Amended  IN  Senate  July 08, 2020
Amended  IN  Senate  June 29, 2020
Amended  IN  Assembly  May 04, 2020

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2876

Introduced by Assembly Member Waldron

February 21, 2020

An act to amend Section 1234.5 of of, and to add Section 5003.6 to, the Penal Code, relating to recidivism. corrections, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2876, as amended, Waldron. Supervised Population Workforce Training Grant Program. Corrections

Existing

(1) Existing law, until January 1, 2021, establishes the Supervised Population Workforce Training Grant Program, administered by the California Workforce Investment Board and funded, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to provide grants for vocational training and apprenticeship opportunities for persons on probation, mandatory supervision, and postrelease community supervision.
This bill would extend this program until January 1, 2026.
(2) Existing law establishes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to administer the state prison system under the direction of the Secretary of the CDCR. Existing law establishes various advisory bodies within CDCR including the Commission on Correctional Peace Officer Standards and Training, to set training and selection standards for correctional officers, and the Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health to advise on approaches to meeting the long-term needs of persons with behavioral health disorders.
This bill would establish an emergency preparedness task force within CDCR, as specified. This bill would require the task force to evaluate the preparedness of the correctional system. This bill would also require the task force to report and make recommendations quarterly to the Legislature, Governor’s Office, and the Department of Finance. This bill would also allow the task force to issue competitive grants to nonprofit entities and organizations pursuant to adopted regulations.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.
Vote: MAJORITY2/3   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 1234.5 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

1234.5.
 This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2026, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that is enacted before January 1, 2026, deletes or extends that date.

SEC. 2.

 Section 5003.6 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

5003.6.
 (a) This section shall be known as the Correctional Facility Emergency Response Act of 2020.
(b) The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or the secretary’s designee, shall convene and chair an emergency preparedness task force within the department. Members of the task force shall be appointed by the chair and shall, without limitation, include all of the following:
(1) A representative from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
(2) A representative from the California Correctional Peace Officers Association.
(3) Currently and formerly incarcerated persons.
(4) A representative from the Dream Corp’s #Cut50 program.
(5) A representative from the Anti-Recidivism Coalition.
(6) A representative from the American Conservative Union.
(7) A representative from Californians for Safety and Justice.
(8) A representative from the REFORM Alliance.
(9) The Director of the Division of Adult Parole Operations, or the director’s designee.
(10) A person representing county probation officers.
(11) A person representing county sheriff’s departments.
(12) Persons representing the physical and behavioral health professions.
(c) The duties of the task force shall be to evaluate preparedness in the correctional system for future emergencies or disasters, including viral outbreaks, natural disasters, civil insurrection, war or imminent attacks, and to make recommendations for improvement.
(d) The task force shall report its initial finding to the Legislature, Governor’s Office, and the Department of Finance at the earliest date possible, but no later than January 1, 2021, and report its ongoing findings quarterly thereafter no later than April 1, July 1, October 1, and January 1, of each year.
(e) Reports submitted pursuant to subdivision (d) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(f) The recommendations of the task force shall focus on all of the following:
(1) Capital outlay, physical improvements, and technology upgrades at correctional facilities.
(2) Continuity of programming and services, including education and enrichment activities, health care and behavioral health care services, and communications with family and others during times of disaster or emergency.
(3) Supplies, including sanitary, medical, and other safety supplies.
(4) Alternatives to incarceration for low-level crimes and technical violations, as well as strategies to safely reduce the overall prison population.
(5) Prison closures.
(6) Other recommendations, as appropriate for the health and safety of prisoners, prison staff, and the general public.
(g) The task force shall be authorized to award competitive grants to nonprofit entities during times of disasters, to nonprofit service organizations whose work furthers the recommendations of the task force, subject to a future appropriation made for this purpose.
(h) The chair of the task force shall adopt regulations for the implementation of subdivision (g). These regulations shall include, without limitation, all of the following:
(1) Specific eligibility qualifications for the grant.
(2) Application procedures.
(3) Selection criteria.
(4) A requirement that each grant recipient submit a written report to the task force documenting its expenditures of the grant funds and results of the funded project.
(5) Provisions promoting the equitable distribution of grant funds to various nonprofit organizations throughout the state, with the goal of making grants available to organizations that will further the task force’s recommendations.

SEC. 3.

 This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the California Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
To increase preparedness and improve response to emergency events, including the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary for this act to take immediate effect.