section 51 of Chapter 26 of the Statutes of 2014, relating
to public safety, and making an appropriation therefor, to take
effect immediately, bill related to the budget .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1479, as amended, Committee on Budget. Budget Act of
2014. Public safety.
Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings, upon request,
to notify the victim, or next of kin of the victim, of any crime
committed by a prisoner, of any hearing to review or consider the
parole suitability or the setting of a parole date for that prisoner.
Existing law requires that this notice be given by telephone,
certified mail, or electronic mail, using the method of communication
selected by the requesting party, if that method is available.
Existing law also requires the board to send, by certified mail,
written notice of the parole hearing to the judge of the superior
court before whom a prisoner was tried.
This bill would instead require the board to send the notice to
the judge of the superior court, and would authorize the board to
send the notice to the victim or the victim's next of kin, using
United States mail.
Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community
Corrections to collect and maintain available information and data
about state and community correctional policies, practices,
capacities, and needs, as specified. Existing law also requires the
board to develop incentives for units of local government to develop
comprehensive regional partnerships whereby adjacent jurisdictions
pool grant funds in order to deliver services to a broader target
population and maximize the impact of state funds at the local level.
This bill would appropriate $5,000,000 from the Recidivism
Reduction Fund to the Board of State and Community Corrections for
the establishment of a social innovation financing program for
counties.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a
bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.
This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact
statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2014.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no yes
. Fiscal committee: no yes .
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 3042 of the Penal
Code is amended to read:
3042. (a) At least 30 days before the Board of Prison Terms meets
to review or consider the parole suitability or the setting of a
parole date for any prisoner sentenced to a life sentence, the board
shall send written notice thereof to each of the following persons:
the judge of the superior court before whom the prisoner was tried
and convicted, the attorney who represented the defendant at trial,
the district attorney of the county in which the offense was
committed, the law enforcement agency that investigated the case, and
where the prisoner was convicted of the murder of a peace officer,
the law enforcement agency which had employed that peace officer at
the time of the murder.
(b) The Board of Prison Terms shall record all those hearings and
transcribe recordings of those hearings within 30 days of any
hearing. Those transcripts, including the transcripts of all prior
hearings, shall be filed and maintained in the office of the Board of
Prison Terms and shall be made available to the public no later than
30 days from the date of the hearing. No prisoner shall actually be
released on parole prior to 60 days from the date of the hearing.
(c) At any hearing, the presiding hearing officer shall state his
or her findings and supporting reasons on the record.
(d) Any statements, recommendations, or other materials considered
shall be incorporated into the transcript of the hearing, unless the
material is confidential in order to preserve institutional security
and the security of others who might be endangered by disclosure.
(e) This section shall not apply to any hearing held to consider
advancing a prisoner's parole date due to his or her conduct since
his or her last hearing.
(f) (1) The written notice to the judge of the superior court
before whom the prisoner was tried and convicted shall be sent by
certified mail with return receipt requested
United States mail .
(2) The judge receiving this written notice may forward to the
parole board any unprivileged information from the trial or
sentencing proceeding regarding the prisoner, witnesses, or victims,
or other relevant persons, or any other information, that is
pertinent to the question of whether the parole board should grant
parole or under what conditions parole should be granted. The judge
may also, in his or her discretion, include information given to him
or her by victims, witnesses, or other persons that bear on the
question of the prisoner's suitability for parole.
(3) The parole board shall review and consider all information
received from the judge or any other person and shall consider
adjusting the terms or conditions of parole to reflect the comments
or concerns raised by this information, as appropriate.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed as limiting the
type or content of information the judge or any other person may
forward to the parole board for consideration under any other
provision of law.
(h) Any person who receives notice under subdivision (a) who is
authorized to forward information for consideration in a parole
suitability hearing or the setting of a parole date for a person
sentenced to a life sentence under this section, may forward that
information either by facsimile or electronic mail. The Department of
Corrections shall establish procedures for receiving the information
by facsimile or electronic mail pursuant to this subdivision.
SEC. 2. Section 3043 of the Penal Code
is amended to read:
3043. (a) (1) Upon request to the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation and verification of the identity of the requester,
notice of any hearing to review or consider the parole suitability or
the setting of a parole date for any prisoner in a state prison
shall be given by telephone, certified mail, regular mail,
or electronic mail, using the method of communication selected by
the requesting party, if that method is available, by the Board of
Parole Hearings at least 90 days before the hearing to any victim of
any crime committed by the prisoner, or to the next of kin of the
victim if the victim has died, to include the commitment crimes,
determinate term commitment crimes for which the prisoner has been
paroled, and any other felony crimes or crimes against the person for
which the prisoner has been convicted. The requesting party shall
keep the board apprised of his or her current contact information in
order to receive the notice.
(2) No later than 30 days prior to the date selected for the
hearing, any person, other than the victim, entitled to attend the
hearing shall inform the board of his or her intention to attend the
hearing and the name and identifying information of any other person
entitled to attend the hearing who will accompany him or her.
(3) No later than 14 days prior to the date selected for the
hearing, the board shall notify every person entitled to attend the
hearing confirming the date, time, and place of the hearing.
(b) (1) The victim, next of kin, members of the victim's family,
and two representatives designated as provided in paragraph (2) of
this subdivision have the right to appear, personally or by counsel,
at the hearing and to adequately and reasonably express his, her, or
their views concerning the prisoner and the case, including, but not
limited to the commitment crimes, determinate term commitment crimes
for which the prisoner has been paroled, any other felony crimes or
crimes against the person for which the prisoner has been convicted,
the effect of the enumerated crimes on the victim and the family of
the victim, the person responsible for these enumerated crimes, and
the suitability of the prisoner for parole.
(2) Any statement provided by a representative designated by the
victim or next of kin may cover any subject about which the victim or
next of kin has the right to be heard including any recommendation
regarding the granting of parole. The representatives shall be
designated by the victim or, in the event that the victim is deceased
or incapacitated, by the next of kin. They shall be designated in
writing for the particular hearing prior to the hearing.
(c) A representative designated by the victim or the victim's next
of kin for purposes of this section may be any adult person selected
by the victim or the family of the victim. The board shall permit a
representative designated by the victim or the victim's next of kin
to attend a particular hearing, to provide testimony at a hearing,
and to submit a statement to be included in the hearing as provided
in Section 3043.2, even though the victim, next of kin, or a member
of the victim's immediate family is present at the hearing, and even
though the victim, next of kin, or a member of the victim's immediate
family has submitted a statement as described in Section 3043.2.
(d) The board, in deciding whether to release the person on
parole, shall consider the entire and uninterrupted statements of the
victim or victims, next of kin, immediate family members of the
victim, and the designated representatives of the victim or next of
kin, if applicable, made pursuant to this section and shall include
in its report a statement whether the person would pose a threat to
public safety if released on parole.
(e) In those cases where there are more than two immediate family
members of the victim who wish to attend any hearing covered in this
section, the board shall allow attendance of additional immediate
family members to include the following: spouse, children, parents,
siblings, grandchildren, and grandparents.
SEC. 3. Section 51 of Chapter 26 of the Statutes
of 2014 is amended to read:
Sec. 51. Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code),
until January 1, 2016, the department may implement and administer
Sections 45 to 50, inclusive, of this act by all-county letters or
similar instructions. The all-county letters or similar instructions
shall be developed in consultation with the Chief Probation Officers
of California, the County Welfare Directors Association of
California, and client advocates. The department shall adopt
regulations implementing Sections 40 to 46 45
to 50 , inclusive, of this act by January 1, 2016.
SEC. 4. The sum of five million dollars
($5,000,000) is hereby appropriated, in the 2014 -15
fiscal year, from the Recidivism Reduction Fund to the Board of State
and Community Corrections for the establishment of a social
innovation financing program for counties. The Board of State and
Community Corrections may use up to 5 percent of the total amount
appropriated to administer this program.
SEC. 5. This act is a bill providing for
appropriations related to the Budget Bill within the meaning of
subdivision (e) of Section 12 of Article IV of the California
Constitution, has been identified as related to the budget in the
Budget Bill, and shall take effect immediately.
SECTION 1. It is the intent of the Legislature
to enact statutory changes relating to the Budget Act of 2014.