Bill Text: CA SB1266 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Inmates: alternative custody.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)

Status: (Passed) 2010-09-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 644, Statutes of 2010. [SB1266 Detail]

Download: California-2009-SB1266-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 1266	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  MARCH 23, 2010

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Liu
    (   Principal coauthor:   Assembly Member
  Bonnie Lowenthal  ) 

                        FEBRUARY 19, 2010

   An act to add Section 1170.05 to the Penal Code, relating to
inmates.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1266, as amended, Liu. Inmates: alternative custody.
   Existing law provides a system of prisons under the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation to house inmates committed to state
prison for felonies.
   This bill would authorize the Secretary of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation to offer a program under which female
inmates  , pregnant individuals,  and inmates who,
immediately prior to incarceration, were primary caregivers of
dependent children, as defined, who are committed to state prison may
be allowed to participate in a voluntary alternative custody program
in lieu of confinement in state prison. The bill would define an
alternative custody program to include confinement to a residential
home, a residential drug or treatment program, or a transitional care
facility during the hours designated by the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation. The bill would authorize the
department to enter into contracts with county agencies,
not-for-profit organizations, for-profit organizations, and others in
order to promote alternative custody placements. The bill would,
among other things, provide inmate eligibility criteria, authorize
the secretary to prescribe rules and regulations for the program,
including imposing certain inmate participation requirements, and
authorize certain inmate compliance verification procedures.
   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.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following: 
   (a) California has incarcerated about 10,000 women, which is more
than any other state.  
   (b) According to a November 2009 estimate by the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation, about 85-90 percent of female inmates
are nonviolent offenders.  
   (c) According to a 2004 report from the Little Hoover Commission,
two-thirds of female inmates were convicted of property or
drug-related crimes.  
   (d) According to a 2004 report from the Little Hoover Commission,
more female inmates have been victims of violent crimes than
perpetrators. Four in 10 were physically or sexually abused before 18
years of age.  
   (e) According to a 2004 Little Hoover Commission report, the
incarceration rate among female offenders for violent crimes has
doubled over the last 20 years.  
   (f) According to a 2004 Little Hoover Commission report, at the
time of their arrest, half of incarcerated women were taking care of
their children and two-thirds of those women were single parents.
 
   (g) Experts agree that parental incarceration is a significant
risk factor for children. In order to better protect children the
Legislature must reconsider policies related to incarceration for
primary caregivers.  
   (a) The incarceration rate for female offenders has doubled over
the last 20 years. As a result, California now has about 10,000
incarcerated women, which is more than any other state.  
   (b) Nearly 70 percent of female inmates are nonviolent offenders.
Two-thirds of female inmates were convicted of property or
drug-related crimes.  
   (c) While over half of the men in prison were incarcerated for
violent crimes, only 30 percent of women were convicted of violence.
 
   (d) Female inmates are more likely to be victims of violent crimes
than to be the perpetrators. Four in 10 female inmates were
physically or sexually abused before 18 years of age.  
   (e) Over two-thirds of women are classified as low risk by the
prison classification system. However, women are often held in more
secure environments than their custody classifications would warrant.
 
   (f) Approximately 67 percent of incarcerated women are mothers,
and many of them are single parents. Most of California's
incarcerated mothers are the primary care givers of dependent
children and hope to return home to their children. While the vast
majority of children of incarcerated men continue to live with their
mothers, children of incarcerated women are more likely to end up
living with other relatives or in foster care.  
   (g) Separating mothers from children has a substantial impact on
their futures. Children of inmates are much more likely than their
peers to become incarcerated. Research suggests that mothers who are
able to maintain a relationship with their children are less likely
to return to prison.  
   (h) To break the cycle of incarceration, California must adopt
policies that facilitate parenting and family reunification. 
  SEC. 2.  Section 1170.05 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
   1170.05.  (a) Notwithstanding any other law, the Secretary of the
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation is authorized to offer a
program under which female inmates and inmates who were primary
caregivers of dependent children immediately prior to incarceration,
as specified in subdivision (c), who are not precluded by subdivision
(d), and who have been committed to state prison may be allowed to
participate in a voluntary alternative custody program as defined in
subdivision (b) in lieu of their confinement in state prison. In
order to qualify for the program an offender need not be confined in
an institution under the jurisdiction of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation. Under this program, one day of
participation in an alternative custody program shall be in lieu of
one day of incarceration in a state prison. Participants in the
program shall receive any sentence reduction credits that they would
have received had they served their sentence in a state prison, and
shall be subject to denial and loss of credit pursuant to subdivision
(a) of Section 2932. The department may enter into contracts with
county agencies, not-for-profit organizations, for-profit
organizations, and others in order to promote alternative custody
placements.
   (b) As used in this section, an alternative custody program shall
include, but not be limited to, the following:
   (1) Confinement to a residential home during the hours designated
by the department.
   (2) Confinement to a residential drug or treatment program during
the hours designated by the department.
   (3) Confinement to a transitional care facility during the hours
designated by the department.
   (c) Except as provided by subdivision (d), female inmates  ,
pregnant individuals,  and inmates who were primary caregivers
of dependent children immediately prior to incarceration sentenced to
state prison for a determinate term of imprisonment pursuant to
Section 1170, and only those persons, shall be eligible to
participate in the alternative custody program authorized by this
section.
   (d) An inmate committed to the state prison who meets any of the
following criteria shall not be eligible to participate in the
alternative custody program:
   (1) The person has a current or prior conviction for a violent
offense as defined in Section 667.5.
   (2) The person has a current or prior conviction for an offense
that requires the person to register as a sex offender as provided in
Chapter 5.5 (commencing with Section 290) of Title 9 of Part 1.
   (3) The person was screened by the department using a validated
risk assessment tool and determined to pose a high risk to 
reoffend   commit a violent offense  .
   (4) The person has a history, within the last 10 years, of escape
 from a facility  while under juvenile or adult custody,
including, but not limited to, any detention facility,  group
home, treatment facility,  camp, jail, or state prison
facility.
   (e) An alternative custody program shall include the use of
electronic monitoring, global positioning system devices, or other
supervising devices for the purpose of helping to verify a
participant's compliance with the rules and regulations of the
program. The devices shall not be used to eavesdrop or record any
conversation, except a conversation between the participant and the
person supervising the participant, in which case the recording of
such a conversation is to be used solely for the purposes of voice
identification. 
   (f) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that the department
shall be allocated in its budget 50 percent of the savings created by
Section 1170.5, once savings are achieved, to administer
evidence-based practices to participants placed in alternative
custody. In order to implement alternative custody for the population
specified in subdivision (c), the department shall create, and the
participant shall agree to and fully participate in, a plan of
evidence-based programs and services that will aid in the successful
reentry into society while participating in alternative custody.
 
   (2) The department shall collaborate with local law enforcement
and community-based programs that administer evidence-based practices
in order to prevent recidivism among individuals placed in
alternative custody and assist in reentry into society.  
   (3) For purposes of this section, "evidence-based practices" means
supervision policies, procedures, programs, and practices
demonstrated by scientific research to reduce recidivism among
individuals under probation, parole, or postrelease supervision.
 
   (f) 
    (g)  The secretary shall prescribe reasonable rules and
regulations under which the alternative custody program shall
operate. The department shall adopt regulations necessary to
effectuate this section, including emergency regulations as provided
under Section 5058.3 and adopted pursuant to the Administrative
Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code). The participant
shall be informed in writing that he or she shall comply with the
rules and regulations of the program, including, but not limited to,
the following rules:
   (1) The participant shall remain within the interior premises of
his or her residence during the hours designated by the secretary or
his or her designee.
   (2) The participant shall be subject to search and seizure by a
parole officer or other peace officer at any time of the day or
night, with or without cause. In addition, the participant shall
admit any peace officer designated by the secretary or his or her
designee into the participant's residence at any time for purposes of
verifying the participant's compliance with the conditions of his or
her detention. Prior to participation in the alternative custody
program, all participants shall agree in writing to these terms and
conditions.
   (3) The secretary or his or her designee may immediately retake
the participant into custody to serve the balance of his or her
sentence if the electronic monitoring or supervising devices are
unable for any reason to properly perform their function at the
designated place of detention, if the participant fails to remain
within the place of detention as stipulated in the agreement, or if
the participant for any other reason no longer meets the established
criteria under this section. 
   (g) 
    (h)  Whenever a peace officer supervising a participant
has reasonable suspicion to believe that the participant is not
complying with the rules or conditions of the program, or that the
electronic monitoring devices are unable to function properly in the
designated place of confinement, the peace officer may, under general
or specific authorization of the secretary or his or her designee,
and without a warrant of arrest, retake the participant into custody
to complete the remainder of the original sentence. 
   (h) 
    (i)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to
require the secretary or his or her designee to allow an inmate to
participate in this program if it appears from the record that the
inmate has not satisfactorily complied with reasonable rules and
regulations while in custody. An inmate shall be eligible for
participation in an alternative custody program only if the secretary
or his or her designee concludes that the inmate meets the criteria
for program participation established under this section and that the
inmate's participation is consistent with any reasonable rules and
regulations prescribed by the secretary.
   (1) The rules and regulations and administrative policies of the
program shall be written and shall be given or made available to any
participant upon request.
   (2) The secretary or his or her designee shall have the sole
discretion concerning whether to permit program participation as an
alternative to custody in state prison. 
   (i) 
    (j)  The secretary or his or her designee shall permit
program participants to seek and retain employment in the community,
attend psychological counseling sessions or educational or vocational
training classes, or seek medical and dental assistance. Willful
failure of the program participant to return to the place of
detention not later than the expiration of any period of time during
which he or she is authorized to be away from the place of detention
pursuant to this section, unauthorized departures from the place of
detention, or tampering with or disabling, or attempting to tamper
with or disable, an electronic monitoring device shall subject the
participant to a return to custody pursuant to subdivisions 
(f) and (g)   (g) and (h)  . In addition,
participants may be subject to forfeiture of credits pursuant to the
provisions of Section 2932, or to discipline for violation of rules
established by the secretary. 
   (j) 
    (k)  (1) Notwithstanding any other law, the secretary or
his or her designee shall provide the information specified in
paragraph (2) regarding participants in an alternative custody
program to the law enforcement agencies of the jurisdiction in which
persons participating in an alternative custody program reside.
   (2) The information required by paragraph (1) shall consist of the
following:
   (A) The participant's name, address, and date of birth.
   (B) The offense committed by the participant.
   (C) The period of time the participant will be subject to an
alternative custody program.
   (3) Any information received by a law enforcement agency pursuant
to this subdivision shall be used only for the purpose of monitoring
the impact of an alternative custody program on the community.

   (k) 
    (l)  It is the intent of the Legislature that the
alternative custody program established under this section maintain
the highest public confidence, credibility, and public safety. In the
furtherance of these standards, the secretary may administer an
alternative custody program pursuant to written contracts with
appropriate public agencies or entities to provide specified program
services. No public agency or entity entering into a contract may
itself employ any person who is in an alternative custody program.

   (l) 
    (m)  An inmate participating in this program must
voluntarily agree to all of the provisions of the program in writing,
including that he or she may be returned to confinement at any time
with or without cause, and shall not be charged fees or costs for the
program. 
   (m) 
    (n)  The secretary shall adopt emergency regulations
specifically governing participants in this program. 
   (n) 
    (o)  For purposes of this section, "primary caregivers
of dependent children" means persons who are those primarily
responsible for the care and upbringing of one or more children.

   (o) 
    (p)  If any phrase, clause, sentence, or provision of
this section or application thereof to any person or circumstance is
held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect any other phrase,
clause, sentence, or provision or application of this section, which
can be given effect without the invalid phrase, clause, sentence, or
provision or application and to this end the provisions of this
section are declared to be severable.