Bill 77

BILL NUMBER: AB 77 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Lieber
DECEMBER 4, 2006
An act to add Sections 5053 and 6032 to the Penal Code, relating
to corrections, and making an appropriation therefor.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 77, as introduced, Lieber. Parole reform.
Existing law authorizes the Board of Parole Hearings to parole a
prisoner.
This bill would require the Secretary of the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation to appoint a working group to develop
an action plan for reforming the parole system. The bill would
require the working group to submit its plan to the Legislature and
the secretary not later than 90 days from the date this provision
becomes operative. The bill would also authorize the Corrections
Standard Authority to award a grant of not more than $75,000 to a
county for the purpose of developing a multiagency local action plan
relating to parolees. The bill would appropriate $4,350,000 from the
General Fund to the authority for this purpose. The bill would
require that a local multiagency council with specified membership
develop the plan and submit it to the board of supervisors of the
county. The bill would require the board of supervisors to report to
the authority prior to June 30, 2008, on the components of the plan
it has selected for implementation.
Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. (a) The Legislature finds and declares the following:
(1) California's parole system is in crisis and immediate reform
is necessary. Numerous independent studies have identified flaws in
California's parole system and have concluded that these flaws
contribute to the failure of inmates to successfully reenter the
community, result in a high rate of parolees returning to state
prison, and contribute to the conditions of overcrowding in our state
prisons.
(2) There currently exists a body of research and recommendations
for reform sufficient to allow the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to determine what action is necessary to correct the
problems in California's parole system.
(b) The Legislature intends all of the following:
(1) To establish a true system of reentry in California that will
ensure that inmates make a successful transition from prison to the
community. It is the further intent of the Legislature that the
working group created by this act adopt a detailed plan of action for
implementing the necessary requisite reforms to accomplish that
goal.
(2) To support the systematic and cultural transformation of the
California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation into a
rehabilitative model that improves offender outcomes and reduces
recidivism. As a key component of meeting these goals, it is the
further intent of the Legislature to support the development of local
infrastructure that provides comprehensive transition and reentry
services for parolees. These services shall be complementary to, and
consistent with, the long-term objective of providing a continuum of
state and local responses to recidivism that enhance public safety
and improve offender outcomes.
SEC. 2. Section 5053 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
5053. (a) The secretary shall appoint a five-member working group
composed of national experts in the field of planning and
administration of corrections and parole. One member, but not more
than one member, shall be an employee of the department. The
secretary shall consider applicants on a nationwide basis.
(b) The working group shall develop a detailed action plan,
similar in scope to the department's safety and welfare remedial plan
for the juvenile corrections system, that shall set forth the
necessary reforms and the steps required by the department to
implement those reforms, including any necessary statutory or
regulatory changes.
(c) The working group's plan shall address, but not be limited to,
the following issues:
(1) Focusing parole resources on the highest risk offenders.
(2) Establishing incentives for successful rehabilitation and
compliance with parole.
(3) Developing better coordination between state and local
agencies in the provision of rehabilitative services to parolees.
(4) The appropriate system of sanctions for parole violations,
including the role of the judiciary in monitoring and sanctioning
parole compliance.
(d) The working group shall complete the action plan required by
this section and submit it to the Legislature and the secretary not
later than 90 days from the date this section becomes operative.
SEC. 3. Section 6032 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
6032. (a) The Corrections Standard Authority may award a grant in
the amount of not more than seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000)
to any county that submits a grant request to the authority.
(b) The county receiving a grant under this section shall use it
to develop a multiagency local action plan including, but not limited
to, the following components:
(1) A comprehensive response to parolees and recidivism, including
collaborative ways to identify and address local gaps in the
continuum of care for parolees.
(2) A collaborative and integrated approach for implementing a
system to reduce crime, increase successful completion of parole, and
improve outcomes for parolees.
(3) Evaluation, design, and outcome measures, including, but not
limited to, the following issues:
(A) Annual recidivism rates, including technical parole violations
and new offenses.
(B) The number and percent of participants successfully completing
parole.
(C) The number and percent of participants engaged in part-time or
full-time employment, enrolled in higher education or vocational
training, receiving drug and substance abuse treatment, or receiving
mental health treatment.
(D) The number and percent of participants that obtain stable
housing, including the type of housing.
(c) Each action plan shall be developed by a local multiagency
council. The council shall, at a minimum, include the chief probation
officer as its chair and one representative each from the district
attorney's office, the public defender's office, the sheriff's
department, the board of supervisors, the department of social
services, the department of mental health, a community-based drug and
alcohol program, a city police department, the county office of
education or a school district, and an at-large community
representative. In order to carry out its duties pursuant to this
section, the council shall also include representatives from
nonprofit community-based organizations providing services to
parolees and experts in the field of criminal justice programs.
(d) The local multiagency council shall submit its action plan to
the board of supervisors for its county. The board of supervisors
shall review the action plan and determine the components of the
action plan to implement. The board of supervisors shall report to
the Corrections Standard Authority prior to June 30, 2008, on the
components of the action plan it selected for implementation.
SEC. 4. The sum of four million three hundred fifty thousand
dollars ($4,350,000) is hereby appropriated from the General Fund to
the Corrections Standard Authority to implement the grant program
created in Section 6032 of the Penal Code.