Bill Text: CA SB292 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Amended

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

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Bill Title: Prisoners: alternative incarceration.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-02-01 - Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 56. [SB292 Detail]

Download: California-2009-SB292-Amended.html

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BILL NUMBER: SB 292	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 13, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Hancock

                        FEBRUARY 25, 2009

   An act to add Chapter  9.10   9.9 
(commencing with Section 6280) to Title 7 of Part 3 of the Penal
Code, relating to prisoners.



	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 292, as amended, Hancock. Prisoners: alternative incarceration.

   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 
an  Alternative Incarceration  Facility 
 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.
   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.  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  and the owner and operator do 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 must 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 the following criteria:
   (1) Be an inmate in a state prison.
   (2) Have at least  six months   one-year
 incarceration left to serve.
   (3) Have served at least six months incarceration in a state
prison.
   (4) Be incarcerated for a nonviolent offense.
   (5) Have requested to be transferred to an Alternative
Incarceration Facility. 
   (6) Must complete 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 Alternate 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 must complete a risk and needs assessment before
leaving 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.
   6283.  (a) The owner of an Alternative Incarceration Facility
shall be compensated by the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation  ,  as follows: 
   (1) Monthly payments as follows:  
   (A) Monthly payment per resident of an amount equal to one-third
of 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. 
    (B)     If the facility
has been certified by the University of California as providing
evidence-based programs for drug treatment or mental health
counseling, monthly payment per resident of an   (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) Each resident who is employed shall pay two-thirds of his or
her take-home pay monthly to the operator of the facility.
   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.