Lately there has been a great deal of news coverage surrounding California’s Public Safety Realignment Act and how it will affect crime and victim’s rights in local communities. Realignment is a relatively new policy, so the full impact is still unclear. Below are some resources that provide background on Realignment, demographic information and ways to connect to your local Community Corrections Partnership.

The purpose of the Realignment is to shift public safety responsibilities away from the state government and increase local jurisdictions ability to manage a large number of low-level offenders. Realignment went into effect Oct. 1, 2011, and the impact on local communities is unclear as of the end of October. Erin Sasse at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has been in constant contact to alert CALCASA of any potential ramifications for member centers and local communities. Public Safety Realignment provides members with an opportunity to partner with local law enforcement as there is a great deal of local autonomy in terms of how Realignment will be enforced in each county. Each county has been tasked with creating a Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) to develop and recommend to their Count Board of Supervisors an implementation plan for Realignment. CALCASA encourages you actively engage with the CCP in the area to advocate for advocates and for the best interest of their communities while the county-level realignment regulations and policies are in their nascent stages.

For more information on Public Safety Realignment, please visit the following sites (all sites provided courtesy of Erin Sasse, Chief of External Affairs at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and her communications team).

CDCR Public Safety Realignment Information

Public Safety Realignment (main page)

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/realignment/index.html

Video Presentations by CDCR Providing General Overviews

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/realignment/video-realignment.html

Summary of Presentations and Information Made Available to Counties, including County Projections, Post-Release Community Supervision Information, etc.

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/realignment/local_resources.html

CDCR County Handbook, “Public Safety Realignment: Helpful Resources for California’s Counties in Implementing 2011’s Public Safety Realignment Legislation”

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/realignment/docs/County-Handbook-9-29-11.pdf

Three-Judge Panel Court Information and Updates

http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/News/3_judge_panel_decision.html

External Sources of Information on Public Safety Realignment

California Realignment Page (not sure who exactly maintains this site, but it is a very good source for information)

http://calrealignment.org/

Videos from the Innovations in Public Safety and Justice in California Conference held in Sacramento on September 21, 2011

http://vimeo.com/album/1710666

California District Attorneys’ Association’s (CDAA) Realignment Home Page

http://www.cdaa.org/Realignment2011/index.htm

CDAA’s Sentencing Samples Under Public Safety Realignment

http://www.cdaa.org/Realignment2011/Realignment_Sentencing_Samples.pdf

California State Sheriffs’ Association (CSAA) Realignment Home Page

http://www.calsheriffs.org/

California State Association of Counties (CSAC) Realignment Home Page

http://www.csac.counties.org/default.asp?id=3202

Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC) Realignment Home Page

http://www.cpoc.org/php/realign/ab109home.php

County Criminal Justice Realignment Plans (page maintained by CPOC)

http://www.cpoc.org/php/realign/countyplans.php

Week of June 27, 2011

Below is a summary of actions filed on legislation that CALCASA is currently tracking as of June 27th. The list includes bills that CALCASA is supporting and opposing. We included links to each bill, so that you can read the text. Help CALCASA push our legislative agenda by signing up and Taking Action!

AB 12 (Swanson D)   Abolition of Child Commerce, Exploitation, and Sexual Slavery Act of 2011.
Status: 6/27/2011-In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling.
Location: 6/27/2011-A. ENROLLMENT
Summary:
Would enact the Abolition of Child Commerce, Exploitation, and Sexual Slavery Act of 2011, and would require that a person who is convicted of seeking to procure or procuring the sexual services of a prostitute, if the prostitute is under 18 years of age, be ordered to pay an additional fine not to exceed $25,000 to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature to fund programs and services for commercially sexually exploited minors in the counties where the underlying offenses are committed.

AB 13 (Knight R)   Public school volunteers.
Status: 6/29/2011-In committee: Set second hearing. Failed passage. Reconsideration granted.
Location: 6/29/2011-S. ED.
Summary:
Would specify that each of these provisions applies to charter schools. The bill would also authorize a school district, county office of education, or charter school to request a local law enforcement agency to conduct an automated records check of a prospective nonteaching volunteer aide in order to ascertain whether that person has been convicted of a felony controlled substance offense that involves a minor or a violent or serious felony, as specified. The bill would additionally prohibit persons who have been convicted of violent or serious felonies, specified sex offenses, or felony controlled substance offenses, as specified, from serving as nonteaching volunteer aides , but would provide that a person would not be prohibited from serving as a nonteaching volunteer aide solely because of a conviction of a controlled substance offense that involves a minor or a violent or serious felony 5 years after the date of that conviction . This bill contains other current laws.

AB 90 (Swanson D)   Human trafficking: minors.
Status: 6/27/2011-From committee chair, with author’s amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 6/27/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Current law, the California Control of Profits of Organized Crime Act, provides the procedure for the forfeiture of property and proceeds acquired through a pattern of criminal profiteering activity, as specified, and requires the prosecution to file a petition for forfeiture in conjunction with certain criminal charges. Under current law, criminal profiteering activity is defined to include specified crimes, including human trafficking. This bill would include within the definition of criminal profiteering activity any crime in which the perpetrator induces, encourages, or persuades, or causes through force, fear, coercion, deceit, violence, duress, menace, or threat of unlawful injury to the victim or to another person, a person under 18 years of age to engage in a commercial sex act. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 116 (Committee on Budget)   Public safety.
Status: 6/29/2011-Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Location: 6/29/2011-S. THIRD READING
Summary:
Current law creates the California Emergency Council consisting of certain members and assigned certain powers and duties. This bill would , effective January 1, 2012, eliminate the California Emergency Council and would empower the California Emergency Management Agency to serve as the state disaster council for purposes of the California Disaster and Civil Defense Master Mutual Aid Agreement. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 178 (Gorell R)   County jail: release pursuant to federal court order.
Status: 6/28/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Testimony taken. Further hearing to be set.
Location: 6/28/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require a defendant who is being released prior to sentencing by county jail personnel, pursuant to a court order or policy mandating the release of inmates, to sign a release agreement with the same requirements as those pertaining to a defendant who is released under his or her own recognizance, including the defendant’s promise to appear at the time and place he or she is given in writing by the jail personnel at the time of release. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 239 (Ammiano D)   Crime laboratories: oversight.
Status: 6/28/2011-Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 6/28/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would require the Crime Laboratory Review Task Force force to be reconvened and to submit to the Legislature a supplemental report, on or before July 1, 2013, that includes a proposal regarding the composition of a statewide oversight body to perform tasks relating to crime laboratories, including overseeing investigations into acts of misconduct or negligence committed by any employee or contractor of a crime laboratory, as specified. The bill would include a statement of legislative findings and declarations.

AB 288 (Fong D)   Public postsecondary education: community colleges: expulsion hearing.
Status: 6/27/2011-In committee: Placed on APPR. suspense file.
Location: 6/27/2011-S. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Current law establishes community college districts, administered by a governing board, throughout the state, and authorizes these districts to provide instruction to students at the community college campuses maintained by the districts. This bill would authorize the governing board of a district to either deny enrollment, permit enrollment, or permit conditional enrollment to any individual who has been expelled from a community college within the preceding 5 years, or who is, at the time of the application, undergoing expulsion procedures, for certain offenses, as provided, if the board determines that the person continues to pose a risk to the safety of others. This bill would require the board or a delegate to hold a hearing, before taking action to deny enrollment or permit conditional enrollment, before making the determination as to whether the person continues to pose a risk. The bill would authorize a governing board of a district to delegate its authority under these provisions to the superintendent or president of the district, or to his or her designee. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 322 (Portantino D)   Forensic evidence: rape kits.
Status: 6/28/2011-From committee chair, with author’s amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 6/28/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require local law enforcement agencies responsible for taking or collecting rape kit evidence to annually report to the Department of Justice statistical information pertaining to the testing and submission for DNA analysis of rape kits, as specified. The initial report would be due by July 1, 2013. The reports received by the department would be subject to inspection under the California Public Records Act. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 364 (Bonilla D)   Restitution: asset seizures: fraud and embezzlement.
Status: 6/28/2011-Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Location: 6/28/2011-S. THIRD READING
Summary:
Current law provides for enhanced penalties in the case of a person who commits 2 or more related felonies, a material element of which is fraud or embezzlement, which involve a pattern of related felony conduct, and the pattern of related felony conduct involves the taking or loss of more than $100,000, and further provides that assets or property may be preserved by the court, as specified, in order to pay restitution and fines imposed in connection with those enhanced penalties. This bill would, in addition, provide for the preservation of assets and property by the court in order to pay all restitution and fines, and would apply those preservation of assets provisions in the case of a person who commits a single felony, a material element of which is fraud or embezzlement, if that conduct involves the taking or loss of more than $100,000. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 446 (Carter D)   Juveniles: restorative justice program.
Status: 6/28/2011-In committee: Set first hearing. Failed passage. Reconsideration granted.
Location: 6/28/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would authorize a county to adopt a restorative justice program to address the needs of minors, victims, and the community. The bill would require the restorative justice program to be implemented through a restorative justice protocol developed by the juvenile court in conjunction with the prosecutor, public defender, and other interested groups. The bill would prohibit the use of General Fund moneys to fund the program. The bill would include related findings and declarations.

AB 454 (Silva R)   Protective orders: early termination.
Status: 6/27/2011-In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after June 29 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.
Location: 6/27/2011-A. CONCURRENCE
Summary:
Would require, if an action is filed for the purpose of terminating or modifying specified protective orders prior to their expiration by a party other than the protected party, that the party who is protected by the order be given notice , as specified, of the proceeding to hear that action prior to the hearing, as specified. The bill would require a court to deny the motion to modify or terminate the order without prejudice or continue the hearing if the party cannot be notified prior to the hearing, provided that upon a showing of good cause, the bill would authorize a court to specify another method for service of process that is reasonably designed to afford actual notice to the protected party. The bill would permit the protected person to waive his or right to notice under specified circumstances.

AB 520 (Ammiano D)   Vehicles: reckless driving: suspension of licenses.
Status: 6/28/2011-From committee chair, with author’s amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 6/28/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would terminate a driver’s license suspension, and make the person eligible for a restricted driver’s license, for a person convicted of reckless driving in satisfaction of, or substitute for, an original charge of driving-under-the-influence, if certain conditions are met, including that the person complete a 90-day suspension period and install an ignition interlock device. The bill would require the department to advise the person of the above conditions. The bill would require that the restricted driver’s license privilege be subject to certain restrictions, including that the privilege be limited to the hours necessary for driving from the person’s place of employment.

AB 545 (John A. Pérez D)   Domestic violence: corporal injury.
Status: 6/28/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Testimony taken. Further hearing to be set.
Location: 6/28/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Under current law, any person who willfully inflicts corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon a person who is his or her spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or the mother or father of his or her child, is guilty of a felony, punishable as specified. This bill would make those provisions apply to the infliction of that type of injury on the fiancé or fiancée of that person or on someone with whom the person has, or previously had, a dating or engagement relationship. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 588 (V. Manuel Pérez D)   Tenancy: victims of domestic violence.
Status: 6/27/2011-In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling.
Location: 6/27/2011-A. ENROLLMENT
Summary:
Current law authorizes a tenant to notify the landlord in writing that he or she or a household member, as defined, was a victim of an act of domestic violence and intends to terminate the tenancy, and requires that the tenant attach a copy of a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or a report by a peace officer to the notice. Current law permits the tenant to quit the premises after notification and limits the tenant’s obligation for payment of rent, as specified. Current law requires the notice to terminate the tenancy to be given within 60 days of the date the order was issued or the report was made, or as specified. This bill instead would require that the notice to terminate the tenancy be given within 180 days of the date the order was issued or the report was made, or as specified. The bill would also make nonsubstantive, technical corrections.

AB 648 (Block D)   Clemency.
Status: 6/28/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 27). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 6/28/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would require that, at least 10 days before the Governor acts upon any application for a commutation, the application signed by the person applying be served upon the district attorney of the county where the conviction was had. The bill would authorize the district attorney to submit a written recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation of sentence. The bill would further require the district attorney to notify the victim or victims of the crime or crimes related to the application for commutation of sentence and those persons’ family members, and allow those persons to submit a recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation of sentence. By imposing additional duties on the district attorney, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 764 (Swanson D)   Personal income taxes: voluntary contributions: Child Victims of Human Trafficking Fund.
Status: 6/29/2011-Do pass as amended, and re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations.
Location: 6/29/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Current law relating to the administration of personal income taxes authorizes individual taxpayers to contribute amounts in excess of their tax liability for the support of specified funds or accounts. This bill would allow an individual taxpayer to designate on the tax return, that a specified amount in excess of the tax liability be transferred to the Child Victims of Human Trafficking Fund established in the State Treasury . This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 765 (Achadjian R)   Crimes: rape.
Status: 6/28/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Testimony taken. Further hearing to be set.
Location: 6/28/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Current law provides various circumstances that constitute rape including an act of sexual intercourse accomplished with a person who is not the spouse of the perpetrator where the person submits under the belief that the person committing the act is the victim’s spouse, and this belief is induced by artifice, pretense, or concealment practiced by the accused, with the intent to induce the belief. This bill would additionally provide that this type of rape occurs where the person submits under the belief that the person committing the act is the victim’s cohabitant, as provided. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 813 (Fletcher R)   Sex offenders: punishment: parole.
Status: 6/28/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: to consent calendar. (Ayes 4. Noes 0.) (June 28). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 6/28/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Current law creates the Sex Offender Management Board, within the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, empowered to address any issues, concerns, and problems related to the community management of adult sex offenders, including the main objective of the board to achieve safer communities by reducing victimization. The board is required, on or before July 1, 2011, to develop and update standards for certification of sex offender management professionals. This bill would give board members immunity from liability for their good faith conduct. The bill would provide that any person who knowingly provides false information in connection with an application for certification as a sex offender management professional would be subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,500, in addition to any other remed y available to the board, and would allow any public prosecutor to bring an action for a civil penalty in the name of the people of the State of California . This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 886 (Cook R)   Victim’s rights: victim impact statement.
Status: 6/27/2011-In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling.
Location: 6/27/2011-A. ENROLLMENT
Summary:
Current law establishes the rights of crime victims, witnesses, and other specified persons to appear, reasonably express his or her views, and to have the court consider his or her statements. This bill would prohibit the court from releasing the statements to the public prior to being heard in court.

AB 898 (Alejo D)   Crime victims: restitution: fine.
Status: 6/28/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 27). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 6/28/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would make the minimum restitution fine not less than $300 , if the person is convicted of a felony, and not less than $150 , if the person is convicted of a misdemeanor, and make other conforming changes. By increasing the amounts deposited into the Restitution Fund, this bill would make an appropriation.

SB 92 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review)   Budget Act of 2011.
Status: 7/1/2011-Signed by the Governor
Location: 7/1/2011-S. CHAPTERED
Summary:
Current law creates the California Emergency Council consisting of certain members and assigned certain powers and duties. This bill would, effective January 1, 2012, eliminate the California Emergency Council and would empower the California Emergency Management Agency to serve as the state disaster council for purposes of the California Disaster and Civil Defense Master Mutual Aid Agreement. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 119 (Lowenthal D)   Emergency youth shelter facilities.
Status: 6/30/2011-Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 6/30/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would include with the definition of a community care facility an emergency youth shelter facility, as defined, for specified youth at least 12 years of age and under 18 years of age, except as specified, who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations for these facilities by January 1, 2013, as specified . Until the adoption of the regulations, the bill would require the department to grant facilities that satisfy the definition of an emergency youth shelter a waiver for current licensing standards, under certain circumstances. This bill would allow an emergency youth shelter that is operating under a group home license to apply for an immediate transfer to an emergency youth shelter license, upon adoption of the regulations required under the bill. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 233 (Pavley D)   Emergency services and care.
Status: 6/28/2011-From committee with author’s amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.
Location: 6/28/2011-A. HEALTH
Summary:
Would recast the definition of emergency services and care to include other appropriate licensed persons acting within their scope of licensure under the supervision of a physician and surgeon. This bill would expand the definition of consultation to also mean the rendering of a decision regarding hospitalization or transfer and would provide that consultation includes review of the patient’s medical record, examination, and treatment of the patient in person by a consulting physician and surgeon when determined to be medically necessary jointly by the treating physician and surgeon and the consulting physician and surgeon, or by other appropriate personnel acting within their scope of practice or licensure under the supervision of a physician and surgeon. The bill would authorize the treating physician and surgeon to request to communicate directly with the consulting physician and surgeon, and would require the consulting physician and surgeon to examine and treat the patient in person when it is determined to be medically necessary, as specified. This bill would expand the definition of when stabilization of a patient has occurred to include the opinion of other appropriate licensed persons acting within their scope of licensure under the supervision of a physician and surgeon. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 428 (Strickland R)   Lester’s Law of 2011.
Status: 6/27/2011-From committee with author’s amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 6/27/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Current law generally regulates governmental access to financial records. Current law provides that the dissemination of records pursuant to specified provisions shall not be prohibited. This bill would include within that category of records which the dissemination of shall not be prohibited, the dissemination of financial information and records pursuant to an order by a judge under specified authority relating to mortgage fraud. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 490 (Hancock D)   Death penalty.
Status: 6/28/2011-From committee with author’s amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 6/28/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would abolish the death penalty, and provide instead for imprisonment in the state prison for life without the possibility of parole. The bill would halt executions unless the voters fail to approve this bill and would provide that where a defendant or inmate was sentenced to death prior to the date of the enactment of the bill, upon voter approval of this bill, the defendant’s or inmate’s sentence would automatically be converted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The bill would state findings and declarations of the Legislature regarding the death penalty. The bill would provide that it would only become effective if certain of its provisions are submitted to and approved by the electors at the next statewide general election.

SB 534 (Corbett D)   Victims of sexual assault.
Status: 6/28/2011-Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 6/28/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
(1) Current law provides that no costs incurred by a qualified health care professional, hospital, or other emergency medical facility for the examination of the victim of a sexual assault for the purposes of gathering evidence for possible prosecution shall be charged directly or indirectly to the victim of the assault. Current law provides that the law enforcement agency in the jurisdiction in which the alleged sexual assault was committed which requests the examination has the option of determining whether or not the examination will be performed in the office of a physician and surgeon, and bills fo r those costs shall be submitted to that local jurisdiction and the local jurisdiction shall bear those costs. This bill would delete the provision requiring that the costs be treated as local costs and charged to the local government agency in whose jurisdiction the alleged offense was committed, and the provision that the bills for the costs shall be submitted to the local law enforcement agency. This bill would delete the provision giving the local law enforcement agency the option of whether or not the examination will be performed in the office of a physician and surgeon. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 557 (Kehoe D)   Family justice centers.
Status: 6/28/2011-Do pass, as amended, to Consent Calendar.
Location: 6/28/2011-A. CONSENT CALENDAR
Summary:
Would authorize the Cities of San Diego and Anaheim, and the Counties of Alameda and Sonoma, until January 1, 2014, to establish a multiagency, multidisciplinary family justice center to assist victims of domestic violence, officer-involved domestic violence, sexual assault, elder or dependent adult abuse, stalking, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, and human trafficking, to ensure that victims of abuse are able to access all needed services in one location and to enhance victim safety, increase offender accountability, and improve access to services for victims of crime, as provided. The bill would permit the family justice centers to be staffed by law enforcement, medical, social service, and child welfare personnel, among others. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 576 (Calderon D)   Sentencing.
Status: 6/28/2011-Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 6/28/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Current law provides that most felonies are punishable by a triad of terms of incarceration in the state prison, comprised of low, middle, and upper terms. Previous law that required the court to impose the middle term, unless there were circumstances in aggravation or mitigation of the crime, was amended to provide that the choice of the appropriate term rests within the sound discretion of the court. Current provisions related to sentence enhancements involving criminal street gang activity, firearms, and sentencing, operative until January 1, 2012, generally specify that the appropriate term rests within the sound discretion of the court. Current law, operative on and after January 1, 2012, instead requires the court to impose the middle term, unless there are circumstances in mitigation or aggravation of the crime. This bill would extend to January 1, 2014 , the provisions of law that provide that the court shall, in its discretion, impose the term or enhancement that best serves the interests of justice. The bill would also make conforming changes. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 601 (Hancock D)   Corrections: prisons: accountability report.
Status: 6/28/2011-From committee with author’s amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 6/28/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop a Corrections Accountability Report containing specified information regarding each institution, including, among other information, the total budget, including actual expenditures, staff vacancies, overtime, sick leave; and the number of authorized staff positions, and the average length of lockdowns , on January 10, March 15, and a fiscal year-end report, and to post those reports on the department’s Internet Web site , as provided .

SB 861 (Corbett D)   Public contracts: contract eligibility: conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Status: 6/28/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on J., E.D. & E. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (June 28). Re-referred to Com. on J., E.D. & E.
Location: 6/28/2011-A. J., E.D. & E.
Summary:
Current law authorizes contracting between state agencies and private contractors and sets forth requirements for the procurement of goods and services by state agencies and the various responsibilities of state agencies and the Department of General Services in implementing state contracting procedures and policies. This bill would prohibit a scrutinized company, as defined, from entering into a contract with a state agency for goods or services, as provided. This bill contains other related provisions.

Week of June 20, 2011

Below is a summary of actions filed on legislation that CALCASA is currently tracking as of June 20th. The list includes bills that CALCASA is supporting and opposing. We included links to each bill, so that you can read the text. Help CALCASA push our legislative agenda by signing up and Taking Action!

AB 12 (Swanson D)   Abolition of Child Commerce, Exploitation, and Sexual Slavery Act of 2011.
Status: 6/22/2011-Ordered to special consent calendar.
Location: 6/22/2011-S. CONSENT CALENDAR
Summary:
Would enact the Abolition of Child Commerce, Exploitation, and Sexual Slavery Act of 2011, and would require that a person who is convicted of seeking to procure or procuring the sexual services of a prostitute, if the prostitute is under 18 years of age, be ordered to pay an additional fine not to exceed $25,000 to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature to fund programs and services for commercially sexually exploited minors in the counties where the underlying offenses are committed .

AB 13 (Knight R)   Public school volunteers.
Status: 6/20/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 6/8/2011-S. ED.
Summary:
Would specify that each of these provisions applies to charter schools. The bill would also authorize a school district, county office of education, or charter school to request a local law enforcement agency to conduct an automated records check of a prospective nonteaching volunteer aide in order to ascertain whether that person has been convicted of a felony controlled substance offense that involves a minor or a violent or serious felony, as specified. The bill would additionally prohibit persons who have been convicted of violent or serious felonies, specified sex offenses, or felony controlled substance offenses, as specified, from serving as nonteaching volunteer aides , but would provide that a person would not be prohibited from serving as a nonteaching volunteer aide solely because of a conviction of a controlled substance offense that involves a minor or a violent or serious felony 5 years after the date of that conviction . This bill contains other current laws.

AB 90 (Swanson D)   Human trafficking: minors.
Status: 6/21/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 6/8/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that a person who deprives or violates another person’s liberty with the intent to effect or maintain the felony of making available to another person a person under 16 years of age for the purpose of any lewd or lascivious act, or the felony of the procurement of minors in the preparation of material depicting sexual conduct by a minor, is guilty of human trafficking. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 239 (Ammiano D)   Crime laboratories: oversight.
Status: 6/21/2011-Do pass as amended, and re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations.
Location: 6/21/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would require the Crime Laboratory Review Task Force force to be reconvened and to submit to the Legislature a supplemental report, on or before July 1, 2013, that includes a proposal regarding the composition of a statewide oversight body to perform tasks relating to crime laboratories, including overseeing investigations into acts of misconduct or negligence committed by any employee or contractor of a crime laboratory, as specified . The bill would include a statement of legislative findings and declarations .

AB 454 (Silva R)   Protective orders: early termination.
Status: 6/22/2011-Ordered to special consent calendar.
Location: 6/22/2011-S. CONSENT CALENDAR
Summary:
Would require, if an action is filed for the purpose of terminating or modifying specified protective orders prior to their expiration by a party other than the protected party, that the party who is protected by the order be given notice , as specified, of the proceeding to hear that action prior to the hearing, as specified. The bill would require a court to deny the motion to modify or terminate the order without prejudice or continue the hearing if the party cannot be notified prior to the hearing, provided that upon a showing of good cause, the bill would authorize a court to specify another method for service of process that is reasonably designed to afford actual notice to the protected party. The bill would permit the protected person to waive his or right to notice under specified circumstances.

AB 588 (V. Manuel Pérez D)   Tenancy: victims of domestic violence.
Status: 6/22/2011-Ordered to special consent calendar.
Location: 6/22/2011-S. CONSENT CALENDAR
Summary:
Current law authorizes a tenant to notify the landlord in writing that he or she or a household member, as defined, was a victim of an act of domestic violence and intends to terminate the tenancy, and requires that the tenant attach a copy of a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or a report by a peace officer to the notice. Current law permits the tenant to quit the premises after notification and limits the tenant’s obligation for payment of rent, as specified. Current law requires the notice to terminate the tenancy to be given within 60 days of the date the order was issued or the report was made, or as specified. This bill instead would require that the notice to terminate the tenancy be given within 180 days of the date the order was issued or the report was made, or as specified. The bill would also make nonsubstantive, technical corrections.

AB 648 (Block D)   Clemency.
Status: 6/20/2011-From committee chair, with author’s amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 6/20/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require that, at least 10 days before the Governor acts upon any application for a commutation, the application signed by the person applying be served upon the district attorney of the county where the conviction was had. The bill would authorize the district attorney to submit a written recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation of sentence. The bill would further require the district attorney to notify the victim or victims of the crime or crimes related to the application for commutation of sentence and those persons’ family members, and allow those persons to submit a recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation of sentence. By imposing additional duties on the district attorney, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 799 (Swanson D)   Commercially sexually exploited minors.
Status: 6/21/2011-Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 11:40 a.m.
Location: 6/21/2011-A. ENROLLED
Summary:
Current law, until January 1, 2012, authorizes the District Attorney of Alameda County to create a pilot project, contingent upon local funding, for the purposes of developing a comprehensive, replicative, multidisciplinary model to address the needs and effective treatment of commercially sexually exploited minors, as specified. This bill would extend the repeal date of these provisions to January 1, 2017. This bill would also require the district attorney to submit, on or before April 1, 2016, a prescribed report to the Legislature, contingent upon specified events.

AB 813 (Fletcher R)   Sex offenders: punishment: parole.
Status: 6/22/2011-Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
Location: 6/22/2011-S. JUD.
Summary:
Current law creates the Sex Offender Management Board, within the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, empowered to address any issues, concerns, and problems related to the community management of adult sex offenders, including the main objective of the board to achieve safer communities by reducing victimization. The board is required, on or before July 1, 2011, to develop and update standards for certification of sex offender management professionals. This bill would give board members immunity from liability for their good faith conduct. The bill would provide that any person who knowingly provides false information in connection with an application for certification as a sex offender management professional would be subject to a civil penalty of up to $1,500, in addition to any other remed y available to the board, and would allow any public prosecutor to bring an action for a civil penalty in the name of the people of the State of California . This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 886 (Cook R)   Victim’s rights: victim impact statement.
Status: 6/22/2011-Ordered to special consent calendar.
Location: 6/22/2011-S. CONSENT CALENDAR
Summary:
Current law establishes the rights of crime victims, witnesses, and other specified persons to appear, reasonably express his or her views, and to have the court consider his or her statements. This bill would prohibit the court from releasing the statements to the public prior to being heard in court.

AB 1060 (Hernández, Roger D)   Crimes of violence: crimes at sea.
Status: 6/22/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 6/8/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would establish special maritime jurisdiction for crimes against persons on board a ship outside of the state under specified circumstances , including when there is a suspect on board a ship who is a citizen or resident of this state or a state which consents to the jurisdiction of this state, when the master of the ship or an official of the flag state, as defined, commits a suspect on board the ship to the custody of a law enforcement officer acting under the authority of this state, when the state where the crime occurred requests the exercise of jurisdiction by this state, when the crime occurs during a voyage on which over 1/2 of the revenue passengers on board the ship originally embarked and plan to finally disembark in this state, or where the victim is a California law enforcement officer on board the ship in connection with his or her official duties. The bill would provide that a crime against the person or property of another that is punishable by law when committed in this state shall be punishable in the same manner when committed within the special maritime criminal jurisdiction of this state, as specified. Because this bill would expand the application of crimes to a new category of people, it would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 119 (Lowenthal D)   Emergency youth shelter facilities.
Status: 6/21/2011-From committee with author’s amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on HUM. S.
Location: 6/21/2011-A. HUM. S.
Summary:
Would include with the definition of a community care facility an emergency youth shelter facility, as defined, for specified minors under 18 years of age, except as specified, who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations for these facilities by January 1, 2013, as specified, which , once adopted, would be the only licensing standards applicable to emergency youth shelters. Until the adoption of the regulations, the bill would require the department to grant facilities that satisfy the definition of an emergency youth shelter a waiver or exception for current licensing standards, under certain circumstances. This bill would allow an emergency youth shelter that is operating under a group home license to apply for an immediate transfer to an emergency youth shelter license, upon adoption of the regulations required under the bill. The bill would authorize a facility licensed as a group home to provide emergency youth shelter services to youth, including foster youth. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 139 (Alquist D)   Corrections: Inspector General.
Status: 6/23/2011-Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 6/23/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would authorize the Inspector General, or its successor, to oversee, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to oversee and conduct, periodic and random searches of employees and vendors entering the secure perimeter of a state prison under the jurisdiction of the department for contraband, and require the department to report to the Inspector General and the Legislature quarterly regarding those searches, as specified.

SB 233 (Pavley D)   Emergency services and care.
Status: 6/21/2011-Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 6/9/2011-A. HEALTH
Summary:
Would recast the definition of emergency services and care to include other appropriate licensed persons acting within their scope of licensure under the supervision of a physician and surgeon. This bill would expand the definition of consultation to also mean the rendering of a decision regarding hospitalization or transfer and would provide that consultation includes review of the patient’s medical record, examination, and treatment of the patient in person by a specialty physician and surgeon when determined to be medically necessary jointly by the treating physician and surgeon and the consulting physician and surgeon, or by other appropriate licensed persons acting within their scope of licensure under the supervision of a physician and surgeon. This bill would expand the definition of when stabilization of a patient has occurred to include the opinion of other appropriate licensed persons acting within their scope of licensure under the supervision of a physician and surgeon. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 285 (Correa D)   Massage therapy instruction: fraud: criminal prosecutions.
Status: 6/22/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 6/22/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would provide that a person who provides a certificate, transcript, diploma, or other document, or otherwise affirms that a person has received instruction in massage therapy knowing that the person has not received instruction in massage therapy or knowing that the person has not received massage therapy instruction consistent with that document or affirmation is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to specified penalties. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 428 (Strickland R)   Lester’s Law of 2011.
Status: 6/22/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 6/22/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Current law generally regulates governmental access to financial records. Current law provides that the dissemination of records pursuant to specified provisions shall not be prohibited. This bill would include within that category of records which the dissemination of shall not be prohibited, the dissemination of financial information and records pursuant to an order by a judge under specified authority relating to mortgage fraud. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 534 (Corbett D)   Victims of sexual assault.
Status: 6/21/2011-Do pass as amended, and re-refer to Committee on Appropriations with recommendation: To Consent Calendar.
Location: 6/21/2011-A. CONSENT CALENDAR
Summary:
Would provide that victims of sexual assault are not required to participate in the criminal justice system or cooperate with law enforcement in order to be provided with a forensic medical exam. Because this bill would expand the provision of forensic medical examinations paid for by a local agency, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that specified funds in the annual Budget Act for the California Emergency Management Agency shall be used to reimburse any state-mandated reimbursable costs resulting from this act that would otherwise be claimable through the state mandates reimbursement process. The bill would make related conforming changes. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 557 (Kehoe D)   Family justice centers.
Status: 6/22/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 21). Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
Location: 6/22/2011-A. JUD.
Summary:
Would authorize the Cities of San Diego and Anaheim, and the Counties of Alameda and Sonoma, until January 1, 2014, to establish a multiagency, multidisciplinary family justice center to assist victims of domestic violence, officer-involved domestic violence, sexual assault, elder or dependent adult abuse, stalking, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, and human trafficking, to ensure that victims of abuse are able to access all needed services in one location and to enhance victim safety, increase offender accountability, and improve access to services for victims of crime, as provided. The bill would permit the family justice centers to be staffed by law enforcement, medical, social service, and child welfare personnel, among others. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 576 (Calderon D)   Sentencing.
Status: 6/21/2011-Do pass as amended, and re-refer to Committee on Appropriations with recommendation: To Consent Calendar.
Location: 6/21/2011-A. CONSENT CALENDAR
Summary:
Current law provides that most felonies are punishable by a triad of terms of incarceration in the state prison, comprised of low, middle, and upper terms. This bill would extend to January 1, 2016, the provisions of law that provide that the court shall, in its discretion, impose the term or enhancement that best serves the interests of justice. The bill would also make conforming changes. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 601 (Hancock D)   Corrections: prisons: accountability report.
Status: 6/21/2011-Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 6/13/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop a Corrections Accountability Report containing specified information regarding each institution, including, among other information, the number of inmates disciplined and the number of inmate appeals related to disciplinary actions, on a monthly basis and to post the report once a month on the department’s Internet Web site.

SB 622 (Corbett D)   Sex offenders: registration.
Status: 6/22/2011-From committee with author’s amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 6/22/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Current law, the Sex Offender Registration Act, requires persons who have been convicted of specified crimes to register as sex offenders, including persons who have been convicted in any other court, including any state, federal, or military court, of any offense that, if committed or attempted in this state, would have been punishable as one or more specified sex crimes. This bill would instead require registration for any person who has been convicted in any other court, including any state, federal, or military court, of any offense that, based on the elements of the convicted offense or proven or stipulated facts in the record of conviction, as specified, would have been punishable as one or more of the above-referenced specified sex crimes. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 861 (Corbett D)   Public contracts: contract eligibility: conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Status: 6/20/2011-Referred to Coms. on B., P. & C.P. and J., E.D. & E.
Location: 6/20/2011-A. B.,P. & C.P.
Summary:
Current law authorizes contracting between state agencies and private contractors and sets forth requirements for the procurement of goods and services by state agencies and the various responsibilities of state agencies and the Department of General Services in implementing state contracting procedures and policies. This bill would prohibit a scrutinized company, as defined, from entering into a contract with a state agency for goods or services, as provided. This bill contains other related provisions.

Week of May 30, 2011

Below is a summary of actions filed on legislation that CALCASA is currently tracking as of May 30th. The list includes bills that CALCASA is supporting and opposing. We included links to each bill, so that you can read the text. Help CALCASA push our legislative agenda by signing up and Taking Action!

AB 12 (Swanson D)   Abolition of Child Commerce, Exploitation, and Sexual Slavery Act of 2011.
Status: 6/2/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 6/2/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would enact the Abolition of Child Commerce, Exploitation, and Sexual Slavery Act of 2011, and would require that a person who is convicted of seeking to procure or procuring the sexual services of a prostitute, if the prostitute is under 18 years of age, be ordered to pay an additional fine not to exceed $25,000 to be available upon appropriation by the Legislature to fund programs and services for commercially sexually exploited minors in the counties where the underlying offenses are committed .

AB 13 (Knight R)   Public school volunteers.
Status: 6/1/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 6/1/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Would specify that each of these provisions applies to charter schools. The bill would also authorize a school district, county office of education, or charter school to request a local law enforcement agency to conduct an automated records check of a prospective nonteaching volunteer aide in order to ascertain whether that person has been convicted of a felony controlled substance offense that involves a minor or a violent or serious felony, as specified. The bill would additionally prohibit persons who have been convicted of violent or serious felonies, specified sex offenses, or felony controlled substance offenses, as specified, from serving as nonteaching volunteer aides , but would provide that a person would not be prohibited from serving as a nonteaching volunteer aide solely because of a conviction of a controlled substance offense that involves a minor or a violent or serious felony 5 years after the date of that conviction . This bill contains other current laws.

AB 44 (Logue R)   Inmates: release: notification.
Status: 5/12/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 5/12/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Current law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, when releasing prisoners on parole who have been convicted of a violent felony, as defined, or certain other felonies, as specified, to notify the law enforcement agency and the district attorney having jurisdiction over the community in which the person was convicted and also the law enforcement agency and district attorney having jurisdiction over the community in which the person is scheduled to be released. This bill would require that notification be sent 60 days prior to the scheduled release date of an inmate . The bill would conform the timeline for local comments to the longer notification period, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 90 (Swanson D)   Human trafficking: minors.
Status: 6/1/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 6/1/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Would provide that a person who deprives or violates another person’s liberty with the intent to effect or maintain the felony of making available to another person a person under 16 years of age for the purpose of any lewd or lascivious act, or the felony of the procurement of minors in the preparation of material depicting sexual conduct by a minor, is guilty of human trafficking. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 142 (Fuentes D)   Criminal procedure: pleas.
Status: 4/14/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/14/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Current law requires the court, prior to the acceptance of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere, to advise the defendant that if he or she is not a citizen, conviction of the crime charged may result in deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization. This bill would additionally require the court to advise the defendant that, if he or she is deported from the United States and returns illegally, he or she could be charged with a separate federal offense. The bill would make other conforming changes.

AB 168 (Gorell R)   Local Safety and Protection Account: appropriation.
Status: 5/28/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(5). (Last location was PUB. S. on 5/5/2011)
Location: 5/28/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would appropriate $506,400,000 from the General Fund to be deposited in the Local Safety and Protection Account, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 175 (Donnelly R)   Inmates: transfers.
Status: 5/26/2011-From committee without further action pursuant to Joint Rule 62(a).
Location: 2/3/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Current law, operative until July 1, 2011, or until the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has replaced temporary beds, as defined, authorizes any court, agency, or officer having power to commit or transfer an inmate, to any institution for confinement, to commit or transfer that inmate to any institution within or without this state if this state has contracted for the confinement of inmates in that institution pursuant to one of 2 specified compacts. Current law provides that at any time more than 5 years after the transfer, the inmate shall be entitled to revoke consent and to transfer to an institution in this state. Current law prohibits the transfer or commitment of an inmate with serious medical or mental health conditions, as determined by the Plata Receiver, or an inmate in the mental health delivery system, as specified, to an institution outside of this state unless he or she has executed a written consent to the transfer. This bill would remove the inmate’s right to revoke his or her consent and make other conforming changes. The bill would delete the sunset date on current law and make the above provision operative indefinitely. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 178 (Gorell R)   County jail: release pursuant to federal court order.
Status: 6/1/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 6/1/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Would require a defendant who is being released prior to sentencing by county jail personnel, pursuant to a court order or policy mandating the release of inmates, to sign a release agreement with the same requirements as those pertaining to a defendant who is released under his or her own recognizance, including the defendant’s promise to appear at the time and place he or she is given in writing by the jail personnel at the time of release. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 219 (Portantino D)   California Recidivism Goals Development and Achievement Act.
Status: 5/28/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(5). (Last location was APPR. on 5/11/2011)
Location: 5/28/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would declare the Legislature’s intent regarding the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s role in reducing criminal recidivism. The bill would require the department to develop targets approved by the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board and to implement a plan based on those targets to achieve the goal of a reduction in the statewide criminal recidivism rate from 2010 of 20% by 2015 and 40% by 2020. The bill would provide that success towards meeting that goal would be reviewed as part of the annual budget process for the department’s budget. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of the statewide recidivism rate, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 220 (Solorio D)   Gang and youth violence: prevention.
Status: 6/1/2011-From committee chair, with author’s amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 6/1/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require the Director of the Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy, subject to statutory limits and directives, to make recommendations to streamline current state agency gang and youth violence grant programs with a goal toward giving priority to grant programs that employ evidence-based practices. It would require the director to create a working group consisting of representatives of state offices and representatives of other specified stakeholders to assist in this effort, with the director serving as the chairperson. The bill would require the working group to advise the office on the task of streamlining grant programs that address gang and youth violence, in accordance with certain procedures. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 239 (Ammiano D)   Crime laboratories: oversight.
Status: 6/1/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 6/1/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Would require the Crime Laboratory Review Task Force force to be reconvened and to submit to the Legislature a supplemental report, on or before July 1, 2013, that includes a proposal regarding the composition of a statewide oversight body to perform tasks relating to crime laboratories, including overseeing investigations into acts of misconduct or negligence committed by any employee or contractor of a crime laboratory, as specified . The bill would include a statement of legislative findings and declarations .

AB 257 (Galgiani D)   Inmate release: notification.
Status: 5/28/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(5). (Last location was APPR. SUSPENSE FILE on 5/5/2011)
Location: 5/28/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Current law requires the Board of Parole Hearings or the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, as specified, to notify certain persons who have requested notification when an inmate who has committed a violent felony is scheduled to be released. This bill would require the department to develop a unified statewide electronic mail victim notification system for notifying victims who request that notification of parole hearings or release dates for their offenders be sent to them by e-mail.

AB 288 (Fong D)   Public postsecondary education: community colleges: expulsion hearing.
Status: 5/12/2011-Referred to Com. on ED.
Location: 5/12/2011-S. ED.
Summary:
Would authorize the governing board of a district to either deny enrollment, permit enrollment, or permit conditional enrollment to any individual who has been expelled from a community college within the preceding 5 years, or who is, at the time of the application, undergoing expulsion procedures, for certain offenses, as provided, if the board determines that the person continues to pose a risk to the safety of others. This bill would require the board or a delegate to hold a hearing , before taking action to deny enrollment or permit conditional enrollment, before making the determination as to whether the person continues to pose a risk. The bill would authorize a governing board of a district to delegate its authority under these provisions to the superintendent or president of the district, or to his or her designee. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 308 (Ammiano D)   Criminal investigations: eyewitness identification: lineups.
Status: 6/2/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 6/2/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Current law does not regulate how law enforcement officials prepare or conduct eyewitness photo or live lineup identifications. This bill would declare the legislative intent that law enforcement officials study and consider adopting the policies and procedures regulating eyewitness lineup identifications that are recommended by the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice in order to ensure that eyewitness identification procedures in California minimize the chance of misidentification of a suspect. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 321 (Hernández, Roger D)   Juvenile offenders: obscene material.
Status: 5/27/2011-In committee: Set, second hearing. Held under submission.
Location: 5/27/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Current law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer courses in specified areas of study. This bill would authorize a school district to provide instruction regarding the potential risks and consequences of creating and sharing sexually suggestive or sexually explicit materials through cellular telephones, social networking Internet Web sites, computer networks, or other digital media. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 322 (Portantino D)   Forensic evidence: rape kits.
Status: 6/1/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 6/1/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Would require local law enforcement agencies responsible for taking or collecting rape kit evidence to annually report to the Department of Justice statistical information pertaining to the testing and submission for DNA analysis of rape kits, as specified. The initial report would be due by July 1, 2013. The reports received by the department would be subject to inspection under the California Public Records Act. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 364 (Bonilla D)   Restitution: asset seizures: fraud and embezzlement.
Status: 5/12/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 5/12/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Current law provides for enhanced penalties in the case of a person who commits 2 or more related felonies, a material element of which is fraud or embezzlement, which involve a pattern of related felony conduct, and the pattern of related felony conduct involves the taking or loss of more than $100,000, and further provides that assets or property may be preserved by the court, as specified, in order to pay restitution and fines imposed in connection with those enhanced penalties. This bill would, in addition, provide for the preservation of assets and property by the court in order to pay all restitution and fines, and would apply those preservation of assets provisions in the case of a person who commits a single felony, a material element of which is fraud or embezzlement, if that conduct involves the taking or loss of more than $100,000. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 434 (Logue R)   County penalties: forensic laboratories.
Status: 4/25/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/25/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that, if authorized by a resolution of the board of supervisors, a local sheriff or police department, or the district attorney’s office, may use funds remaining in the county’s DNA Identification Fund , either independently or in combination with remaining funds from another county, to provide supplemental funding to a qualif ied local or regional state forensic laboratory , as defined, for expenditures and administrative costs made or incurred in connection with the processing, analysis, and comparison of DNA crime scene samples and forensic identification samples, and testimony related to that analysis, as specified. The bill would declare that its provisions further the initiative act, and are consistent with its purposes.

AB 446 (Carter D)   Juveniles: restorative justice program.
Status: 5/26/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 5/26/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would authorize a county to adopt a restorative justice program to address the needs of minors, victims, and the community. The bill would require the restorative justice program to be implemented through a restorative justice protocol developed by the juvenile court in conjunction with the prosecutor, public defender, and other interested groups. The bill would prohibit the use of General Fund moneys to fund the program. The bill would include related findings and declarations.

AB 454 (Silva R)   Protective orders: early termination.
Status: 5/27/2011-From committee chair, with author’s amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on JUD.
Location: 5/27/2011-S. JUD.
Summary:
Would require, if an action is filed for the purpose of terminating or modifying specified protective orders prior to their expiration by a party other than the protected party, that the party who is protected by the order be given notice , as specified, of the proceeding to hear that action prior to the hearing, as specified. The bill would require a court to deny the motion to modify or terminate the order without prejudice or continue the hearing if the party cannot be notified prior to the hearing, provided that upon a showing of good cause, the bill would authorize a court to specify another method for service of process that is reasonably designed to afford actual notice to the protected party. The bill would permit the protected person to waive his or right to notice under specified circumstances.

AB 520 (Ammiano D)   Sentencing.
Status: 6/2/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 6/2/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Current law, operative until January 1, 2012, provides that when a judgment of imprisonment is to be imposed and the statute specifies 3 possible terms, the choice of the appropriate term shall rest within the sound discretion of the court. Current law, operative January 1, 2012, provides that the court shall order imposition of the middle term, unless there are circumstances in aggravation or mitigation of the crime . This bill would extend the operative date of the current provision allowing the choice of the appropriate term to rest within the sound discretion of the court until January 1, 2013. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 543 (Torres D)   Sex offenders: social networking prohibition.
Status: 5/28/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(5). (Last location was APPR. on 5/27/2011)
Location: 5/28/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would, in addition, make it a misdemeanor for any person who is granted probation or placed on parole for the conviction of a crime that requires him or her to register as a sex offender to use any Internet social networking Web site, as defined, during that period of probation or parole if the victim of the offense was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense and the Internet was used in the commission of the crime. The bill would authorize the person to seek an exception to the prohibition for legitimate professional purposes by applying through the appropriate parole or probation supervising agency. Approval would be valid for one year, unless revoked. The bill would authorize an annual application for renewal. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 545 (John A. Pérez D)   Domestic violence: corporal injury.
Status: 6/1/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 6/1/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Under current law, any person who willfully inflicts corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon a person who is his or her spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or the mother or father of his or her child, is guilty of a felony, punishable as specified. This bill would make those provisions apply to the infliction of that type of injury on the fiancé or fiancée of that person or on someone with whom the person has, or previously had, a dating or engagement relationship. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 588 (V. Manuel Pérez D)   Tenancy: victims of domestic violence.
Status: 6/1/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 4/14/2011-S. JUD.
Summary:
Current law authorizes a tenant to notify the landlord in writing that he or she or a household member, as defined, was a victim of an act of domestic violence and intends to terminate the tenancy, and requires that the tenant attach a copy of a temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or a report by a peace officer to the notice. Current law permits the tenant to quit the premises after notification and limits the tenant’s obligation for payment of rent, as specified. Current law requires the notice to terminate the tenancy to be given within 60 days of the date the order was issued or the report was made, or as specified. This bill instead would require that the notice to terminate the tenancy be given within 180 days of the date the order was issued or the report was made, or as specified. The bill would also make nonsubstantive, technical corrections.

AB 593 (Ma D)   Domestic violence: battering: writ of habeas corpus.
Status: 4/26/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 4/26/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Current law, operative until January 1, 2020, establishes circumstances under which a writ of habeas corpus may be prosecuted for certain violent felonies on the basis of expert testimony regarding intimate partner battering that was not received in evidence at trial and may be sufficient to undermine confidence in the conviction, as specified. This bill would delete the repeal clause for those provisions and thus extend the operation of those provisions indefinitely.

AB 625 (Ammiano D)   Sex offender registration.
Status: 6/2/2011-Ordered to inactive file at the request of Assembly Member Charles Calderon.
Location: 6/2/2011-A. INACTIVE FILE
Summary:
Would establish 3 tiers of registration based on specified criteria, for periods of 10 years, 20 years, and life, respectively, as specified. The bill would require that by January 1, 2017, as specified, a tier level be assigned to every person registered as a sex offender, except a person who has not registered after January 1, 1996, unless that person registers again.

AB 630 (Hueso D)   Pupil safety: bullying.
Status: 5/4/2011-In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 4/27/2011-A. ED.
Summary:
Would express the intent of the Legislature to encourage school districts , at their discretion, to establish programs, to be integrated into the regular curriculum during National Bullying Prevention Month and throughout the year , to reduce bullying through training with appropriate activities and best practice methodologies involving collaboration among pupils and school staff. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 648 (Block D)   Clemency.
Status: 4/25/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 4/25/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Would require that, at least 30 days before the Governor acts upon any application for a commutation, the application signed by the person applying be served upon the district attorney of the county where the conviction was had. The bill would authorize the district attorney to submit a written recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation of sentence. The bill would further require the district attorney to notify the victim or victims of the crime or crimes related to the application for commutation of sentence and those persons’ family members, and allow those persons to submit a recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation of sentence. By imposing additional duties on the district attorney, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 653 (Galgiani D)   Sex offenders: registration of Internet accounts and identifiers.
Status: 5/10/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was PUB. S. on 3/7/2011)
Location: 5/10/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would require a person required to register under the act to register his or her Internet accounts and Internet identifiers, defined to include e-mail addresses and designations used for the purposes of chatting, instant messaging, social networking, or other similar Internet communication. The bill would also require the person to update this information within 5 days of establishing an Internet account or creating or using an Internet identifier not previously disclosed, and would require that information to be forwarded by local law enforcement agencies to the Department of Justice. By expanding the scope of a crime and by increasing the duties of local agencies, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 694 (Gorell R)   Juvenile offenders.
Status: 5/10/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was PUB. S. on 4/5/2011)
Location: 5/10/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would expand the class of persons who may be committed to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities to include a person described above if he or she was previously the subject of a petition in which it was alleged and was subsequently admitted or found to be true by the court that the ward committed a specified serious or violent offense, or a specified sex offense.

AB 701 (Wagner R)   Missing persons: mobile telephone location.
Status: 5/10/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was PUB. S. on 3/7/2011)
Location: 5/10/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would authorize a peace officer to require a mobile telephony service carrier to provide the location of a mobile communication device, with a global positioning system, where the subscriber for the mobile telephony service has authorized the carrier to provide the requested information to a peace officer, where a missing person report has been filed for an at risk child or elder. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 755 (Galgiani D)   Sex offenders: CAL E-STOP.
Status: 5/10/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was PUB. S. on 4/26/2011)
Location: 5/10/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would require that the registration include a list of all Internet identifiers and service providers, as defined, used by the person. The bill would require the registrant to update this information, as specified. By increasing the scope of a crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 757 (Blumenfield D)   Sex offenders: public information.
Status: 5/10/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was PUB. S. on 3/7/2011)
Location: 5/10/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would provide that with respect to those persons whose application for exclusion was granted by the department pursuant to the provisions specified above, if at any time after exclusion, any law enforcement agency notifies the department that, based on facts known to the agency about the offender, the agency believes that public safety may be compromised by the continued exclusion of the offender from public posting on the Internet Web site, the department shall, 30 days after notifying the offender, make information about the offender available to the public on the Internet Web site, as specified.

AB 764 (Swanson D)   Personal income taxes: voluntary contributions: Child Victims of Human Trafficking Fund.
Status: 6/1/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 6/1/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Current law relating to the administration of personal income taxes authorizes individual taxpayers to contribute amounts in excess of their tax liability for the support of specified funds or accounts. This bill would allow an individual taxpayer to designate on the tax return, that a specified amount in excess of the tax liability be transferred to the Child Victims of Human Trafficking Fund established in the State Treasury . This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 765 (Achadjian R)   Crimes: rape.
Status: 5/19/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 5/19/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that this type of rape occurs where the person submits under the belief that the person committing the act is the victim’s cohabitant, as provided. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 799 (Swanson D)   Commercially sexually exploited minors.
Status: 5/12/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 5/12/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Current law, until January 1, 2012, authorizes the District Attorney of Alameda County to create a pilot project, contingent upon local funding, for the purposes of developing a comprehensive, replicative, multidisciplinary model to address the needs and effective treatment of commercially sexually exploited minors, as specified. This bill would extend the repeal date of these provisions to January 1, 2017. This bill would also require the district attorney to submit, on or before April 1, 2016, a prescribed report to the Legislature, contingent upon specified events.

AB 813 (Fletcher R)   Sex offenders: punishment: parole.
Status: 6/2/2011-Referred to Coms. on PUB. S. and JUD.
Location: 6/2/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would give board members immunity from liability for their good faith conduct. The bill would require that information submitted by a person applying for certification as a sex offender management professional do so under the penalty of perjury. Because the bill would expand the scope of the crime of perjury, it would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 855 (Ma D)   County penalties: forensic laboratories.
Status: 5/19/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 5/19/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that, if authorized by a resolution of the board of supervisors, funds remaining in the county’s DNA Identification Fund may be used to reimburse a local sheriff, police, district attorney, or regional state crime laboratory for expenditures and administrative costs made or incurred for utilizing an authorized laboratory for the processing and analysis of forensic identification samples and testimony related to that analysis, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 874 (Donnelly R)   Prisoners.
Status: 5/13/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(3). (Last location was PRINT on 2/17/2011)
Location: 5/13/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Current law establishes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and charges it with various duties and responsibilities. Current law generally regulates the conditions of incarceration and release for prisoners confined in state prisons. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to prisoners.

AB 881 (Cook R)   Mental health: involuntary commitment: transportation.
Status: 5/13/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(3). (Last location was HEALTH on 3/17/2011)
Location: 5/13/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would authorize a provider of ambulance services, as defined, and the employees of those providers to further detain a person in custody for the purpose of transporting him or her to a county-designated facility, whether or not accompanied by a person otherwise authorized. The bill would also exempt from criminal and civil liability individuals transporting a person for 72-hour treatment and evaluation pursuant to this provision.

AB 883 (Cook R)   Sex offenders: registration.
Status: 5/10/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was PUB. S. on 3/14/2011)
Location: 5/10/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would require registration for any person who has been convicted in any other court, including any state, federal, or military court, of any offense that, based on the elements of the conviction offense or proven or stipulated facts in the record of conviction, as specified, would have been punishable as one or more of the above-referenced specified sex crimes. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 884 (Cook R)   Sexually violent offenders: notification of offender registration by law enforcement.
Status: 5/10/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was PUB. S. on 3/14/2011)
Location: 5/10/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would provide, in addition, that any law enforcement entity that is notified of the registration of a sex offender who was convicted of a sexually violent offense or a sex crime against a child under 14 years of age shall, within 5 days of the offender’s registration, be required to provide, in writing, notice and information, as specified, to all persons living within 1,000 feet of the residence of the convicted sex offender and all schools and day care centers, the services of which are available to the residents of the area where the convicted sex offender resides. By requiring local law enforcement to provide specified notice regarding specified sex offenders to specified persons and entities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 885 (Cook R)   Vehicles: driver’s licenses and identification cards: issuance and renewal: registered sex offenders.
Status: 5/10/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was TRANS. on 4/11/2011)
Location: 5/10/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to comply with certain requirements when issuing an original driver’s license or identification card, or a renewal of that driver’s license or identification card, to a person required to be registered as a sex offender, if the person was adjudicated to be a sexually violent predator or was convicted of a sex offense against a minor. The bill would require the metallic strip of the license or identification card to contain that information. In addition to any other requirement, the bill would require the applicant to provide a current photograph and address verification to the department for the original license, identification card, and each renewal. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 886 (Cook R)   Victim’s rights: victim impact statement.
Status: 5/12/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 5/12/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Current law establishes the rights of crime victims, witnesses, and other specified persons to appear, reasonably express his or her views, and to have the court consider his or her statements. This bill would prohibit the court from releasing the statements to the public prior to being heard in court.

AB 898 (Alejo D)   Crime victims: restitution: fine.
Status: 6/1/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 6/1/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Would make the minimum restitution fine not less than $300 , if the person is convicted of a felony, and not less than $150 , if the person is convicted of a misdemeanor, and make other conforming changes. By increasing the amounts deposited into the Restitution Fund, this bill would make an appropriation.

AB 918 (Block D)   Crimes: felonies.
Status: 5/27/2011-In committee: Set, second hearing. Held under submission.
Location: 5/27/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would add pimping, pandering, and human trafficking as offenses that may be used to establish a pattern of criminal activity for those purposes. Because this bill would amend Proposition 21 it therefore requires a 2/3 vote. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 996 (Donnelly R)   Sex offenders: human trafficking.
Status: 5/26/2011-From committee without further action pursuant to Joint Rule 62(a).
Location: 5/10/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would add human trafficking for the purposes of sexual slavery to the list of offenses requiring registration as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration Act. Because this bill would create a new crime, and because additional persons have to be registered as sex offenders by local officials, it would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 1022 (Fletcher R)   Sex offenders: registration.
Status: 5/28/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(5). (Last location was APPR. on 5/27/2011)
Location: 5/28/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would expand the provisions described above relating to community notification regarding a registered sex offender by way of an Internet Web site to include, upon request, e-mail or other electronic notification. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 1060 (Hernández, Roger D)   Crimes of violence: crimes at sea.
Status: 6/1/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 6/1/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Would establish special maritime jurisdiction for crimes against persons on board a ship outside of the state under specified circumstances , including when there is a suspect on board a ship who is a citizen or resident of this state or a state which consents to the jurisdiction of this state, when the master of the ship or an official of the flag state, as defined, commits a suspect on board the ship to the custody of a law enforcement officer acting under the authority of this state, when the state where the crime occurred requests the exercise of jurisdiction by this state, when the crime occurs during a voyage on which over 1/2 of the revenue passengers on board the ship originally embarked and plan to finally disembark in this state, or where the victim is a California law enforcement officer on board the ship in connection with his or her official duties. The bill would provide that a crime against the person or property of another that is punishable by law when committed in this state shall be punishable in the same manner when committed within the special maritime criminal jurisdiction of this state, as specified. Because this bill would expand the application of crimes to a new category of people, it would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 1165 (Achadjian R)   Domestic violence: probation: terms.
Status: 4/26/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 4/4/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that the probation department shall be immune from liability for good faith conduct taken under these provisions. This bill contains other current laws.

AB 1243 (Fletcher R)   Sexually violent predators.
Status: 2/20/2011-From printer. May be heard in committee March 22.
Location: 2/18/2011-A. PRINT
Summary:
Would make a technical, nonsubstantive change to these provisions. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 1373 (Fong D)   Pupils: healthy relationships promotion and teen dating violence prevention.
Status: 5/28/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(5). (Last location was APPR. on 5/27/2011)
Location: 5/28/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would authorize school districts to provide education programs that promote healthy relationships and prevent teen dating violence to pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, through curricular, extracurricular, and school climate improvement activities. The bill would authorize school districts to work in partnership with parents, caregivers, and youth, domestic violence, sexual assault, and other appropriate community-based organizations to provide these education programs. The bill would require school districts that choose to provide education programs that promote healthy relationships and prevent teen dating violence to use research-based materials that are appropriate for pupils of all races, genders, sexual orientations, gender identities, and ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and for pupils with disabilities. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide information about model education programs that are designed to promote healthy relationships and prevent teen dating violence on the department’s Internet Web site, as specified.

ACA 14 (Silva R)   Governor: pardons and commutations.
Status: 4/14/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/14/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
The California Constitution authorizes the Governor to grant pardons or commutations after sentence has been entered, but prohibits the Governor from granting a pardon or commutation to a person twice convicted of a felony except on recommendation of the Supreme Court, 4 judges concurring. This measure would further prohibit the Governor from granting a pardon or commutation during the 30-day period immediately preceding the end of his or her term of office. The measure would provide that any pardon or commutation issued in violation of these provisions is void.

ACA 15 (Mansoor R)   Governor: pardons and commutations.
Status: 4/14/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/14/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require the Governor, at least 30 days prior to granting a pardon or commutation, to provide written notice of the pardon or commutation to the agency that prosecuted the case in which the person was convicted, and to each victim of the crime or crimes for which that person was convicted. The measure would provide that any pardon or commutation issued in violation of these provisions is void.

ACR 32 (Harkey R)   Child sexual abuse awareness.
Status: 5/2/2011-In Senate. To Com. on RLS.
Location: 5/2/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
This measure would declare April 29, 2011, as the day of the annual TAALK-a-Thon sponsored by Talk About Abuse to Liberate Kids (TAALK), and would encourage all adults in California to be knowledgeable and outspoken about the prevention of child sexual abuse.

SB 13 (Correa D)   Pupils: teen dating violence prevention.
Status: 5/10/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was ED. on 5/4/2011)
Location: 5/10/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would authorize a school district to provide teen dating violence prevention education consisting of age-appropriate instruction, as developed by the state board pursuant to the bill, as part of the sexual health and health education program it provides to pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive. The bill would authorize a school district to use school district personnel or outside consultants who are trained in the appropriate courses to provide this additional instruction. The bill would specify the required content and criteria for this additional instruction and any associated materials if a school district elects to provide it. The bill would provide that a parent or guardian of a pupil has the right to excuse his or her child from all or part of the teen dating violence prevention education and any assessments related to it, and would prescribe the procedure for a parent or guardian to exercise that right. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 25 (Padilla D)   Correctional facilities: wireless communication devices.
Status: 5/10/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was PUB. S. on 1/20/2011)
Location: 5/10/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would provide, subject to exceptions, that a person who possesses with the intent to deliver, or delivers, to an inmate or ward in the custody of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation any cellular telephone or other wireless communication device or any component thereof, including, but not limited to, a subscriber identity module (SIM card) or memory storage device, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine not exceeding $5,000 for each device. The bill would also provide that if a person visiting an inmate or ward in the custody of the department, when searched or subjected to a metal detector, is found to be in possession of a cellular telephone or other wireless communication device or any component thereof, including, but not limited to, a SIM card or memory storage device, that cellular telephone or wireless communication device or component shall be subject to confiscation, but shall be returned on the same day the person visits the inmate or ward, except as provided. The bill would require posted notices regarding those search and confiscation provisions, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 26 (Padilla D)   Prisons: wireless communication devices.
Status: 6/2/2011-In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Location: 6/2/2011-A. DESK
Summary:
Would provide, with exceptions, that a person who possesses with the intent to deliver, or delivers, to an inmate or ward in the custody of the department any cellular telephone or other wireless communication device or any component thereof, including, but not limited to, a subscriber identity module or memory storage device, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 6 months, a fine not to exceed $5,000 for each device, or both that fine and imprisonment. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 54 (Runner R)   Sex offenders: residency restrictions: petition for relief.
Status: 4/26/2011-Set, first hearing. Failed passage in committee. (Ayes 3. Noes 2. Page 741.) Reconsideration granted.
Location: 4/12/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that the 2,000 feet shall be measured by the shortest practical pedestrian or vehicle path. The bill would permit a person who is subject to the residency restriction to petition the superior court of the county within which he or she resides for relief from the requirement. The bill would provide that original jurisdiction for the petition would lie with the appellate division of the superior court in which the petition is filed. The bill would require the petitioner to establish by clear and convincing evidence that there is a pervasive lack of compliant housing in the county and that a substantial percentage of sex offenders are unable to comply despite good faith efforts. The bill would require that, if relief is granted, it shall be narrowly crafted in order to substantially comply with the intent of the people in approving the residency requirements. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 55 (Runner R)   Parole: placement at release: registration.
Status: 5/28/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(5). (Last location was APPR. SUSPENSE FILE on 5/16/2011)
Location: 5/28/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would require these inmates, if they reside in this state, to register a residential address with the sheriff of the county in which they reside within 10 days of establishing residence or changing residence, including changes of residence within the same county. The bill would make failure to register a misdemeanor. Because this bill would impose additional duties on local sheriff departments and create a new crime, it would create a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 57 (Runner R)   Sex offenders: social networking and online address notification requirement.
Status: 6/2/2011-In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Location: 6/2/2011-A. DESK
Summary:
Would permit information received pursuant to these provisions to be shared with other local law enforcement agencies, upon request. By creating a new crime , this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 59 (Runner R)   Parole: release.
Status: 5/10/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was RLS. on 1/20/2011)
Location: 5/10/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would exempt persons placed on parole, to whom the above-referenced criteria apply, from the provision that requires inmates released on parole to be returned to the county of last legal residence.

SB 119 (Lowenthal D)   Emergency youth shelter facilities.
Status: 6/2/2011-In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Location: 6/2/2011-A. DESK
Summary:
Would include with the definition of a community care facility an emergency youth shelter facility, as defined, for specified minors under 18 years of age , except as specified, who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations for these facilities by January 1, 2013 , as specified, which would be the only licensing standards applicable to emergency youth shelters. This bill would allow an emergency youth shelter that is operating under a group home license to apply for an immediate transfer to an emergency youth shelter license, upon adoption of the regulations required under the bill . This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 123 (Liu D)   California Runaway, Homeless, and Exploited Youth Act.
Status: 5/28/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(5). (Last location was APPR. SUSPENSE FILE on 5/3/2011)
Location: 5/28/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would enact the California Runaway, Homeless, and Exploited Youth Act, and would require, subject to the availability of adequate resources, the California Emergency Management Agency to develop, in collaboration with the Senate Office of Research and various interested parties, a statewide plan for runaway, homeless, and exploited youth, as specified. The bill would make related findings and declarations.

SB 139 (Alquist D)   Corrections: Inspector General.
Status: 6/2/2011-In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Location: 6/2/2011-A. DESK
Summary:
Would authorize the Inspector General, or its successor, to oversee, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to oversee and conduct, periodic and random searches of employees and vendors entering the secure perimeter of a state prison under the jurisdiction of the department for contraband, and require the department to report to the Inspector General and the Legislature quarterly regarding those searches, as specified.

SB 179 (Pavley D)   Sex offenders: parole.
Status: 6/2/2011-In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Location: 6/2/2011-A. DESK
Summary:
Would provide that for any person subject to a sexually violent predator proceeding, as specified, an order issued by a judge pursuant to specified provisions, finding that the petition supports a finding of probable cause to believe that the person is likely to engage in sexually violent criminal behavior upon his or her release, shall toll the period of parole of that person, from the date that person is released until a specified court order is entered. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 233 (Pavley D)   Emergency services and care.
Status: 6/1/2011-In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Location: 6/1/2011-A. DESK
Summary:
Would recast the definition of emergency services and care to include other appropriate licensed persons acting within their scope of licensure under the supervision of a physician and surgeon. This bill would expand the definition of consultation to also mean the rendering of a decision regarding hospitalization or transfer and would provide that consultation includes review of the patient’s medical record, examination, and treatment of the patient in person by a specialty physician and surgeon when determined to be medically necessary jointly by the treating physician and surgeon and the consulting physician and surgeon, or by other appropriate licensed persons acting within their scope of licensure under the supervision of a physician and surgeon. This bill would expand the definition of when stabilization of a patient has occurred to include the opinion of other appropriate licensed persons acting within their scope of licensure under the supervision of a physician and surgeon. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 242 (Corbett D)   Social networking Internet Web sites: privacy: minors.
Status: 6/2/2011-Read third time. Refused passage. (Ayes 19. Noes 17.)
Location: 6/2/2011-S. THIRD READING
Summary:
Would prohibit a social networking Internet Web site, as defined, from displaying to the public or other registered users any information about a registered user of that Internet Web site, other than the user’s name and city of residence, without the express agreement of the user. The bill would require a social networking Internet Web site to establish a process for new users to set their privacy settings as part of the registration process that explains privacy options in plain language, and to make privacy settings available in an easy-to-use format. The bill would require a social networking Internet Web site to remove the personal identifying information, as defined, of any registered user, and would require removal of that information regarding a user under 18 years of age upon request by the user’s parent, within 96 hours upon his or her request. This bill would impose a civil penalty, not to exceed $10,000, for each willful and knowing violation of these provisions.

SB 248 (Wyland R)   Forensic specimens: offenders.
Status: 5/28/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(5). (Last location was SENATE on 4/6/2011)
Location: 5/28/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would add to the list of persons required to provide forensic identifying samples, persons, including juveniles, who pled guilty, or no contest to, or were convicted of, or adjudicated for committing, certain offenses punishable as misdemeanors or felonies or both, pertaining to poisoning animals, cruelty to animals, stalking, specified species of disorderly conduct, installing a 2-way mirror in specified locations, and loitering in a public place with the intent to commit prostitution. The bill would also make nonsubstantive, technical corrections. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 271 (Wyland R)   Evidence: rape kits: expedited processing.
Status: 5/10/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was PUB. S. on 3/31/2011)
Location: 5/10/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would specifically provide that a county’s remaining share of funds attributable to the increase in penalties as required by the act may be used by a local sheriff, police department, district attorney, or other law enforcement agency for expenditures and administrative costs made or incurred for utilizing a laboratory, other than the Department of Justice Laboratory, as specified, to expedite the analysis and processing of rape kits and uploading rape kit information to the CAL-DNA Databank and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Combined DNA Index System. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 285 (Correa D)   Massage therapy instruction: fraud: criminal prosecutions.
Status: 6/1/2011-In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Location: 6/1/2011-A. DESK
Summary:
Would provide that a person who provides a certificate, transcript, diploma, or other document, or otherwise affirms that a person has received instruction in massage therapy knowing that the person has not received instruction in massage therapy or knowing that the person has not received massage therapy instruction consistent with that document or affirmation is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to specified penalties. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 329 (Correa D)   County penalties: forensic laboratories.
Status: 5/13/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(3). (Last location was PUB. S. on 2/24/2011)
Location: 5/13/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would require, for the purposes of providing supplemental funding for the DNA Fingerprint, Unsolved Crime and Innocence Protection Act, as specified, an additional penalty to be levied in an unspecified amount in each county for the late payment of any fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed by the courts for any violation of the Vehicle Code, or a local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code, that is committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. Pursuant to the provisions described above, the penalty proceeds would be deposited into each county’s and the state’s DNA Identification Fund for the purposes specified above. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 428 (Strickland R)   Lester’s Law of 2011.
Status: 6/2/2011-In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Location: 6/2/2011-A. DESK
Summary:
Current law generally regulates governmental access to financial records. Current law provides that the dissemination of records pursuant to specified provisions shall not be prohibited. This bill would include within that category of records which the dissemination of shall not be prohibited, the dissemination of financial information and records pursuant to an order by a judge under specified authority relating to mortgage fraud. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 453 (Correa D)   Pupil rights: bullying: school safety plans: suspension and expulsion.
Status: 5/26/2011-Held in committee and under submission.
Location: 5/24/2011-S. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Would encourage, as comprehensive school safety plans are reviewed and updated, all plans, to the extent that resources are available, to include policies and procedures to ensure that appropriate strategies, resources, training, and other prevention or intervention efforts are in place to deal with the remediation and termination of bullying, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 480 (Vargas D)   Public social services: domestic violence.
Status: 5/28/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(5). (Last location was APPR. SUSPENSE FILE on 5/16/2011)
Location: 5/28/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would provide that in determining whether a county has failed to meet the federal work requirements, the number of cases subject to the federal work participation requirements is not to include specified cases granted a federally recognized good cause domestic violence waiver. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 490 (Hancock D)   Corrections: Office of the Inspector General.
Status: 6/2/2011-In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Location: 6/2/2011-A. DESK
Summary:
Would remove the Inspector General and the other employees from peace officer status. The bill would authorize the Inspector General and certain other employees to exercise the powers of arrest and serving warrants, as provided. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 492 (Correa D)   Sexually violent predators: civil commitment.
Status: 5/10/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(2). (Last location was PUB. S. on 4/12/2011)
Location: 5/10/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation instead to refer to the State Department of Mental Health (DMH) for assessment any person in the custody of the CDCR, including the Division of Juvenile Facilities and persons on parole or for whom a warrant of arrest is outstanding, who has committed a sexually violent offense, as defined. The bill would also require the Director of Mental Health to identify and evaluate individuals who are in custody under the jurisdiction of the DMH and who have convictions for sexually violent offenses at least 6 months prior to their release. By increasing the responsibilities of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 531 (Rubio D)   Search warrants: HIV testing.
Status: 5/28/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(5). (Last location was APPR. SUSPENSE FILE on 5/16/2011)
Location: 5/28/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would require, if a victim requests an HIV test of a defendant against whom an information or indictment has been presented for a crime in which, by force or threat of force, the defendant is alleged to have compelled the victim to engage in sexual activity, the HIV test to be administered not later than 48 hours after the date on which the search warrant is issued . The bill would require the local health officer to disclose the HIV test results as soon as practicable. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local governmental entities, it would create a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 534 (Corbett D)   Victims of sexual assault.
Status: 6/2/2011-In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Location: 6/2/2011-A. DESK
Summary:
Would provide that victims of sexual assault are not required to participate in the criminal justice system or cooperate with law enforcement in order to be provided with a forensic medical exam. Because this bill would expand the provision of forensic medical examinations paid for by a local agency, it would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would provide that specified funds in the annual Budget Act for the California Emergency Management Agency shall be used to reimburse any state-mandated reimbursable costs resulting from this act that would otherwise be claimable through the state mandates reimbursement process. The bill would make related conforming changes. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 557 (Kehoe D)   Family justice centers.
Status: 6/1/2011-Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 38. Noes 0.) Ordered to the Assembly.
Location: 5/27/2011-S. THIRD READING
Summary:
Would authorize the cities of San Diego and Anaheim, and the counties of Alameda and Sonoma, until January 1, 2014, to establish a multiagency, multidisciplinary family justice center to assist victims of domestic violence, officer-involved domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, stalking, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, and human trafficking, to ensure that victims of abuse are able to access all needed services in one location and to enhance victim safety, increase offender accountability, and improve access to services for victims of crime, as provided. The bill would permit the family justice centers to be staffed by law enforcement, medical, social service, and child welfare personnel, among others. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 576 (Calderon D)   Sentencing.
Status: 6/1/2011-Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 40. Noes 0.) Ordered to the Assembly.
Location: 5/27/2011-S. THIRD READING
Summary:
Would extend to January 1, 2016, the provisions of law that provide that the court shall, in its discretion, impose the term or enhancement that best serves the interests of justice. The bill would also make conforming changes. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 601 (Hancock D)   Corrections: prisons: accountability report.
Status: 6/2/2011-In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Location: 6/2/2011-A. DESK
Summary:
Would require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop a Corrections Accountability Report containing specified information regarding each institution, including, among other information, the number of inmates disciplined and the number of inmate appeals related to disciplinary actions, on a monthly basis and to post the report once a month on the department’s Internet Web site.

SB 604 (Berryhill R)   Probation.
Status: 5/13/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(3). (Last location was RLS. on 3/3/2011)
Location: 5/13/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Current law authorizes the court to grant probation to certain persons convicted of a crime. Current law provides that “probation” means the suspension of the imposition or execution of a sentence and the order of conditional and revocable release in the community under the supervision of a probation officer. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to the provision defining the term “probation.”

SB 622 (Corbett D)   Sex offenders: registration.
Status: 5/19/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 5/19/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require registration for any person who has been convicted in any other court, including any state, federal, or military court, of any offense that, based on the elements of the conviction offense or proven or stipulated facts in the record of conviction, as specified, would have been punishable as one or more of the above-referenced specified sex crimes. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 756 (Price D)   Sex offender registration.
Status: 6/2/2011-In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Location: 6/2/2011-A. DESK
Summary:
Would provide that if a person fails to so register after release, the district attorney in the jurisdiction where the person was to be paroled or to be on probation, or the district attorney in another specified jurisdiction if the person was not released on parole or probation, may request that a warrant be issued for the person’s arrest and shall have authority to prosecute that person as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 852 (Harman R)   Corrections: victim notification.
Status: 6/2/2011-In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Location: 6/2/2011-A. DESK
Summary:
Current law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, county sheriff, and director of the local department of corrections, upon request, to give notice, as specified, prior to the release from state prison or county jail, of any person convicted of specified offenses, or of any change in parole status or relevant change in parole location, or if the person absconds from supervision while on parole, to a victim of the offense and others, as specified. Current law provides for this notice by telephone and certified mail, and requires those persons requesting notice to provide current address and telephone numbers, as specified. This bill would authorize providing that notice by telephone, certified mail, or electronic mail, as selected by the requesting party, if that method is available. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 856 (Walters R)   Parole: domestic violence: sexual abuse: victim’s rights.
Status: 5/13/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(3). (Last location was RLS. on 3/10/2011)
Location: 5/13/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Current law requires, upon the request of the victim, or the victim’s parent or legal guardian if the victim is a minor, the Board of Parole Hearings to impose as a condition of parole for a person released from prison for an offense involving threatening, stalking, sexually abusing, harassing, or violent acts in which the victim is a spouse, farmer spouse, or other victim of domestic violence, that the parolee comply with any protective orders related to the victim, as specified. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

SB 861 (Corbett D)   Public contracts: contract eligibility: conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Status: 6/2/2011-In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.
Location: 6/2/2011-A. DESK
Summary:
Current law authorizes contracting between state agencies and private contractors and sets forth requirements for the procurement of goods and services by state agencies and the various responsibilities of state agencies and the Department of General Services in implementing state contracting procedures and policies. This bill would prohibit a scrutinized company, as defined, from entering into a contract with a state agency for goods or services, as provided. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 916 (Negrete McLeod D)   Sex offenses: sexting.
Status: 5/13/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(3). (Last location was RLS. on 3/10/2011)
Location: 5/13/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Under current law, it is a felony for a person to knowingly possess or control any matter, representation of information, data, or image that involves the use of a person under 18 years of age personally engaging in or simulating sexual conduct, as defined. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to address the activity commonly referred to as “sexting” as it pertains to minors.

Week of May 16, 2011

Below is a summary of actions filed on legislation that CALCASA is currently tracking as of May 16th. The list includes bills that CALCASA is supporting and opposing. We included links to each bill, so that you can read the text. Help CALCASA push our legislative agenda by signing up and Taking Action!

AB 446 (Carter D)   Juveniles: restorative justice program.
Status: 5/16/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 5/16/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Would authorize a county to adopt a restorative justice program to address the needs of minors, victims, and the community. The bill would require the restorative justice program to be implemented through a restorative justice protocol developed by the juvenile court in conjunction with the prosecutor, public defender, and other interested groups. The bill would prohibit the use of General Fund moneys to fund the program. The bill would include related findings and declarations.

AB 520 (Ammiano D)   Sentencing.
Status: 5/18/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
Location: 5/18/2011-A. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Would provide that the court may not impose an upper term based on aggravating facts unless the facts were first presented to the factfinder and the factfinder found the facts to be true. The bill would require the court to state the reasons for its sentence choice on the record at the time of sentencing, including the specific facts in aggravation, if any, the court relied upon to impose an upper term. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 625 (Ammiano D)   Sex offender registration.
Status: 5/18/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
Location: 5/18/2011-A. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Current law, the Sex Offender Registration Act, requires a person convicted of certain crimes, as specified, for the rest of his or her life while residing in California, or while attending school or working in California, as specified, to register with law enforcement as a sex offender. This bill would instead establish 3 tiers of registration based on specified criteria, for periods of 10 years, 20 years, and life, respectively, as specified.

AB 813 (Fletcher R)   Sex offenders: punishment: parole.
Status: 5/19/2011-Action From CONSENT CALENDAR: Read second time.To CONSENT CALENDAR.
Location: 5/19/2011-A. CONSENT CALENDAR
Summary:
Would give board members immunity from liability for their good faith conduct. The bill would require that information submitted by a person applying for certification as a sex offender management professional do so under the penalty of perjury. Because the bill would expand the scope of the crime of perjury, it would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

AB 874 (Donnelly R)   Prisoners.
Status: 5/13/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(3). (Last location was PRINT on 2/17/2011)
Location: 5/13/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Current law establishes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and charges it with various duties and responsibilities. Current law generally regulates the conditions of incarceration and release for prisoners confined in state prisons. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation relating to prisoners.

AB 881 (Cook R)   Mental health: involuntary commitment: transportation.
Status: 5/13/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(3). (Last location was HEALTH on 3/17/2011)
Location: 5/13/2011-A. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would authorize a provider of ambulance services, as defined, and the employees of those providers to further detain a person in custody for the purpose of transporting him or her to a county-designated facility, whether or not accompanied by a person otherwise authorized. The bill would also exempt from criminal and civil liability individuals transporting a person for 72-hour treatment and evaluation pursuant to this provision.

AB 898 (Alejo D)   Crime victims: restitution: fine.
Status: 5/18/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
Location: 5/18/2011-A. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Would make the minimum restitution fine not less than $400 , if the person is convicted of a felony, and not less than $200 , if the person is convicted of a misdemeanor, and make other conforming changes. By increasing the amounts deposited into the Restitution Fund, this bill would make an appropriation.

AB 1060 (Hernández, Roger D)   Crimes of violence: crimes at sea.
Status: 5/18/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
Location: 5/18/2011-A. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Would establish special maritime jurisdiction for crimes against persons on board a ship outside of the state under specified circumstances , including when there is a suspect on board a ship who is a citizen or resident of this state or a state which consents to the jurisdiction of this state, when the master of the ship or an official of the flag state, as defined, commits a suspect on board the ship to the custody of a law enforcement officer acting under the authority of this state, when the state where the crime occurred requests the exercise of jurisdiction by this state, when the crime occurs during a voyage on which over 1/2 of the revenue passengers on board the ship originally embarked and plan to finally disembark in this state, or where the victim is a California law enforcement officer on board the ship in connection with his or her official duties. The bill would provide that a crime against the person or property of another that is punishable by law when committed in this state shall be punishable in the same manner when committed within the special maritime criminal jurisdiction of this state, as specified. Because this bill would expand the application of crimes to a new category of people, it would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 55 (Runner R)   Parole: placement at release: registration.
Status: 5/16/2011-Placed on APPR. suspense file.
Location: 5/16/2011-S. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Would require these inmates, if they reside in this state, to register a residential address with the sheriff of the county in which they reside within 10 days of establishing residence or changing residence, including changes of residence within the same county. The bill would make failure to register a misdemeanor. Because this bill would impose additional duties on local sheriff departments and create a new crime, it would create a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 57 (Runner R)   Sex offenders: social networking and online address notification requirement.
Status: 5/16/2011-Placed on APPR. suspense file.
Location: 5/16/2011-S. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Would permit information received pursuant to these provisions to be shared with other local law enforcement agencies, upon request. By creating a new crime , this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 139 (Alquist D)   Corrections: Inspector General.
Status: 5/13/2011-Set for hearing May 23.
Location: 5/10/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would authorize the Inspector General , or its successor, to oversee, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to oversee and conduct, periodic and random searches of employees and vendors entering the secure perimeter of a state prison under the jurisdiction of the department for contraband, and require the department to report to the Inspector General and the Legislature monthly regarding those searches, as specified.

SB 233 (Pavley D)   Emergency services and care.
Status: 5/18/2011-Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading.
Location: 5/18/2011-S. THIRD READING
Summary:
Would recast the definition of emergency services and care to include other appropriate licensed persons acting within their scope of licensure under the supervision of a physician and surgeon. This bill would expand the definition of consultation to also mean the rendering of a decision regarding hospitalization or transfer and would provide that consultation includes review of the patient’s medical record, examination, and treatment of the patient in person by a specialty physician and surgeon when determined to be medically necessary jointly by the treating physician and surgeon and the consulting physician and surgeon, or by other appropriate licensed persons acting within their scope of licensure under the supervision of a physician and surgeon. This bill would expand the definition of when stabilization of a patient has occurred to include the opinion of other appropriate licensed persons acting within their scope of licensure under the supervision of a physician and surgeon. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 242 (Corbett D)   Social networking Internet Web sites: privacy: minors.
Status: 5/17/2011-Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading.
Location: 5/17/2011-S. THIRD READING
Summary:
Would prohibit a social networking Internet Web site, as defined, from displaying to the public or other registered users any information about a registered user of that Internet Web site , other than the user’s name and city of residence, without the express agreement of the user . The bill would require a social networking Internet Web site to establish a process for new users to set their privacy settings as part of the registration process that explains privacy options in plain language, and to make privacy settings available in an easy-to-use format. The bill would require a social networking Internet Web site to remove the personal identifying information, as defined, of any registered user, and would require removal of that information regarding a user under 18 years of age upon request by the user’s parent, within 48 hours upon his or her request. This bill would impose a civil penalty, not to exceed $10,000, for each willful and knowing violation of these provisions.

SB 285 (Correa D)   Massage therapy instruction: fraud: criminal prosecutions.
Status: 5/13/2011-Set for hearing May 23.
Location: 5/10/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would provide that a person who provides a certificate, transcript, diploma, or other document, or otherwise affirms that a person has received instruction in massage therapy knowing that the person has not received instruction in massage therapy or knowing that the person has not received massage therapy instruction consistent with that document or affirmation is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to specified penalties. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 329 (Correa D)   County penalties: forensic laboratories.
Status: 5/13/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(3). (Last location was PUB. S. on 2/24/2011)
Location: 5/13/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Would require, for the purposes of providing supplemental funding for the DNA Fingerprint, Unsolved Crime and Innocence Protection Act, as specified, an additional penalty to be levied in an unspecified amount in each county for the late payment of any fine, penalty, or forfeiture imposed by the courts for any violation of the Vehicle Code, or a local ordinance adopted pursuant to the Vehicle Code, that is committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. Pursuant to the provisions described above, the penalty proceeds would be deposited into each county’s and the state’s DNA Identification Fund for the purposes specified above. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 428 (Strickland R)   Public safety omnibus bill.
Status: 5/17/2011-From committee with author’s amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 5/17/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Current law generally regulates governmental access to financial records. Current law provides that the dissemination of records pursuant to specified provisions shall not be prohibited. This bill would include within that category of records which the dissemination of shall not be prohibited, the dissemination of financial information and records pursuant to an order by a judge under specified authority relating to mortgage fraud. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 453 (Correa D)   Pupil rights: bullying: school safety plans: suspension and expulsion.
Status: 5/16/2011-Placed on APPR. suspense file.
Location: 5/16/2011-S. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Would encourage , as comprehensive school safety plans are reviewed and updated, all plans, to the extent that resources are available, to include policies and procedures to ensure that appropriate strategies, resources, training, and other prevention or intervention efforts are in place to deal with the remediation and termination of bullying, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 480 (Vargas D)   Public social services: domestic violence.
Status: 5/16/2011-Placed on APPR. suspense file.
Location: 5/16/2011-S. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Would provide that in determining whether a county has failed to meet the federal work requirements, the number of cases subject to the federal work participation requirements is not to include specified cases granted a federally recognized good cause domestic violence waiver. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 490 (Hancock D)   Corrections: Office of theIndependent Correctional Oversight.
Status: 5/13/2011-Set for hearing May 23.
Location: 5/10/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would remove the Inspector General and the other employees from peace officer status. The bill would eliminate the Office of the Inspector General and replace it with its successor the Office of Independent Correctional Oversight and make conforming changes. The bill would require the Governor to appoint a director for the office, as specified, and would authorize the director and certain other employees to exercise the powers of arrest and serving warrants, as provided. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 531 (Rubio D)   Search warrants: HIV testing.
Status: 5/16/2011-From committee with author’s amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 5/16/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would require, if a victim requests an HIV test of a defendant against whom an information or indictment has been presented for a crime in which, by force or threat of force, the defendant is alleged to have compelled the victim to engage in sexual activity, the HIV test to be administered not later than 48 hours after the date on which the search warrant is issued . The bill would require the local health officer to disclose the HIV test results as soon as practicable. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local governmental entities, it would create a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 557 (Kehoe D)   Family justice centers.
Status: 5/17/2011-Read second time and amended. Ordered to third reading.
Location: 5/17/2011-S. THIRD READING
Summary:
Would authorize the cities of San Diego and Anaheim, and the counties of Alameda and Sonoma, until January 1, 2014, to establish a multiagency, multidisciplinary family justice center to assist victims of domestic violence, officer-involved domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, stalking, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, and human trafficking, to ensure that victims of abuse are able to access all needed services in one location and to enhance victim safety, increase offender accountability, and improve access to services for victims of crime, as provided. The bill would permit the family justice centers to be staffed by law enforcement, medical, social service, and child welfare personnel, among others. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 604 (Berryhill R)   Probation.
Status: 5/13/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(3). (Last location was RLS. on 3/3/2011)
Location: 5/13/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Current law authorizes the court to grant probation to certain persons convicted of a crime. Current law provides that “probation” means the suspension of the imposition or execution of a sentence and the order of conditional and revocable release in the community under the supervision of a probation officer. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to the provision defining the term “probation.”

SB 756 (Price D)   Sex offender registration.
Status: 5/13/2011-Set for hearing May 23.
Location: 5/10/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would provide that if a person fails to so register after release, the district attorney in the jurisdiction where the person was to be paroled or to be on probation, or the district attorney in another specified jurisdiction if the person was not released on parole or probation, may request that a warrant be issued for the person’s arrest and shall have authority to prosecute that person as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 852 (Harman R)   Corrections: victim notification.
Status: 5/16/2011-Placed on APPR. suspense file.
Location: 5/16/2011-S. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Would authorize providing that notice by telephone, certified mail, or electronic mail, as selected by the requesting party, if that method is available . This bill contains other related provisions and other current laws.

SB 856 (Walters R)   Parole: domestic violence: sexual abuse: victim’s rights.
Status: 5/13/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(3). (Last location was RLS. on 3/10/2011)
Location: 5/13/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Current law requires, upon the request of the victim, or the victim’s parent or legal guardian if the victim is a minor, the Board of Parole Hearings to impose as a condition of parole for a person released from prison for an offense involving threatening, stalking, sexually abusing, harassing, or violent acts in which the victim is a spouse, farmer spouse, or other victim of domestic violence, that the parolee comply with any protective orders related to the victim, as specified. This bill would make technical, nonsubstantive changes to that provision.

SB 916 (Negrete McLeod D)   Sex offenses: sexting.
Status: 5/13/2011-Failed Deadline pursuant to Rule 61(a)(3). (Last location was RLS. on 3/10/2011)
Location: 5/13/2011-S. 2 YEAR
Summary:
Under current law, it is a felony for a person to knowingly possess or control any matter, representation of information, data, or image that involves the use of a person under 18 years of age personally engaging in or simulating sexual conduct, as defined. This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to address the activity commonly referred to as “sexting” as it pertains to minors.

SCR 15 (Evans D)   Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Denim Day California.
Status: 5/18/2011-From committee with author’s amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.
Location: 5/18/2011-A. RLS.
Summary:
This measure would resolve that the month of April be designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, would recognize April 27, 2011, as Denim Day California, and would encourage everyone to wear jeans on that day to help communicate the message that there is no excuse for, and never an invitation to, rape or sexual assault.

Week of April 11, 2011

Below is a summary of actions filed on legislation that CALCASA is currently tracking as of April 11th. The list includes bills that CALCASA is supporting and opposing. We included links to each bill, so that you can read the text. Visit our Legislation Agenda page to view all bills being followed at this time. Help CALCASA push our legislative agenda by signing up and Taking Action!

AB 13 (Knight R)   Public school volunteers.
Status: 4/13/2011-In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 3/25/2011-A. ED.
Summary:
Would specify that each of these provisions applies to charter schools. The bill would also authorize a school district, county office of education, or charter school to request a local law enforcement agen cy to conduct an automated records check of a prospective nonteaching volunteer aide in order to ascertain whether that person has been convicted of a felony controlled substance offense or a violent or serious felony, as specified. The bill would additionally prohibit persons who have been convicted of violent or serious felonies, specified sex offenses, or felony controlled substance offenses, as specified, from serving as nonteaching volunteer aides . This bill contains other existing laws.

AB 142 (Fuentes D)   Criminal procedure: pleas.
Status: 4/14/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/14/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would additionally require the court to advise the defendant that, if he or she is deported from the United States and returns illegally, he or she could be charged with a separate federal offense. The bill would make other conforming changes.

AB 179 (Gorell R)   Electronic monitoring: removing or disabling: offense.
Status: 4/13/2011-In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. (Refers to 4/12/2011 hearing)
Location: 2/3/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that unauthorized removal, as specified, of an electronic, GPS, or other monitoring device affixed for purposes of a criminal sentence, juvenile court disposition, parole, or probation is an offense punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for one year, or a $1,000 fine, or both, if the underlying offense was a misdemeanor, or by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, 2 year, or 3 years if the underlying offense is a felony. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 219 (Portantino D)   California Recidivism Goals Development and Achievement Act.
Status: 4/13/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (April 12). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 4/13/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would declare the Legislature’s intent regarding the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s role in reducing criminal recidivism. The bill would require the department to develop targets approved by the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board and to implement a plan based on those targets to achieve the goal of a reduction in the statewide criminal recidivism rate from 2010 of 20% by 2015 and 40% by 2020. The bill would provide that success towards meeting that goal would be reviewed as part of the annual budget process for the department’s budget. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of the statewide recidivism rate, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 288 (Fong D)   Public postsecondary education: community colleges: expulsion hearing.
Status: 4/14/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 4/14/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Would authorize the governing board of a district to either deny enrollment, permit enrollment, or permit conditional enrollment to any individual who has been expelled from a community college within the preceding 5 years, or who is, at the time of the application, undergoing expulsion procedures, for certain offenses, as provided, if the board determines that the person continues to pose a risk to the safety of others. This bill would require the board or a delegate to hold a hearing , before taking action to deny enrollment or permit conditional enrollment, before making the determination as to whether the person continues to pose a risk. The bill would authorize a governing board of a district to delegate its authority under these provisions to the superintendent or president of the district, or to his or her designee. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 308 (Ammiano D)   Criminal investigations: eyewitness identification: lineups.
Status: 4/13/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (April 12). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 4/13/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would declare the legislative intent that law enforcement officials adopt and implement the policies and procedures regulating eyewitness lineup identifications that are recommended by the California Commission on the Fair Administration of Justice in order to ensure that eyewitness identification procedures in California minimize the chance of misidentification of a suspect. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 321 (Hernández, Roger D)   Juvenile offenders: obscene material.
Status: 4/13/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
Location: 4/13/2011-A. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Would authorize a school district to provide instruction regarding the potential risks and consequences of creating and sharing sexually suggestive or sexually explicit materials through cellular telephones, social networking Internet Web sites, computer networks, or other digital media. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 322 (Portantino D)   Forensic evidence: rape kits.
Status: 4/12/2011-Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Location: 4/12/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would require local law enforcement agencies responsible for taking or collecting rape kit evidence to annually report to the Department of Justice statistical information pertaining to the testing and submission for DNA analysis of rape kits, as specified. The initial report would be due by July 1, 2013. The reports received by the department would be subject to inspection under the California Public Records Act. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 364 (Bonilla D)   Restitution: asset seizures: fraud and embezzlement.
Status: 4/14/2011-Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.
Location: 4/14/2011-A. CONSENT CALENDAR
Summary:
Would in addition, provide for the preservation of assets and property by the court in order to pay all restitution and fines, and would apply those preservation of assets provisions in the case of a person who commits a single felony, a material element of which is fraud or embezzlement, if that conduct involves the taking or loss of more than $100,000. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 420 (Davis D)   Inmates: electronic monitoring.
Status: 4/12/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 3/3/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that, until January 1, 2016, upon determination of the correctional administrator that conditions in a jail facility warrant the necessity of releasing inmates being held in lieu of bail, the board of supervisors of any county may authorize the correctional administrator to offer a program under which these inmates may be placed in an electronic monitoring program, as specified. The bill would provide separate authority for voluntary and involuntary electronic monitoring programs. The bill would establish criteria for inmates to be eligible for programs established pursuant to its provisions and would specify circumstances under which inmates may be placed in these programs. The bill would also provide that defendants arrested for a bailable offense who are without any other warrant and who meet certain criteria may apply, after 10 court days from the date of arraignment, for release on reduced bail if the defendant agrees to be placed in the voluntary electronic monitoring program and the court and correctional administrator determine that the defendant is eligible to participate in the electronic monitoring program. The bill would make it a misdemeanor for any inmate who is a participant in an electronic monitoring program to fail to comply with the prescribed rules and regulations. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would specify, for persons pending disposition of charges, that electronic monitoring programs authorized pursuant to this bill include, but are not limited to, home detention programs, work furlough programs, and work release programs. The bill would make other conforming changes. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 434 (Logue R)   County penalties: forensic laboratories.
Status: 4/11/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 4/11/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Would provide that, if authorized by a resolution of the board of supervisors, a local sheriff or police department, or the district attorney’s office, may use funds remaining in the county’s DNA Identification Fund , either independently or in combination with remaining funds from another county, to provide supplemental funding to a qualif ied local or regional state forensic laboratory , as defined, for expenditures and administrative costs made or incurred in connection with the processing, analysis, and comparison of DNA crime scene samples and forensic identification samples, and testimony related to that analysis, as specified. The bill would declare that its provisions further the initiative act, and are consistent with its purposes.

AB 520 (Ammiano D)   Sentencing.
Status: 4/14/2011-In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. (Refers to 4/12/2011 hearing)
Location: 3/3/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would additionally provide that the court may not impose an upper term based on aggravating facts unless the facts were first presented to the factfinder and the factfinder found the facts to be true. The bill would require the court to state the reasons for its sentence choice on the record at the time of sentencing, including the specific facts in aggravation, if any, the court relied upon to impose an upper term. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 543 (Torres D)   Sex offenders: social networking prohibition.
Status: 4/13/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
Location: 4/13/2011-A. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Would in addition, make it a misdemeanor for any person who is granted probation or placed on parole for the conviction of a crime that requires him or her to register as a sex offender to use any Internet social networking Web site, as defined, during that period of probation or parole if the victim of the offense was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense and the Internet was used in the commission of the crime. The bill would authorize the person to seek an exception to the prohibition for legitimate professional purposes by applying through the appropriate parole or probation supervising agency. Approval would be valid for one year, unless revoked. The bill would authorize an annual application for renewal. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 545 (John A. Pérez D)   Domestic violence: corporal injury.
Status: 4/13/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
Location: 4/13/2011-A. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Would make those provisions apply to the infliction of that type of injury on the fiancé or fiancée of that person or on someone with whom the person has, or previously had, a dating or engagement relationship. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 648 (Block D)   Clemency.
Status: 4/14/2011-Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Location: 4/14/2011-A. THIRD READING
Summary:
Would require that, at least 30 days before the Governor acts upon any application for a commutation, the application signed by the person applying be served upon the district attorney of the county where the conviction was had. The bill would authorize the district attorney to submit a written recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation of sentence. The bill would further require the district attorney to notify the victim or victims of the crime or crimes related to the application for commutation of sentence and those persons’ family members, and allow those persons to submit a recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation of sentence. By imposing additional duties on the district attorney, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 757 (Blumenfield D)   Sex offenders: public information.
Status: 4/12/2011-In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 3/7/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that with respect to those persons whose application for exclusion was granted by the department pursuant to the provisions specified above, if at any time after exclusion, any law enforcement agency notifies the department that, based on facts known to the agency about the offender, the agency believes that public safety may be compromised by the continued exclusion of the offender from public posting on the Internet Web site, the department shall, 30 days after notifying the offender, make information about the offender available to the public on the Internet Web site, as specified.

AB 764 (Swanson D)   Personal income taxes: voluntary contributions: Victim-Witness Assistance Fund.
Status: 4/13/2011-Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 4/13/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would allow an individual taxpayer to designate on the tax return, that a specified amount in excess of the tax liability be transferred to the Victim-Witness Assistance Fund. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 765 (Achadjian R)   Crimes: rape.
Status: 4/14/2011-Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Location: 4/14/2011-A. THIRD READING
Summary:
Would instead provide that this type of rape occurs where the person submits under the belief that the person committing the act is the victim’s spouse or cohabitant , as provided. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 799 (Swanson D)   Commercially sexually exploited minors.
Status: 4/14/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 4/14/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Existing law, until January 1, 2012, authorizes the District Attorney of Alameda County to create a pilot project, contingent upon local funding, for the purposes of developing a comprehensive, replicative, multidisciplinary model to address the needs and effective treatment of commercially sexually exploited minors, as specified. This bill would extend the repeal date of these provisions to January 1, 2017. This bill would also require the district attorney to submit, on or before April 1, 2016, a prescribed report to the Legislature, contingent upon specified events.

AB 855 (Ma D)   County penalties: forensic laboratories.
Status: 4/12/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 3/22/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that, if authorized by a resolution of the board of supervisors, funds remaining in the county’s DNA Identification Fund may be used to reimburse a local sheriff, police, district attorney, or regional state crime laboratory for expenditures and administrative costs made or incurred for utilizing an authorized laboratory for the processing and analysis of forensic identification samples and testimony related to that analysis, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 884 (Cook R)   Sexually violent offenders: notification of offender registration by law enforcement.
Status: 4/12/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 3/14/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide, in addition, that any law enforcement entity that is notified of the registration of a sex offender who was convicted of a sexually violent offense or a sex crime against a child under 14 years of age shall, within 5 days of the offender’s registration, be required to provide, in writing, notice and information, as specified, to all persons living within 1,000 feet of the residence of the convicted sex offender and all schools and day care centers, the services of which are available to the residents of the area where the convicted sex offender resides. By requiring local law enforcement to provide specified notice regarding specified sex offenders to specified persons and entities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 885 (Cook R)   Vehicles: driver’s licenses and identification cards: issuance and renewal: registered sex offenders.
Status: 4/11/2011-Action From TRANS.: Failed passage.
Location: 4/11/2011-A. TRANS.
Summary:
Would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to comply with certain requirements when issuing an original driver’s license or identification card, or a renewal of that driver’s license or identification card, to a person required to be registered as a sex offender, if the person was adjudicated to be a sexually violent predator or was convicted of a sex offense against a minor. The bill would require the metallic strip of the license or identification card to contain that information. In addition to any other requirement, the bill would require the applicant to provide a current photograph and address verification to the department for the original license, identification card, and each renewal. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 886 (Cook R)   Victim’s rights: victim impact statement.
Status: 4/14/2011-Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.
Location: 4/14/2011-A. CONSENT CALENDAR
Summary:
Would prohibit the court from releasing the statements to the public prior to being heard in court.

AB 918 (Block D)   Crimes: felonies.
Status: 4/13/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (April 12). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 4/13/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would add pimping, pandering, and human trafficking as offenses that may be used to establish a pattern of criminal activity for those purposes. Because this bill would amend Proposition 21 it therefore requires a 2/3 vote. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 1022 (Fletcher R)   Sex offenders: registration.
Status: 4/12/2011-Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Location: 4/12/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would expand the provisions described above relating to community notification regarding a registered sex offender by way of an Internet Web site to include, upon request, e-mail or other electronic notification. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 1087 (Brownley D)   Cities and counties: public safety services: contracts.
Status: 4/11/2011-In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 4/5/2011-A. L. GOV.
Summary:
Would commencing January 1, 2012, require a city that contracts with a county for public safety services through the county sheriff’s department to notify the county at least 6 months prior to the date the contract is to terminate , unless otherwise stipulated, of the city’s intent to terminate the contract, and would authorize the county to require the city to provide a comprehensive fiscal analysis relating to the ability of the city to provide public safety services, as specified. The bill would provide that if the city’s plan is not feasible, the contract may not be terminated until the city can provide a feasible plan.

AB 1373 (Fong D)   Pupils: healthy relationships promotion and teen dating violence prevention.
Status: 4/13/2011-Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Location: 4/13/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would authorize school districts to provide education programs that promote healthy relationships and prevent teen dating violence to pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, through curricular, extracurricular, and school climate improvement activities. The bill would authorize school districts to work in partnership with parents , caregivers , and youth , domestic violence, sexual assault, and other appropriate community-based organizations to provide these education programs. The bill would require school districts that choose to provide education programs that promote healthy relationships and prevent teen dating violence to use research-based materials that are appropriate for pupils of all races, genders, sexual orientations, gender identities, and ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and for pupils with disabilities. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide information about model education programs that are designed to promote healthy relationships and prevent teen dating violence on the department’s Internet Web site, as specified.

ACA 14 (Silva R)   Governor: pardons and commutations.
Status: 4/14/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/14/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would further prohibit the Governor from granting a pardon or commutation during the 30-day period immediately preceding the end of his or her term of office. The measure would provide that any pardon or commutation issued in violation of these provisions is void.

ACA 15 (Mansoor R)   Governor: pardons and commutations.
Status: 4/14/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/14/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require the Governor, at least 30 days prior to granting a pardon or commutation, to provide written notice of the pardon or commutation to the agency that prosecuted the case in which the person was convicted, and to each victim of the crime or crimes for which that person was convicted. The measure would provide that any pardon or commutation issued in violation of these provisions is void.

ACR 32 (Harkey R)   Child sexual abuse awareness.
Status: 4/14/2011-Be adopted, to Consent Calendar.
Location: 4/14/2011-A. CONSENT CALENDAR
Summary:
This measure would declare April 29, 2011, as the day of the annual TAALK-a-Thon sponsored by Talk About Abuse to Liberate Kids (TAALK), and would encourage all adults in California to be knowledgeable and outspoken about the prevention of child sexual abuse.

SB 13 (Correa D)   Pupils: teen dating violence prevention.
Status: 4/8/2011-Set for hearing April 27.
Location: 1/20/2011-S. ED.
Summary:
Would authorize a school district to provide teen dating violence prevention education consisting of age-appropriate instruction, as developed by the state board pursuant to the bill, as part of the sexual health and health education program it provides to pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive. The bill would authorize a school district to use school district personnel or outside consultants who are trained in the appropriate courses to provide this additional instruction. The bill would specify the required content and criteria for this additional instruction and any associated materials if a school district elects to provide it. The bill would provide that a parent or guardian of a pupil has the right to excuse his or her child from all or part of the teen dating violence prevention education and any assessments related to it, and would prescribe the procedure for a parent or guardian to exercise that right. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 26 (Padilla D)   Prisons: wireless communication devices.
Status: 4/11/2011-Placed on APPR. suspense file.
Location: 4/11/2011-S. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Would provide, with exceptions, that a person who possesses with the intent to deliver, or delivers, to an inmate or ward in the custody of the department any cellular telephone or other wireless communication device or any component thereof, including, but not limited to, a subscriber identity module or memory storage device, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 6 months, a fine not to exceed $5,000 for each device, or both that fine and imprisonment. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 54 (Runner R)   Sex offenders: residency restrictions: petition for relief.
Status: 4/12/2011-From committee with author’s amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/12/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that the 2,000 feet shall be measured by the shortest practical pedestrian or vehicle path. The bill would permit a person who is subject to the residency restriction to petition the superior court of the county within which he or she resides for relief from the requirement. The bill would provide that original jurisdiction for the petition would lie with the appellate division of the superior court in which the petition is filed. The bill would require the petitioner to establish by clear and convincing evidence that there is a pervasive lack of compliant housing in the county and that a substantial percentage of sex offenders are unable to comply despite good faith efforts. The bill would require that, if relief is granted, it shall be narrowly crafted in order to substantially comply with the intent of the people in approving the residency requirements. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 57 (Runner R)   Sex offenders: social networking and online address notification requirement.
Status: 4/12/2011-From committee with author’s amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/12/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would permit information received pursuant to these provisions to be shared with other local law enforcement agencies, upon request. By creating a new crime , this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 119 (Lowenthal D)   Emergency youth shelter facilities.
Status: 4/14/2011-Set for hearing May 2.
Location: 4/12/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would include with the definition of a community care facility an emergency youth shelter facility, as defined, for specified minors under 18 years of age , except as specified, who are homeless or at risk of being homeless. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations for these facilities by January 1, 2013 , as specified, which would be the only licensing standards applicable to emergency youth shelters. This bill would allow an emergency youth shelter that is operating under a group home license to apply for an immediate transfer to an emergency youth shelter license, upon adoption of the regulations required under the bill . This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 123 (Liu D)   California Runaway, Homeless, and Exploited Youth Act.
Status: 4/13/2011-Set for hearing May 2.
Location: 4/12/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would enact the California Runaway, Homeless, and Exploited Youth Act, and would require, subject to the availability of adequate resources, the California Emergency Management Agency to develop , in collaboration with the Senate Office of Research and various interested parties, a statewide plan for runaway, homeless, and exploited youth, as specified. The bill would make related findings and declarations.

SB 139 (Alquist D)   Corrections: Inspector General.
Status: 4/14/2011-Set for hearing May 3.
Location: 2/10/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require the Inspector General to oversee, and the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to oversee and conduct, periodic and random searches of employees and vendors entering the secure perimeter of a state prison under the jurisdiction of the department for contraband, and require the department to report to the Inspector General and the Legislature monthly regarding those searches, as specified.

SB 179 (Pavley D)   Sex offenders: parole.
Status: 4/11/2011-Placed on APPR. suspense file.
Location: 4/11/2011-S. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Provides that for any person subject to a sexually violent predator proceeding, as specified, an order issued by a judge pursuant to specified provisions, finding that the petition supports a finding of probable cause to believe that the person is likely to engage in sexually violent criminal behavior upon his or her release, shall toll the period of parole of that person, from the date that person is released until a specified court order is entered. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 233 (Pavley D)   Emergency services and care.
Status: 4/14/2011-Hearing postponed by committee. (Refers to 4/13/2011 hearing)
Location: 3/31/2011-S. HEALTH
Summary:
Would expand the definition of emergency services and care to include care, treatment, and surgery by a physician assistant in compliance with prescribed provisions. This bill would also expand the definition of consultation to authorize physician assistants to provide a consultation. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 291 (Vargas D)   Bail.
Status: 4/14/2011-Set for hearing April 26.
Location: 4/12/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that after a person has been brought back to this state by extradition proceedings, the person shall be committed to a county jail with bail set in the amount of $100,000 in addition to the amount of bail appearing on the warrant. A 48-hour noticed bail hearing, excluding weekends and holidays, would be required to deviate from this prescribed bail amount. The bill would not preclude the application of other provisions of law that authorize enhancing the bail amount for felony charges appearing on the warrant.

SB 453 (Correa D)   Pupil rights: bullying: suspension and expulsion.
Status: 4/8/2011-Set for hearing April 27.
Location: 3/31/2011-S. ED.
Summary:
Would also define bullying to include acts motivated by specified actual or perceived characteristics of the victim. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 480 (Vargas D)   Public social services: domestic violence.
Status: 4/12/2011-Set for hearing April 26.
Location: 3/3/2011-S. HUM. S.
Summary:
Would provide that in determining whether a county has failed to meet the federal work requirements, the number of cases subject to the federal work participation requirements is not to include specified cases granted a federally recognized good cause domestic violence waiver. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 490 (Hancock D)   Corrections: Office of the Inspector General.
Status: 4/12/2011-Set for hearing May 3.
Location: 3/3/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would remove the Inspector General and the other employees from peace officer status, and authorize the Inspector General and certain other employees to exercise the powers of arrest and serving warrants, as provided. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 492 (Correa D)   Sexually violent predators: civil commitment.
Status: 4/12/2011-Withdrawn from committee. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/12/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation instead to refer to the State Department of Mental Health (DMH) for assessment any person in the custody of the CDCR, including the Division of Juvenile Facilities and persons on parole or for whom a warrant of arrest is outstanding, who has committed a sexually violent offense, as defined. The bill would also require the Director of Mental Health to identify and evaluate individuals who are in custody under the jurisdiction of the DMH and who have convictions for sexually violent offenses at least 6 months prior to their release. By increasing the responsibilities of local officials, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 531 (Rubio D)   Search warrants: HIV testing.
Status: 4/8/2011-Set for hearing April 26.
Location: 3/24/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require, if a victim requests an HIV test of a defendant against whom an information or indictment has been presented for a crime in which, by force or threat of force, the defendant is alleged to have compelled the victim to engage in sexual activity, the HIV test to be administered not later than 48 hours after the date on which the information or indictment is presented. The bill would require the victim or, if the victim is a minor, his or her parents, to be notified of the testing results as soon as practicable. The bill would require followup HIV tests to be administered as may be medically appropriate. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local governmental entities, it would create a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 534 (Corbett D)   Victims of sexual assault.
Status: 4/13/2011-Set for hearing May 2.
Location: 3/29/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would provide that victims of sexual assault are not required to participate in the criminal justice system or cooperate with law enforcement in order to be provided with a forensic medical exam. Because this bill would expand a victim’s right to a medical exam paid for by a local agency, it would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 576 (Calderon D)   Sentencing.
Status: 4/13/2011-Set for hearing May 2.
Location: 4/5/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Existing law provides that most felonies are punishable by a triad of terms of incarceration in the state prison, comprised of low, middle, and upper terms. Previous law that required the court to impose the middle term, unless there were circumstances in aggravation or mitigation of the crime, was amended to provide that the choice of the appropriate term rests within the sound discretion of the court. Existing provisions related to sentence enhancements involving criminal street gang activity, firearms, and sentencing, operative until January 1, 2012, generally specify that the appropriate term rests within the sound discretion of the court. Existing law, operative on and after January 1, 2012, instead requires the court to impose the middle term, unless there are circumstances in mitigation or aggravation of the crime. This bill would extend to January 1, 2016, the provisions of law that provide that the court shall, in its discretion, impose the term or enhancement that best serves the interests of justice. The bill would also make conforming changes. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 601 (Hancock D)   Corrections: prisons: warden report card.
Status: 4/12/2011-Do pass as amended, and re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations
Location: 4/12/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop a warden report card containing specified information regarding each warden and the warden’ s prison, including, among other information, the number of inmates disciplined and the number of inmate appeals related to disciplinary actions, on a monthly basis and to post the warden report card once a month on the department’s Internet Web site.

SB 622 (Corbett D)   Sex offenders: registration.
Status: 4/13/2011-Set for hearing May 2.
Location: 4/7/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would instead require registration for any person who has been convicted in any other court, including any state, federal, or military court, of any offense that, based on the elements of the conviction offense or proven or stipulated facts in the record of conviction, as specified, would have been punishable as one or more of the above-referenced specified sex crimes. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 852 (Harman R)   Corrections: victim notification.
Status: 4/14/2011-From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 544.) (April 5).
Location: 4/14/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would authorize providing that notice by telephone, certified mail, or electronic mail, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 861 (Corbett D)   Public contracts: contract eligibility: conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Status: 4/14/2011-From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 9. Noes 1. Page 618.) (April 12).
Location: 4/14/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would prohibit a scrutinized company, as defined, from entering into a contract with a state agency for goods or services, as provided. This bill contains other related provisions.

SCR 15 (Evans D)   Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Denim Day California.
Status: 4/13/2011-Withdrawn from committee. Ordered to third reading.
Location: 4/13/2011-S. THIRD READING
Summary:
Would resolve that the month of April be designated as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, would recognize April 27, 2011, as Denim Day California, and would encourage everyone to wear jeans on that day to help communicate the message that there is no excuse for, and never an invitation to, rape or sexual assault.

Week of April 4, 2011

Below is a summary of actions filed on legislation that CALCASA is currently tracking as of April 4th. The list includes bills that CALCASA is supporting and opposing. We included links to each bill, so that you can read the text. Visit our Legislation Agenda page to view all bills being followed at this time. Help CALCASA push our legislative agenda by signing up and Taking Action!

AB 44 (Logue R)   Inmates: release: notification.
Status: 4/7/2011-Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Location: 4/7/2011-A. THIRD READING
Summary:
Would require that notification be sent 60 days prior to the scheduled release date of an inmate . The bill would conform the timeline for local comments to the longer notification period, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 90 (Swanson D)   Human trafficking: minors.
Status: 4/5/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/5/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would additionally provide that a person who deprives or violates another person’s liberty with the intent to effect or maintain the felony of making available to another person a person under 16 years of age for the purpose of any lewd or lascivious act, or the felony of the procurement of minors in the preparation of material depicting sexual conduct by a minor, is guilty of human trafficking. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 178 (Gorell R)   County jail: release pursuant to federal court order.
Status: 4/6/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
Location: 4/6/2011-A. APPR. SUSPENSE FILE
Summary:
Would require a defendant who is being released prior to sentencing by county jail personnel, pursuant to a court order or policy mandating the release of inmates, to sign a release agreement with the same requirements as those pertaining to a defendant who is released under his or her own recognizance, including the defendant’s promise to appear at the time and place he or she is given in writing by the jail personnel at the time of release. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 179 (Gorell R)   Electronic monitoring: removing or disabling: offense.
Status: 4/5/2011-In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 2/3/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that unauthorized removal, as specified, of an electronic, GPS, or other monitoring device affixed for purposes of a criminal sentence, juvenile court disposition, parole, or probation is an offense punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for one year, or a $1,000 fine, or both, if the underlying offense was a misdemeanor, or by imprisonment in the state prison for 16 months, 2 year, or 3 years if the underlying offense is a felony. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 219 (Portantino D)   California Recidivism Goals Development and Achievement Act.
Status: 4/7/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/7/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would declare the Legislature’s intent regarding the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s role in reducing criminal recidivism. The bill would require the department to develop targets approved by the California Rehabilitation Oversight Board and to implement a plan based on those targets to achieve the goal of a reduction in the statewide criminal recidivism rate from 2010 of 20% by 2015 and 40% by 2020. The bill would provide that success towards meeting that goal would be reviewed as part of the annual budget process for the department’s budget. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of the statewide recidivism rate, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 220 (Solorio D)   Gang and youth violence: prevention.
Status: 4/7/2011-Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.
Location: 4/7/2011-A. CONSENT CALENDAR
Summary:
Would require the director, subject to statutory limits and directives, to make recommendations to streamline existing state agency gang and youth violence grant programs with a goal toward giving priority to grant programs that employ evidence-based practices. It would require the director to create a working group consisting of representatives of state offices and representatives of other specified stakeholders to assist in this effort, with the director serving as the chairperson. The bill would require the working group to advise the office on the task of streamlining grant programs that address gang and youth violence, in accordance with certain procedures. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 257 (Galgiani D)   Inmate release: notification.
Status: 4/4/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/4/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require the department to develop a unified statewide electronic mail victim notification system for notifying victims who request that notification of parole hearings or release dates for their offenders be sent to them by e-mail.

AB 288 (Fong D)   Public postsecondary education: community colleges: expulsion hearing.
Status: 4/7/2011-Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.
Location: 4/7/2011-A. CONSENT CALENDAR
Summary:
Would authorize the governing board of a district to either deny enrollment, permit enrollment, or permit conditional enrollment to any individual who has been expelled from a community college within the preceding 5 years, or who is, at the time of the application, undergoing expulsion procedures, for certain offenses, as provided, if the board determines that the person continues to pose a risk to the safety of others. This bill would require the board or a delegate to hold a hearing , before taking action to deny enrollment or permit conditional enrollment, before making the determination as to whether the person continues to pose a risk. The bill would authorize a governing board of a district to delegate its authority under these provisions to the superintendent or president of the district, or to his or her designee. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 321 (Hernández, Roger D)   Juvenile offenders: obscene material.
Status: 4/5/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 5). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 4/5/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would authorize a school district to provide instruction regarding the potential risks and consequences of creating and sharing sexually suggestive or sexually explicit materials through cellular telephones, social networking Internet Web sites, computer networks, or other digital media. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 322 (Portantino D)   Forensic evidence: rape kits.
Status: 4/5/2011-In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 2/24/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require local law enforcement agencies responsible for taking or collecting rape kit evidence to annually report to the Department of Justice statistical information pertaining to the testing and submission for DNA analysis of rape kits, as specified. The initial report would be due by July 1, 2013. The reports received by the department would be subject to inspection under the California Public Records Act. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 364 (Bonilla D)   Restitution: asset seizures: fraud and embezzlement.
Status: 4/5/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: to consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 5). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 4/5/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would in addition, provide for the preservation of assets and property by the court in order to pay all restitution and fines, and would apply those preservation of assets provisions in the case of a person who commits a single felony, a material element of which is fraud or embezzlement, if that conduct involves the taking or loss of more than $100,000. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 434 (Logue R)   County penalties: forensic laboratories.
Status: 4/6/2011-Read second time. Ordered to consent calendar.
Location: 4/6/2011-A. CONSENT CALENDAR
Summary:
Would provide that, if authorized by a resolution of the board of supervisors, a local sheriff or police department, or the district attorney’s office, may use funds remaining in the county’s DNA Identification Fund , either independently or in combination with remaining funds from another county, to provide supplemental funding to a qualif ied local or regional state forensic laboratory , as defined, for expenditures and administrative costs made or incurred in connection with the processing, analysis, and comparison of DNA crime scene samples and forensic identification samples, and testimony related to that analysis, as specified. The bill would declare that its provisions further the initiative act, and are consistent with its purposes.

AB 454 (Silva R)   Protective orders: early termination.
Status: 4/7/2011-Referred to Com. on JUD.
Location: 4/7/2011-S. JUD.
Summary:
Would require, if an action is filed for the purpose of terminating or modifying specified protective orders prior to their expiration by a party other than the protected party , that the party who is protected by the order be given notice of the proceeding to hear that action prior to the hearing, as specified. The bill would require a court to deny the motion to modify or terminate the order without prejudice or continue the hearing if the party cannot be notified prior to the hearing. The bill would permit the protected person to waive his or right to notice under specified circumstances.

AB 543 (Torres D)   Sex offenders: social networking prohibition.
Status: 4/4/2011-Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 4/4/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would in addition, make it a misdemeanor for any person who is granted probation or placed on parole for the conviction of a crime that requires him or her to register as a sex offender to use any Internet social networking Web site, as defined, during that period of probation or parole if the victim of the offense was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense and the Internet was used in the commission of the crime. The bill would authorize the person to seek an exception to the prohibition for legitimate professional purposes by applying through the appropriate parole or probation supervising agency. Approval would be valid for one year, unless revoked. The bill would authorize an annual application for renewal. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 545 (John A. Pérez D)   Domestic violence: corporal injury.
Status: 4/5/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 5). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 4/5/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would make those provisions apply to the infliction of that type of injury on the fiancé or fiancée of that person or on someone with whom the person has, or previously had, a dating or engagement relationship. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 593 (Ma D)   Domestic violence: battering: writ of habeas corpus.
Status: 4/4/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/4/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Existing law, operative until January 1, 2020, establishes circumstances under which a writ of habeas corpus may be prosecuted for certain violent felonies on the basis of expert testimony regarding intimate partner battering that was not received in evidence at trial and may be sufficient to undermine confidence in the conviction, as specified. This bill would delete the repeal clause for those provisions and thus extend the operation of those provisions indefinitely.

AB 625 (Ammiano D)   Sex offender registration.
Status: 4/4/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/4/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would instead establish 3 tiers of registration based on specified criteria, for periods of 10 years, 20 years, and life, respectively, as specified.

AB 630 (Hueso D)   Pupil safety: bullying.
Status: 4/4/2011-Re-referred to Com. on ED.
Location: 4/4/2011-A. ED.
Summary:
Would express the intent of the Legislature to encourage school districts to establish programs, to be integrated either into the regular curriculum or through separate instruction during National Bullying Prevention Month, at the discretion of each school district, to reduce bullying through training with appropriate activities and best practice methodologies involving collaboration among pupils, parents, and school staff. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 648 (Block D)   Clemency.
Status: 4/7/2011-Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 4/7/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would require that, at least 30 days before the Governor acts upon any application for a commutation, the application signed by the person applying be served upon the district attorney of the county where the conviction was had. The bill would authorize the district attorney to submit a written recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation of sentence. The bill would further require the district attorney to notify the victim or victims of the crime or crimes related to the application for commutation of sentence and those persons’ family members, and allow those persons to submit a recommendation to the Governor for or against commutation of sentence. By imposing additional duties on the district attorney, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 694 (Gorell R)   Juvenile offenders.
Status: 4/5/2011-In committee: Set second hearing. Failed passage. Reconsideration granted.
Location: 4/5/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would expand the class of persons who may be committed to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities to include a person described above if he or she was previously the subject of a petition in which it was alleged and was subsequently admitted or found to be true by the court that the ward committed a specified serious or violent offense, or a specified sex offense.

AB 755 (Galgiani D)   Sex offenders: CAL E-STOP.
Status: 4/5/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 3/7/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would additionally require that the registration include a list of all Internet identifiers and service providers, as defined, used by the person. The bill would require the registrant to update this information, as specified. By increasing the scope of a crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 757 (Blumenfield D)   Sex offenders: public information.
Status: 4/5/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 3/7/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that with respect to those persons whose application for exclusion was granted by the department pursuant to the provisions specified above, if at any time after exclusion, any law enforcement agency notifies the department that, based on facts known to the agency about the offender, the agency believes that public safety may be compromised by the continued exclusion of the offender from public posting on the Internet Web site, the department shall, 30 days after notifying the offender, make information about the offender available to the public on the Internet Web site, as specified.

AB 764 (Swanson D)   Personal income taxes: voluntary contributions: Victim-Witness Assistance Fund.
Status: 4/4/2011-Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Location: 4/4/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would allow an individual taxpayer to designate on the tax return, that a specified amount in excess of the tax liability be transferred to the Victim-Witness Assistance Fund. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 765 (Achadjian R)   Crimes: rape.
Status: 4/5/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: to consent calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (April 5). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 4/5/2011-A. APPR.
Summary:
Would instead provide that this type of rape occurs where the person submits under the belief that the person committing the act is the victim’s spouse or cohabitant , as provided. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 799 (Swanson D)   Commercially sexually exploited minors.
Status: 4/6/2011-Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Location: 4/6/2011-A. THIRD READING
Summary:
Existing law, until January 1, 2012, authorizes the District Attorney of Alameda County to create a pilot project, contingent upon local funding, for the purposes of developing a comprehensive, replicative, multidisciplinary model to address the needs and effective treatment of commercially sexually exploited minors, as specified. This bill would extend the repeal date of these provisions to 2017.

AB 885 (Cook R)   Vehicles: driver’s licenses and identification cards: issuance and renewal: registered sex offenders.
Status: 4/5/2011-Re-referred to Com. on TRANS.
Location: 4/5/2011-A. TRANS.
Summary:
Would require the Department of Motor Vehicles to comply with certain requirements when issuing an original driver’s license or identification card, or a renewal of that driver’s license or identification card, to a person required to be registered as a sex offender, if the person was adjudicated to be a sexually violent predator or was convicted of a sex offense against a minor. The bill would require the metallic strip of the license or identification card to contain that information. In addition to any other requirement, the bill would require the applicant to provide a current photograph and address verification to the department for the original license, identification card, and each renewal. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 1022 (Fletcher R)   Sex offenders: registration.
Status: 4/5/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 3/14/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would expand the provisions described above relating to community notification regarding a registered sex offender by way of an Internet Web site to include, upon request, e-mail or other electronic notification. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 1060 (Hernández, Roger D)   Crimes of violence: crimes at sea.
Status: 4/4/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/4/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would establish special maritime jurisdiction for criminal acts to extend to acts or omission on board a ship outside of the state under specified circumstances including when there is a suspect on board a ship who is a citizen or resident of this state or a state which consents to the jurisdiction of this state, when the master of the ship or an official of the flag state, as defined, commits a suspect on board the ship to the custody of a law enforcement officer acting under the authority of this state, when the state where the act or omission occurred requests the exercise of jurisdiction by this state, when the act or omission occurs during a voyage on which over 1/2 of the revenue passengers on board the ship originally embarked and plan to finally disembark in this state, or where the victim is a California law enforcement officer on board the ship in connection with his or her official duties. The bill would provide that an act or omission against the person or property of another that is punishable by law when committed in this state shall be punishable in the same manner when committed within the special maritime criminal jurisdiction of this state, as specified. Because this bill would expand the application of crimes to a new category of people, it would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 1165 (Achadjian R)   Domestic violence: probation: terms.
Status: 4/4/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/4/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that the probation department shall be immune from liability for good faith conduct taken under these provisions. This bill contains other existing laws.

ACR 17 (Fong D)   Campus Safety Month.
Status: 4/6/2011-Chaptered by the Secretary of State, Chapter Number 11, Statutes of 2011
Location: 4/6/2011-A. CHAPTERED
Summary:
This measure would declare March as Campus Safety Month, and would encourage citizens to visit the Internet Web site of the California Postsecondary Education Commission to view public safety information about public and private colleges and universities.

ACR 24 (Hall D)   Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Status: 4/5/2011-In Senate. To Com. on RLS.
Location: 4/5/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
This measure would acknowledge the month of April 2011 as Child Abuse Prevention Month, and encourage the people of the State of California to work together to support youth-serving child abuse prevention activities in their communities and schools.

SB 26 (Padilla D)   Prisons: wireless communication devices.
Status: 4/1/2011-Set for hearing April 11.
Location: 3/30/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would provide, with exceptions, that a person who possesses with the intent to deliver, or delivers, to an inmate or ward in the custody of the department any cellular telephone or other wireless communication device or any component thereof, including, but not limited to, a subscriber identity module or memory storage device, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 6 months, a fine not to exceed $5,000 for each device, or both that fine and imprisonment. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 54 (Runner R)   Sex offenders: residency restrictions: petition for relief.
Status: 4/5/2011-Set for hearing April 26.
Location: 3/24/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that the 2,000 feet shall be measured by the shortest practical pedestrian or vehicle path. The bill would permit a person who is subject to the residency restriction to petition the superior court of the county within which he or she resides for relief from the requirement. The bill would provide that original jurisdiction for the petition would lie with the appellate division of the superior court in which the petition is filed. The bill would require the petitioner to establish by clear and convincing evidence that there is a pervasive lack of compliant housing in the county and that a majority of sex offenders are unable to comply despite good faith efforts. The bill would require that, if relief is granted, it shall be narrowly crafted in order to substantially comply with the intent of the people in approving the residency requirements. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 123 (Liu D)   California Runaway, Homeless, and Exploited Youth Act.
Status: 4/5/2011-Set for hearing April 12.
Location: 4/4/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would enact the California Runaway, Homeless, and Exploited Youth Act, and would require, subject to the availability of adequate resources, the California Emergency Management Agency to develop , in collaboration with the Senate Office of Research and various interested parties, a statewide plan for runaway, homeless, and exploited youth, as specified. The bill would make related findings and declarations.

SB 179 (Pavley D)   Sex offenders: parole.
Status: 4/1/2011-Set for hearing April 11.
Location: 3/22/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Provides that for any person subject to a sexually violent predator proceeding, as specified, an order issued by a judge pursuant to specified provisions, finding that the petition supports a finding of probable cause to believe that the person is likely to engage in sexually violent criminal behavior upon his or her release, shall toll the period of parole of that person, from the date that person is released until a specified court order is entered. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 233 (Pavley D)   Emergency services and care.
Status: 4/6/2011-Set for hearing April 13.
Location: 3/31/2011-S. HEALTH
Summary:
Would expand the definition of emergency services and care to include care, treatment, and surgery by a physician assistant in compliance with prescribed provisions. This bill would also expand the definition of consultation to authorize physician assistants to provide a consultation. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 248 (Wyland R)   Forensic specimens: offenders.
Status: 4/6/2011-Returned to Secretary of Senate pursuant to Joint Rule 62(a).
Location: 4/6/2011-S. SENATE
Summary:
Would add to the list of persons required to provide forensic identifying samples, persons, including juveniles, who pled guilty, or no contest to, or were convicted of, or adjudicated for committing, certain offenses punishable as misdemeanors or felonies or both, pertaining to poisoning animals, cruelty to animals, stalking, specified species of disorderly conduct, installing a 2-way mirror in specified locations, and loitering in a public place with the intent to commit prostitution. The bill would also make nonsubstantive, technical corrections. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 453 (Correa D)   Pupil rights: bullying: suspension and expulsion.
Status: 3/31/2011-Re-referred to Com. on ED.
Location: 3/31/2011-S. ED.
Summary:
Would also define bullying to include acts motivated by specified actual or perceived characteristics of the victim. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 531 (Rubio D)   Search warrants: HIV testing.
Status: 4/7/2011-Set, first hearing. Further hearing to be set.
Location: 3/24/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require, if a victim requests an HIV test of a defendant against whom an information or indictment has been presented for a crime in which, by force or threat of force, the defendant is alleged to have compelled the victim to engage in sexual activity, the HIV test to be administered not later than 48 hours after the date on which the information or indictment is presented. The bill would require the victim or, if the victim is a minor, his or her parents, to be notified of the testing results as soon as practicable. The bill would require followup HIV tests to be administered as may be medically appropriate. Because the bill would impose additional duties on local governmental entities, it would create a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 534 (Corbett D)   Victims of sexual assault.
Status: 4/7/2011-Hearing postponed by committee. (Refers to 4/6/2011 hearing)
Location: 3/29/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would provide that victims of sexual assault are not required to participate in the criminal justice system or cooperate with law enforcement in order to be provided with a forensic medical exam. Because this bill would expand a victim’s right to a medical exam paid for by a local agency, it would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 576 (Calderon D)   Sentencing.
Status: 4/5/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 544.) (April 5). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 4/5/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Existing law provides that most felonies are punishable by a triad of terms of incarceration in the state prison, comprised of low, middle, and upper terms. Previous law that required the court to impose the middle term, unless there were circumstances in aggravation or mitigation of the crime, was amended to provide that the choice of the appropriate term rests within the sound discretion of the court. Existing provisions related to sentence enhancements involving criminal street gang activity, firearms, and sentencing, operative until January 1, 2012, generally specify that the appropriate term rests within the sound discretion of the court. Existing law, operative on and after January 1, 2012, instead requires the court to impose the middle term, unless there are circumstances in mitigation or aggravation of the crime. This bill would extend to January 1, 2016, the provisions of law that provide that the court shall, in its discretion, impose the term or enhancement that best serves the interests of justice. The bill would also make conforming changes. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 601 (Hancock D)   Corrections: prisons: warden report card.
Status: 4/7/2011-Set for hearing April 12.
Location: 3/31/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop a warden report card containing specified information regarding each warden and the warden’ s prison, including, among other information, the number of inmates disciplined and the number of inmate appeals related to disciplinary actions, on a monthly basis and to post the warden report card once a month on the department’s Internet Web site.

SB 622 (Corbett D)   Sex offenders: registration.
Status: 4/7/2011-Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 4/7/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would instead require registration for any person who has been convicted in any other court, including any state, federal, or military court, of any offense that, based on the elements of the conviction offense or proven or stipulated facts in the record of conviction, as specified, would have been punishable as one or more of the above-referenced specified sex crimes. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 756 (Price D)   Sex offender registration.
Status: 4/7/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 4/7/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that if a person fails to so register after release, the district attorney in the jurisdiction where the person was to be paroled or to be on probation, or the district attorney in another specified jurisdiction if the person was not released on parole or probation, may request that a warrant be issued for the person’s arrest and shall have authority to prosecute that person as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 852 (Harman R)   Corrections: victim notification.
Status: 4/5/2011-Do pass as amended, and re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations
Location: 4/5/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would authorize providing that notice by telephone, certified mail, or electronic mail, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 861 (Corbett D)   Public contracts: contract eligibility: conflict minerals in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Status: 4/7/2011-From committee with author’s amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on G.O.
Location: 4/7/2011-S. G.O.
Summary:
Would prohibit a scrutinized company, as defined, from entering into a contract with a state agency for goods or services, as provided. This bill contains other related provisions.

Week of March 28, 2011

Below is a summary of actions filed on legislation that CALCASA is currently tracking as of March 28th. The list includes bills that CALCASA is supporting and opposing. We included links to each bill, so that you can read the text. Visit our Legislation Agenda page to view all bills being followed at this time. Help CALCASA push our legislative agenda by signing up and Taking Action!

AB 13 (Knight R)   Public school volunteers.
Status: 3/30/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 3/25/2011-A. ED.
Summary:
Would specify that each of these provisions applies to charter schools. The bill would also authorize a school district, county office of education, or charter school to request a local law enforcement agen cy to conduct an automated records check of a prospective nonteaching volunteer aide in order to ascertain whether that person has been convicted of a felony controlled substance offense or a violent or serious felony, as specified. The bill would additionally prohibit persons who have been convicted of violent or serious felonies, specified sex offenses, or felony controlled substance offenses, as specified, from serving as nonteaching volunteer aides . This bill contains other existing laws.

AB 142 (Fuentes D)   Criminal procedure: pleas.
Status: 3/31/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 3/31/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Would additionally require the court to advise the defendant that, if he or she is deported from the United States and returns illegally, he or she could be charged with a separate federal offense. The bill would make other conforming changes.

AB 219 (Portantino D)   California Recidivism Goals Development and Achievement Act.
Status: 3/31/2011-In committee: Hearing postponed by committee. (Refers to 3/22/2011 hearing)
Location: 2/10/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would declare the Legislature’s intent regarding the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s role in reducing criminal recidivism. The bill would require the department achieve a reduction in the statewide criminal recidivism rate from 2010 of 20% by 2015 and 40% by 2020. The bill would require the department to adopt regulations to require the reporting and verification of the statewide recidivism rate, as specified.

AB 257 (Galgiani D)   Inmate release: notification.
Status: 3/31/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S. From committee chair, with author’s amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended.
Location: 3/31/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require the department to develop a unified statewide electronic mail victim notification system for notifying victims who request that notification of parole hearings or release dates for their offenders be sent to them by e-mail.

AB 295 (Lowenthal, Bonnie D)   California Case Management System.
Status: 3/29/2011-Re-referred to Com. on JUD.
Location: 3/29/2011-A. JUD.
Summary:
Would require the Judicial Council to provide that annual status report on or before December 1 of each year until project completion and full implementation. The report additionally would be required to include all costs of the trial courts in support of these projects, total estimated costs to complete these projects, a general description of the nature of costs that justice partners, as defined, will incur from making changes as necessary to access the California Case Management System, and an explanation for deviation from any recommendation of the California Technology Agency pursuant to the provisions described below. The bill would require the Administrative Office of the Courts, on or before December 1 of each year until project completion and full implementation, to annually provide to those chairpersons an independent project oversight report for the California Case Management System. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 321 (Hernández, Roger D)   Juvenile offenders: obscene material.
Status: 3/31/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 3/31/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would authorize a school district to provide instruction regarding the potential risks and consequences of creating and sharing sexually suggestive or sexually explicit materials through cellular telephones, social networking Internet Web sites, computer networks, or other digital media. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 322 (Portantino D)   Forensic evidence: rape kits.
Status: 3/15/2011-In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Location: 2/24/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require local law enforcement agencies responsible for taking or collecting rape kit evidence to annually report to the Department of Justice statistical information pertaining to the testing and submission for DNA analysis of rape kits, as specified. The initial report would be due by July 1, 2013. The reports received by the department would be subject to inspection under the California Public Records Act. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 434 (Logue R)   County penalties: forensic laboratories.
Status: 3/30/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 3/30/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that, if authorized by a resolution of the board of supervisors, a local sheriff or police department, or the district attorney’s office, may use funds remaining in the county’s DNA Identification Fund , either independently or in combination with remaining funds from another county, to provide supplemental funding to a qualif ied local or regional state forensic laboratory , as defined, for expenditures and administrative costs made or incurred in connection with the processing, analysis, and comparison of DNA crime scene samples and forensic identification samples, and testimony related to that analysis, as specified. The bill would declare that its provisions further the initiative act, and are consistent with its purposes.

AB 446 (Carter D)   Juveniles: restorative justice program.
Status: 3/29/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 3/29/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would authorize a county to adopt a restorative justice program to address the needs of minors, victims, and the community. The bill would require the restorative justice program to be implemented through a restorative justice protocol developed by the juvenile court in conjunction with the prosecutor, public defender, and other interested groups. The bill would prohibit the use of General Fund moneys to fund the program. The bill would include related findings and declarations.

AB 543 (Torres D)   Sex offenders: social networking prohibition.
Status: 3/31/2011-Read second time and amended.
Location: 3/30/2011-A. SECOND READING
Summary:
Would in addition, make it a misdemeanor for any person who is granted probation or placed on parole for the conviction of a crime that requires him or her to register as a sex offender to use any Internet social networking Web site, as defined, during that period of probation or parole if the victim of the offense was under 18 years of age at the time of the offense and the Internet was used in the commission of the crime. The bill would authorize the person to seek an exception to the prohibition for legitimate professional purposes by applying through the appropriate parole or probation supervising agency. Approval would be valid for one year, unless revoked. The bill would authorize an annual application for renewal. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 588 (V. Manuel Pérez D)   Tenancy: victims of domestic violence.
Status: 3/31/2011-In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Location: 3/31/2011-S. RLS.
Summary:
Would also make nonsubstantive, technical corrections.

AB 593 (Ma D)   Domestic violence: battering: writ of habeas corpus.
Status: 3/31/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S. From committee chair, with author’s amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended.
Location: 3/31/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Existing law, operative until January 1, 2020, establishes circumstances under which a writ of habeas corpus may be prosecuted for certain violent felonies on the basis of expert testimony regarding intimate partner battering that was not received in evidence at trial and may be sufficient to undermine confidence in the conviction, as specified. This bill would delete the repeal clause for those provisions and thus extend the operation of those provisions indefinitely.

AB 625 (Ammiano D)   Sex offender registration.
Status: 3/31/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S. From committee chair, with author’s amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended.
Location: 3/31/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would instead establish 3 tiers of registration based on specified criteria, for periods of 10 years, 20 years, and life, respectively, as specified.

AB 630 (Hueso D)   Pupil safety: bullying.
Status: 3/31/2011-Referred to Com. on ED. From committee chair, with author’s amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on ED. Read second time and amended.
Location: 3/31/2011-A. ED.
Summary:
Would express the intent of the Legislature to encourage school districts to establish programs, to be integrated either into the regular curriculum or through separate instruction during National Bullying Prevention Month, at the discretion of each school district, to reduce bullying through training with appropriate activities and best practice methodologies involving collaboration among pupils, parents, and school staff. This bill contains other related provisions.

AB 918 (Block D)   Crimes: felonies.
Status: 3/29/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 3/29/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would add pimping, pandering, and human trafficking as offenses that may be used to establish a pattern of criminal activity for those purposes. Because this bill would amend Proposition 21 it therefore requires a 2/3 vote. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 1060 (Hernández, Roger D)   Crimes of violence: crimes at sea.
Status: 3/31/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S. From committee chair, with author’s amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended.
Location: 3/31/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would establish special maritime jurisdiction for criminal acts to extend to acts or omission on board a ship outside of the state under specified circumstances including when there is a suspect on board a ship who is a citizen or resident of this state or a state which consents to the jurisdiction of this state, when the master of the ship or an official of the flag state, as defined, commits a suspect on board the ship to the custody of a law enforcement officer acting under the authority of this state, when the state where the act or omission occurred requests the exercise of jurisdiction by this state, when the act or omission occurs during a voyage on which over 1/2 of the revenue passengers on board the ship originally embarked and plan to finally disembark in this state, or where the victim is a California law enforcement officer on board the ship in connection with his or her official duties. The bill would provide that an act or omission against the person or property of another that is punishable by law when committed in this state shall be punishable in the same manner when committed within the special maritime criminal jurisdiction of this state, as specified. Because this bill would expand the application of crimes to a new category of people, it would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

AB 1165 (Achadjian R)   Domestic violence: probation: terms.
Status: 3/31/2011-Referred to Coms. on PUB. S. and JUD. From committee chair, with author’s amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended.
Location: 3/31/2011-A. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would provide that the probation department shall be immune from liability for good faith conduct taken under these provisions. This bill contains other existing laws.

AB 1373 (Fong D)   Pupils: healthy relationships promotion and teen dating violence prevention.
Status: 3/31/2011-Re-referred to Com. on ED.
Location: 3/31/2011-A. ED.
Summary:
Would authorize school districts to provide education programs that promote healthy relationships and prevent teen dating violence to pupils in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, through curricular, extracurricular, and school climate improvement activities. The bill would authorize school districts to work in partnership with parents , caregivers , and youth , domestic violence, sexual assault, and other appropriate community-based organizations to provide these education programs. The bill would require school districts that choose to provide education programs that promote healthy relationships and prevent teen dating violence to use research-based materials that are appropriate for pupils of all races, genders, sexual orientations, gender identities, and ethnic and cultural backgrounds, and for pupils with disabilities. The bill would require the Superintendent of Public Instruction to provide information about model education programs that are designed to promote healthy relationships and prevent teen dating violence on the department’s Internet Web site, as specified.

ACR 17 (Fong D)   Campus Safety Month.
Status: 3/31/2011-Withdrawn from committee. Ordered to third reading.
Location: 3/31/2011-S. THIRD READING
Summary:
This measure would declare March as Campus Safety Month, and would encourage citizens to visit the Internet Web site of the California Postsecondary Education Commission to view public safety information about public and private colleges and universities.

ACR 24 (Hall D)   Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Status: 3/31/2011-From committee: Be adopted. Ordered to third reading. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (March 31).
Location: 3/31/2011-A. THIRD READING
Summary:
This measure would acknowledge the month of April 2011 as Child Abuse Prevention Month, and encourage the people of the State of California to work together to support youth-serving child abuse prevention activities in their communities and schools.

SB 26 (Padilla D)   Prisons: wireless communication devices.
Status: 3/30/2011-Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 3/30/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would provide, with exceptions, that a person who possesses with the intent to deliver, or delivers, to an inmate or ward in the custody of the department any cellular telephone or other wireless communication device or any component thereof, including, but not limited to, a subscriber identity module or memory storage device, is guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the county jail not exceeding 6 months, a fine not to exceed $5,000 for each device, or both that fine and imprisonment. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 233 (Pavley D)   Emergency services and care.
Status: 3/31/2011-From committee with author’s amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on HEALTH.
Location: 3/31/2011-S. HEALTH
Summary:
Would expand the definition of emergency services and care to include care, treatment, and surgery by a physician assistant in compliance with prescribed provisions. This bill would also expand the definition of consultation to authorize physician assistants to provide a consultation. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 248 (Wyland R)   Forensic specimens: offenders.
Status: 3/29/2011-Action From PUB. S.: Reconsideration granted.
Location: 3/29/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would add to the list of persons required to provide forensic identifying samples, persons, including juveniles, who pled guilty, or no contest to, or were convicted of, or adjudicated for committing, certain offenses punishable as misdemeanors or felonies or both, pertaining to poisoning animals, cruelty to animals, stalking, specified species of disorderly conduct, installing a 2-way mirror in specified locations, and loitering in a public place with the intent to commit prostitution. The bill would also make nonsubstantive, technical corrections. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 271 (Wyland R)   Evidence: rape kits: expedited processing.
Status: 3/31/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 3/31/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would specifically provide that a county’s remaining share of funds attributable to the increase in penalties as required by the act may be used by a local sheriff, police department, district attorney, or other law enforcement agency for expenditures and administrative costs made or incurred for utilizing a laboratory, other than the Department of Justice Laboratory, as specified, to expedite the analysis and processing of rape kits and uploading rape kit information to the CAL-DNA Databank and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Combined DNA Index System. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 453 (Correa D)   Pupil rights: bullying: suspension and expulsion.
Status: 3/31/2011-Re-referred to Com. on ED.
Location: 3/31/2011-S. ED.
Summary:
Would also define bullying to include acts motivated by specified actual or perceived characteristics of the victim. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 534 (Corbett D)   Victims of sexual assault.
Status: 3/29/2011-From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (March 29). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Location: 3/29/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would provide that victims of sexual assault are not required to participate in the criminal justice system or cooperate with law enforcement in order to be provided with a forensic medical exam. Because this bill would expand a victim’s right to a medical exam paid for by a local agency, it would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 576 (Calderon D)   Sentencing.
Status: 3/29/2011-Set for hearing April 5.
Location: 3/3/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Existing law provides that most felonies are punishable by a triad of terms of incarceration in the state prison, comprised of low, middle, and upper terms. Previous law that required the court to impose the middle term, unless there were circumstances in aggravation or mitigation of the crime, was amended to provide that the choice of the appropriate term rests within the sound discretion of the court. Existing provisions related to sentence enhancements involving criminal street gang activity, firearms, and sentencing, operative until January 1, 2012, generally specify that the appropriate term rests within the sound discretion of the court. Existing law, operative on and after January 1, 2012, instead requires the court to impose the middle term, unless there are circumstances in mitigation or aggravation of the crime. This bill would extend to January 1, 2016, the provisions of law that provide that the court shall, in its discretion, impose the term or enhancement that best serves the interests of justice. The bill would also make conforming changes. This bill contains other related provisions.

SB 601 (Hancock D)   Corrections: prisons: warden report card.
Status: 3/31/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 3/31/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop a warden report card containing specified information regarding each warden and the warden’ s prison, including, among other information, the number of inmates disciplined and the number of inmate appeals related to disciplinary actions, on a monthly basis and to post the warden report card once a month on the department’s Internet Web site.

SB 622 (Corbett D)   Sex offenders: registration.
Status: 3/29/2011-Do pass as amended, and re-refer to the Committee on Appropriations
Location: 3/29/2011-S. APPR.
Summary:
Would instead require registration for any person who has been convicted in any other court, including any state, federal, or military court, of any offense that, based on the elements of the conviction offense or proven or stipulated facts in the record of conviction, as specified, would have been punishable as one or more of the above-referenced specified sex crimes. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

SB 852 (Harman R)   Corrections: victim notification.
Status: 3/31/2011-Set for hearing April 5.
Location: 3/10/2011-S. PUB. S.
Summary:
Would authorize providing that notice by telephone, certified mail, or electronic mail, as specified. This bill contains other related provisions and other existing laws.

Week of February 7, 2011

Below is a summary of actions filed on legislation that CALCASA is currently tracking. The list includes bills that CALCASA is supporting and opposing. We included links to each bill, so that you can read the text. Visit our Legislation Agenda page to view all bills being followed at this time. Help CALCASA push our legislative agenda by signing up and Taking Action!

Assembly

AB 142 (Fuentes D)   Criminal procedure: pleas.
Status: 2/3/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 2/3/2011-A. PUB. S.

AB 175 (Donnelly R)   Inmates: transfers.
Status: 2/3/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 2/3/2011-A. PUB. S.

AB 177 (Mendoza D)   Juveniles: parenting classes.
Status: 2/3/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 2/3/2011-A. PUB. S.

AB 178 (Gorell R)   County jail: release pursuant to federal court order.
Status: 2/3/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 2/3/2011-A. PUB. S.

AB 179 (Gorell R)   Electronic monitoring: removing or disabling: offense.
Status: 2/3/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 2/3/2011-A. PUB. S.

AB 216 (Swanson D)   Community colleges: inmate education programs: computation of apportionments.
Status: 2/10/2011-Referred to Com. on HIGHER ED.
Location: 2/10/2011-A. HIGHER ED.

AB 219 (Portantino D)   California Recidivism Goals Development and Achievement Act.
Status: 2/10/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 2/10/2011-A. PUB. S.

AB 235 (Halderman R)   Public records: clemency records.
Status: 2/4/2011-From printer. May be heard in committee March 6.
Location: 2/3/2011-A. PRINT

AB 239 (Ammiano D)   Crime laboratories: oversight.
Status: 2/4/2011-From printer. May be heard in committee March 6.
Location: 2/3/2011-A. PRINT

AB 257 (Galgiani D)   Inmate release: notification.
Status: 2/4/2011-From printer. May be heard in committee March 6.
Location: 2/3/2011-A. PRINT

AB 259 (Smyth R)   County public defender.
Status: 2/8/2011-From printer. May be heard in committee March 10.
Location: 2/7/2011-A. PRINT

AB 269 (Ma D)   Pupil health and safety.
Status: 2/8/2011-From printer. May be heard in committee March 10.
Location: 2/7/2011-A. PRINT

AB 295 (Lowenthal, Bonnie D)   California Case Management System.
Status: 2/10/2011-From printer. May be heard in committee March 12.
Location: 2/9/2011-A. PRINT

AB 308 (Ammiano D)   Criminal investigations: eyewitness identification: lineups.
Status: 2/10/2011-From printer. May be heard in committee March 12.
Location: 2/9/2011-A. PRINT

AB 312 (Lowenthal, Bonnie D)   Civil rights: homeless persons.
Status: 2/10/2011-From printer. May be heard in committee March 12.
Location: 2/9/2011-A. PRINT

AB 321 (Hernández, Roger D)   Juvenile offenders: obscene material.
Status: 2/10/2011-From printer. May be heard in committee March 12.
Location: 2/9/2011-A. PRINT

AB 322 (Portantino D)   Forensic evidence: rape kits.
Status: 2/10/2011-From printer. May be heard in committee March 12.
Location: 2/9/2011-A. PRINT

AB 355 (Solorio D)   Parole: day treatment: crisis care.
Status: 2/10/2011-Read first time. To print.
Location: 2/10/2011-A. PRINT

ACR 17 (Fong D)   Campus Safety Month.
Status: 2/9/2011-From printer.
Location: 2/8/2011-A. PRINT

AJR 1 (Donnelly R)   Undocumented criminals.
Status: 2/10/2011-Referred to Coms. on PUB. S. and APPR.
Location: 2/10/2011-A. PUB. S.

Senate

SB 26 (Padilla D)   Prisons:wireless communication devices.
Last Amended: 2/1/2011
Status: 2/10/2011-Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 2/10/2011-S. PUB. S.

SB 119 (Lowenthal D)   Emergency youth shelter facilities.
Status: 2/10/2011-Referred to Com. on HUMAN S.
Location: 2/10/2011-S. HUM. S.

SB 123 (Liu D)   California Runaway, Homeless, and Exploited Youth Act.
Status: 2/10/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 2/10/2011-S. PUB. S.

SB 139 (Alquist D)   Corrections: Inspector General.
Status: 2/10/2011-Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Location: 2/10/2011-S. PUB. S.

SB 143 (Rubio D)   Health research: women and minority groups.
Status: 2/10/2011-Referred to Com. on RLS.
Location: 2/10/2011-S. RLS.

SB 151 (Correa D)   State employees: memorandum of understanding.
Status: 2/10/2011-Referred to Com. on P.E. & R.
Location: 2/10/2011-S. P.E. & R.

SB 154 (Wolk D)   Marriage licenses: vital records: fees: domestic violence: Solano County.
Status: 2/10/2011-Referred to Com. on JUD.
Location: 2/10/2011-S. JUD.

SB 179 (Pavley D)   Sex offenders: parole.
Status: 2/8/2011-From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 10.
Location: 2/7/2011-S. PRINT

SB 182 (Corbett D)   Judiciary: demographic data.
Status: 2/8/2011-From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 10.
Location: 2/7/2011-S. PRINT

SB 208 (Alquist D)   Identity theft: restitution.
Status: 2/9/2011-From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 11.
Location: 2/8/2011-S. PRINT

SB 233 (Pavley D)   Emergency services and care.
Status: 2/10/2011-From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 12.
Location: 2/9/2011-S. PRINT

SB 242 (Corbett D)   Social networking Internet Web sites: privacy: minors.
Status: 2/10/2011-From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 12.
Location: 2/9/2011-S. PRINT

SB 248 (Wyland R)   Forensic specimens: offenders.
Status: 2/10/2011-Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.
Location: 2/10/2011-S. PRINT

Week of January 10, 2011

Below is a summary of legislation that has been introduced since the beginning of December. The list includes bills that CALCASA is sponsoring, supporting and watching. We included links to each bill, so that you can read the text. Do you want to help advocate the Legislature? Sign up here to Take Action!

ASSEMBLY

CALCASA’s Executive Director Sandra Henriquez has been appointed to the Sex Offender Management Board. The announcement was made in a late afternoon press release from the Office of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The release listed 39 appointments to various commissions and boards.

The mission of Sex Offender Management Board is to decrease sexual victimization and increase community safety by addressing issues, concerns and problems related to community management of adult sex offenders by identifying and developing recommendations to improve policies and practices.

In addition to Sandra’s appointment, the Governor appointed Elizabeth Hassett, Executive Director of WEAVE, and John Welter, Chief of Police of the City of Anaheim, to the Domestic Violence Advisory Council.

Governor-Elect Jerry Brown will be sworn in on January 3.

Cover of Sex Offender Supervision and GPS Monitoring Task Force Report

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation released the “Sex Offender Supervision and GPS Task Force Report” that lists nine recommendations on how the department can reform it’s GPS monitoring and supervision of registered sex offenders.

Over the last 120 days, the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault has served on CDCR’s Task Force. The group was convened in the aftermath of two highly publicized murders in the San Diego area by a registered sex offender.

The task force included victim organization representatives, parole and probation officers, local police and sheriffs, department administrators, and sex offender treatment professionals. The mission of this multidisciplinary task force was to comprehensively evaluate California’s protocols and procedures surrounding GPS monitoring and its relationship to sex offender management. The Secretary of Corrections, Matthew Cate, asked the task force to provide short- and long-term recommendations to reform how the department can close loopholes and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of GPS monitoring and sex offender management.

Following the release of the report, Sandra Henriquez, CALCASA’s Executive Director issued the following statement:

“The California Coalition Against Sexual Assault was actively involved in the development of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s ‘Sex Offender Supervision and GPS Task Force Report’ that was released Friday afternoon and would like to applaud the department for working collaboratively in a multidisciplinary setting to include the input of victim/survivor’s advocates, as it relates to the rights of victims, and the insight of other stakeholders in the creation of these recommendations.”

“It is important to recognize, that while GPS technology is critical, it is only one tool in monitoring high-risk offenders. We must exercise caution around viewing this technology as the ‘end all’ solution for our sex offender management system and instead continue a multi-disciplinary exchange around identifying best practices in sex offender supervision. Of paramount importance is the inclusion of the voices of victims, survivors and their advocates around these systems, thereby ensuring a victim-focused approach to sex offender management. CALCASA and its members urge the Legislature and Governor-elect Jerry Brown to work with victim advocates and public safety officials to adopt and implement these recommendations, in order to improve how California supervises sex offenders and in order to increase public safety in our state.”

California voters approved Proposition 83, Jessica’s Law, in 2006 that mandated all registered sex offenders wear a GPS monitoring device for life. The law also included residency restrictions and other sex offender related laws.

Program cover for ATSA Conference 2010

In October, CALCASA participated in the 2010 Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. This conference was designed for treatment providers who work with sex offenders and abusers. The conference featured many workshops for victim advocates, law enforcement, and other public safety officials who are also highly involved in sex offender management and sexual abuse prevention and searching for the newest evidence-based systems to deal with this growing and complex criminal population.

Plenary speakers presented on a variety of issues throughout the conference:

Mary P. Koss, Ph.D. discussed “Individualizing Justice for Sexual Assault” which focused on individualized redress and rehabilitation for juvenile and adult sexual assault. Also, the impact on perpetrators/responsible parties and survivor/victims were reviewed.

Raymond Knight, Ph.D. gave an outstanding presentation on primary prevention titled “Transforming Prevention and Intervention: What Guidance Does Etiological Research on Rape Provide?” His presentation discussed how “research on the prevention of aggression and impulsivity has suggested that prevention programs yield superior outcomes when they target risk factors that are causative rather than simply correlative.”

Larry Magid, Ed.D., co-director of ConnectSafely.org, and internet safety advocate focused on “Internet Safety 3.0: Keeping Youth Safe on the Living Internet” where he focused on the real risks of the ever-evolving internet that now includes “cyber bullying, sexting and peer harassment — sexual and otherwise.”

The conference’s closing speakers was CALCASA’s former executive director, Suzanne Brown-McBride, who now serves as Deputy Director of the Justice Center at the Council of State Governments. She presented on “Practical Alchemy and the Transformation of the Public Safety Agenda” and concentrated on “practical tools and approaches that advocates for public safety can utilize to sustain through the crisis of the short-term and lay the foundation for long-term change.”

Other highlights from the conference included a new public policy survey from the Center for Sex Offender Management that resulted in a surprising number of contradictions among the general public’s concerns regarding sex offender managemente.

ATSA can provide your community with information on how to better manage your sex offender population. Visit their site for more information.

The state of California enters its fourth month without an approved state budget.  Some California rape crisis centers cash flow has become a cash drip.  This budget impasse has forced many centers to develop contingency plans that vary from decreasing agency hours, having multiple waves of staff layoffs to the worst case scenario of closing their doors due to the lack of cash to provide services to survivors.  Knowing what your agency’s current budget situation is, if given an option (that is legal of course) to remedy those budget problems; would you act on that option?

I preface the latter statement with I got permission from the Executive Director to write this article with the promise that I would not disclose her name, the agency’s name or agency location.

In December 2008 I was contacted by the Executive Director of a rape crisis center in another state to assist with a funding proposal to submit to her Board of Directors.  I first met this Executive Director in 2002 and we have remained in contact since then.

This agency has a consistent history of limited or no fund development whatsoever.  The Executive Director was concerned that if this pattern continued, she would be faced with making some difficult decisions within 9 months.  She and I filtered through some ideas and came up with several viable options.  The Executive Director did additional research and took one of those options to her Board of Directors.

The Board of Directors read through the request for proposal and application, had a three hour meeting and a final vote of 8-2 in favor of applying for funding through their Department of Corrections for treatment of sex offender parolees.   The grant had an extensive list of protocols and procedures that applicants would have to clearly demonstrate their ability to meet and adhere to if awarded the grant.

The agency was notified in September 2010 that they were awarded the multi-year treatment grant for sex offender parolees in the amount of $400,000.00.  The Executive Director indicated that this grant could absorb approximately 80% of the agency’s entire administrative cost; leaving additional money from other grants to hire additional personnel, increase staff salaries that were drastically too low and allow more services to be provided to survivors and the community.

Some board members who previously voted to apply for the grant are now concerned about public perception, staff and volunteer support or lack of support, shift in agency’s mission and philosophy, and the simple fact that they would now have an off-site project that deals with convicted sex offenders.

I ask these questions of you – Is this a golden opportunity?  Does accepting this money take away from their victim centered mission statement?  Please provide your insight and opinions in the comment box below.

PreventConnect.org

Maia Christopher

In this interview with Maia Christopher, Executive Director, Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA) and David Prescott, Immediate Past President of ATSA, PreventConnect’s David Lee discusses how ATSA has focused on sexual violence prevention and will highlight the prevention related activities at ATSA’s 29th Annual Conference to be held in October 2010.

Prevent Connect – Maia Christopher

On September 9, 2010, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 1844, also known as the Chelsea King Child Predator Prevention Act of 2010 or Chelsea’s Law. This legislation was introduced by Assembly Member Nathan Fletcher (R-San Diego) in collaboration with the King family in response to the murder of their 17-year-old daughter Chelsea by registered sex offender John Albert Gardner. Gardner has pleaded guilty to the murder of both Chelsea King and 14-year-old Amber Dubois, both resided in the San Diego area. Many provisions were recommendations from the CA Sex Offender Management Board which is chaired by Robert Coombs, CALCASA’s Director of Public Affairs.

Below is the video of the Governor’s signing ceremony, surrounded by the King family and a bipartisan group of legislators from San Diego.

Brief overview of AB 1844 (Chelsea’s Law) provisions:

Penalty Enhancements:

• Increases penalties on sexual assaults with specific intents against persons under the age of 18
  • §220(a)(2); §236.1(c); §264(c)(1-2); §264.1(b)(1-2); §286(c)&(d); §288(a); §288a(c)&(d); §289(a)(1)(B&C) & (j)
• Enacts life sentences (some provisions include life without possibility of parole) on sexual assaults with specific circumstances
  • §667.61(a&b, j-m); §220(b); §288(i)(1);
• Related to human trafficking §236.1(f-h):
  • Fine of no more then $100,000
  • Monies to be deposited in Victim-Witness Assistance Fund; 50 percent shall be granted to community based organizations that serve victims of human trafficking

Sex Offender Management

• §3008: Establishes containment model managing  all high risk offenders as determined by SARATSO
• §13887: Counties may establish sexual assault felony enforcement (SAFE) teams and legislative findings thereof.
• §290.04: State-Authorized Risk Assessment Tool for Sex Offenders (SARATSO) Review Committee shall evaluate static, dynamic, and risk of future violence tools to be used statewide by supervision and treatment professionals
• §290.09: California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB) shall certify sex offender management programs and professionals used by parole and probation departments; certified sex offender management professionals shall communicate with probation and parole officers on a regular basis; SARATSO will provide annual training on dynamic assessment tools
• §290.46: Department of Justice shall make available to the public, via Megan’s Law Website, the static and future risk score of an offender
• §1203.067: Mandate sex offender treatment for offenders currently on probation
• §2962: Clarifies mental health and civil commitment evaluations procedures
• §3053.8(a): Registered sex offenders who have been imprisoned for a crime against a victim under 14-years-old, as a condition of parole, shall not enter into a park where children regularly congregate without express permission of parole office

Victim Services:

• Revenue & Taxation §18846.3: Removed the sunset date for the California Sexual Violence Victim Services Fund that was set to expire at the end of 2010.

Robert Coombs, CALCASA’s Director of Public Affairs, was appointed by Governor Schwarzenegger to serve on the California Sex Offender Management Board.  This appointment does not require a legislative confirmation and has no salary.

On September 20, 2006, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 1015, which created the California Sex Offender Management Board (CASOMB).

Because California is the most populated state in the Union and has had lifetime registration for its convicted sex offenders since 1947, California has more registered sex offenders than any other state with about 88,000 identified sex offenders (per Department of Justice, August 2007). Currently, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) supervises about 10,000 of those 88,000 sex offenders, of which about 3,200 have been designated as High Risk Sex Offenders (CDCR Housing Summit, March 2007). Additionally, there are about 22,500 adult sex offenders serving time in one of 32 state prisons operated by CDCR (California Sex Offender Management Task Force Report, July 2007).

The mission of the board is to is to address issues, concerns and problems related to community management of adult sex offenders by identifying and developing recommendations to improve policies and practices.

Visit the California Sex Offender Management Board website to learn more about the Board’s duties and reports.

By Paul Elias The Associated Press

SAN FRANCISCO – The California Supreme Court on Thursday questioned the constitutionality of a “Jessica’s Law” provision that allows indefinite confinement of sexually violent predators.

It’s the first of two decisions the court is expected to issue over the legality of the law that was passed as Proposition 82 in 2006.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to rule Monday on a separate legal challenge to a provision prohibiting released predators from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park.

On Thursday, the court dealt with whether sexually violent predators can be treated differently from other violent felons, who can be held only for defined terms in mental health facilities after prison.

John Simerman reported earlier this week that “less than a year after state corrections officials tightened a $22 million spigot of free apartments and motel rooms for paroled sex offenders, the number of parolees who say they are homeless has nearly doubled, adding fuel for critics who say the tight living restrictions under Jessica’s Law threaten public safety more than bolster it.”

Robert Coombs, the Director of Public Affairs, at CALCASA was interviewed for the story and said:

We’re finally at a point where we just have to acknowledge this is actually a problem, and it’s not one for lack of trying. It’s actually a public safety issue..

I don’t care if these guys have a nice lifestyle. But if you look at the research, it actually says if you reduce their stability you increase the risk of re-offense. I think we’ll start to see there really is that link. The way we find that out is through more victims.

A number of officials were interviewed for the story, including Senator George Runner and CDCR Undersecretary Scott Kernan.

On Thursday a new federal study was released and it noted that “3 out of every 25 youths in state and privately run juvenile correctional facilities have experienced at least one incident of sexual victimization.”

The study, which is the first of its kind, “brings attention to the need for more training and accountability for staff members at such facilities, said Linda McFarlane, deputy executive director of Just Detention International, a nonprofit human rights organization that works on preventing abuse in detention centers.”

The Associated Press reported yesterday that “more than three years after Congress ordered stepped-up monitoring of sex offenders, only one state has adopted the government’s strict new requirements, and some others are weighing whether to ignore the law and just pay a penalty.”

Ohio is the only state that’s adopted the federal standards. Implementation of the standards have been stalled due to high costs and legal challenges from registered sex offenders.

The initial deadline for states to comply was in July. Then the deadline was extended to July 2010, although several states have signaled they may still be unable to meet it. States that do not adopt the mandates risk losing millions of dollars in federal grants.

The law was designed to keep closer tabs on sex offenders, including an estimated 100,000 who are not living where they are supposed to be. It would create a national sex offender registry and toughen penalties for those who fail to register.

Last year, a federal judge in Nevada declared the law unconstitutional because it would subject offenders to additional penalties after they have served their time. The Ohio Supreme Court heard similar arguments this month from more than 26,000 sex offenders who were convicted before the law was signed.

Critics have also complained that juvenile offenders would appear on registries in some states. And because the law requires offenders to register in person, it could unfairly burden people in rural areas who would have far to travel.

Also, the California Sex Offender Management Board estimated that adopting the standards would cost the state $38 million.

Read the full story by clicking here.

Statement by Vice President Biden on the 10th Anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women

“Violence against women is found in every culture around the world. It is one of our most pervasive global problems, yet it is preventable.  When gang rape is a weapon of war, when women are beaten behind closed doors, or when young girls are trafficked in brothels and fields – we all suffer. This violence robs women and girls of their full potential, causes untold human suffering, and has great social and economic costs.  On this 10th anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, I urge all Americans to join with the international community in calling for an end to these abuses.”

Over 70 percent of SD sex offenders violate law

More than 70 percent of the registered sex offenders in San Diego County are violating a state law by living too close to schools or parks.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports Sunday that 1,266 out of 1,731 offenders’ addresses made public by the state are in violation of Jessica’s Law. The data was analyzed by the nonprofit group the Watchdog Institute. Jessica’s Law, which critics say is poorly worded, was approved by voters in 2006. It bars sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park.

Jessica’s Law too vague to enforce? — Watch Dog Institute

More than 70 percent of registered sex offenders in San Diego County are violating a state law by living too close to schools and parks.  Jessica’s Law, which was approved by California voters in November 2006, toughened sanctions against sex offenders and bars them from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park. In San Diego County, 1,266 of 1,731 offenders whose addresses are made public by the state live in those restricted zones, according to an analysis by the Watchdog Institute, a nonprofit investigative journalism unit based at San Diego State University.

Hard to track sex offenders as they harness tech gadgets

The pursuit of Lee Shelton began the moment the sex offender was released from prison.

It ended months later with a U.S. Marshals Service helicopter hovering near a D.C. junior high school as Shelton kissed a 14-year-old boy. In between, authorities used two global positioning system devices to track him, learned he was online at the library and seized a secret laptop with a power source in the trunk of his car. He is back in jail.

Sex offenders more difficult to monitor

It ended months later with a US Marshals Service helicopter hovering near a District of Columbia junior high school as Shelton kissed a 14-year-old boy. In between, authorities used two Global Positioning System devices to help track him, learned he was online at the library and seized a secret laptop with a power source in the trunk of his car. His parole was revoked, and he is back in jail.

Shelton, who was originally convicted of molesting boys at the National Air and Space Museum and on the grounds of the Washington Monument, is one of thousands of sex offenders accused of similar crimes after their release from prison or while on probation. His parole violation illustrates the challenges of monitoring hundreds of thousands of offenders.

Suzanne Brown-McBride is the Executive Director of CALCASA as well as the chair of California’s Sex Offender Management Board. Brown-McBride was recently interviewed for “Not in My Backyard,” a radio show, and discussed state policies governing sex offenders.

The documentary features interviews with parole agents, probation officers, a California Department of Corrections official and several homeless high-risk sex offender parolees. It explores the effects of Jessica’s Law and focused on two provisions — residency restrictions and GPS tracking of sex offender parolees.

According to the professionals who supervise and oversee the management of sex offenders, the stress caused by being homeless increases the risk that they’ll commit another crime.

Click here to listen to the full documentary.

Laura Strickler reported earlier this week about a city that has changed it’s rape kit testing policy in response to a CBS News investigation. The investigation “found 20,000 untested kits nationwide.”

The San Antonio Police Department “will now test all rape kits in stranger cases and will also go back and test all untested stranger rape kits in storage.”

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus, said:

We don’t want to let any case where someone is sexually assaulted fall through the cracks.

Chief McManus indicated that DNA profiles obtained from untested rape kits will be entered into the national FBI DNA database.

Continue reading here.

Governor to submit plan to reduce prison crowding

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tonight will give federal judges a road map to reducing state prison overcrowding that involves waiving some state laws so sentencing regulations can be changed and new private prisons built.

The Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act

The Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act was introduced last week. U.S. Senators Al Franken (D-Minn.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D-Ca.), and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) introduced the Justice for Survivors of Sexual Assault Act of 2009. The House companion bill will be introduced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.).

CBS News: Rape in America

Last night, on the CBS EVENING NEWS Armen Keteyian discussed the “results of a 5 month CBS News investigation into the astounding number of rapes in the United States that go unpunished or even investigated.”

Nearly 90,000 women reported they were raped in the “United States last year and it’s estimated another 75,000 rapes went unreported. However there were only about 22,000 rape arrests meaning there’s only a 25% arrest rate.”

Editorial: California parole officials should stop bureaucratic dance on

At a certain point, the bureaucratic response of public officials is simply not enough. Unless and until our government leaders own up to their mistakes and accept responsibility, they are destined to repeat them. Sometimes that’s just unacceptable.

Armen Keteyian reported earlier this week that “thousands of rape kits throughout the nation never make it to crime labs for testing. Even the kits which are sent to the labs can go untested for months or years.”

Watch the full segment here:

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Last night, on the CBS EVENING NEWS Armen Keteyian discussed the “results of a 5 month CBS News investigation into the astounding number of rapes in the United States that go unpunished or even investigated.”

Nearly 90,000 women reported they were raped in the “United States last year and it’s estimated another 75,000 rapes went unreported. However there were only about 22,000 rape arrests meaning there’s only a 25% arrest rate.”

You can view the segment here:

Watch CBS News Videos Online

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that state parole “agents fell down on the job again and again during the 10 years they supervised sex offender Phillip Craig Garrido.”

From 1999 until he was finally arrested in August, Garrido, 58, was supposed to be subject to regular visits and other checks by the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Parole authorities have always insisted they had no evidence Garrido ever violated the conditions placed on him by Nevada, where he was convicted of kidnapping and raping a woman in 1976.

Yesterday, the state Inspector General David Shaw issued a special report about the case. The report said “Garrido committed numerous parole violations and that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation failed to properly supervise Garrido and missed numerous opportunities to discover his victims.”

Download the full report by clicking here.

The Associated Press reported earlier this morning that the California Supreme Court is set to hear arguments challenging a key section of Jessica’s Law.

Jessica’s Law prohibits registered sex offenders from living within 2,000 feet of a school or park. The law mandates that all those paroled after Nov. 8, 2006 — when the law took effect — must comply or face more jail time.

The case to be heard Tuesday claims the requirement violates the constitutional rights of sex offenders. Four registered sex offenders have sued the state, arguing the law makes it impossible to find a place to live.

For more information read: California Supreme Court to Review Jessica’s Law

Crime Victims Bill Goes to Senate

Legislation introduced by Idaho Senator Mike Crapo and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) has cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee and is headed for the full Senate. The proposed legislation protects funds for programs that assist victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

House Passes Cruise Ship Safety Legislation

Last week, the House passed cruise safety legislation that would “oblige cruise ships that serve U.S. ports to publicly report shipboard crimes, employ U.S. doctors and install peepholes in cabin doors, among other requirements.”

Lawmaker resubmits bill requiring rape-kit reports

Earlier this week, Assemblyman Anthony Portantino reintroduced a bill that “would require police to document their progress in testing evidence from rapes, after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed similar legislation earlier this month.”

Grant documents deepen confusion over UC Davis sex assault statistics

Documents used to justify large grants from the federal government that support the violence prevention program at UC Davis raise additional questions about inconsistencies in the school’s reporting of crime statistics.

Five arrested in alleged gang rape; juveniles being charged as adults

Richmond, California (CNN) — Police investigating the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl have arrested five people, a police spokesman said Wednesday. Three juveniles and two adults are in custody in the rape on Saturday, said the Richmond police spokesman, Lt. Mark Gagan. The three juveniles will be charged as adults, he said.

Calif. lawmakers support Polanski extradition

LOS ANGELES – Fifteen California legislators have signed a letter supporting the extradition of Roman Polanski to Los Angeles to face his decades-old child sex conviction.

State Sen. Gloria Romero, a Los Angeles Democrat, recently wrote the letter to Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley saying the 76-year-old filmmaker should face his past and that “no one is above the law.”

Image from the NYTs

Solomon Moore, a journalist with the New York Times, wrote an article about monitoring paroled sex offenders in California. The piece also discussed the number of sex offenders on parole, the amount of resources spent monitoring sex offenders and legislation that will reduce caseloads for parole agents.

California is the only state that places all released prisoners on parole, no matter the seriousness of their crime. Even at a time of historically low violent crime, critics argue that overloading parole agents compromises public safety.

Legislation passed this month will reduce the “average” caseloads for parole agents to 45, from 70, and nonviolent, less serious offenders will no longer be returned to prison for administrative infractions like missing counseling appointments, ditching parole agent visits or failing drug tests. Agents handling some of the most violent offenders, like Mr. Littleton’s parolees, will also see their caseloads reduced.

Continue reading by clicking here.

Legislature sends CALCASA bills to the governor’s desk

The Legislature passed many of CALCASA’s priority support bills before the end-of-session deadline.

The following is a summary of CALCASA supported bills that have been chaptered. California Statutes are the Chaptered Bills. A bill is “chaptered” by the Secretary of State after it has passed through both houses of the Legislature and has been signed by the Governor.

Mental Health Courts: A Guide to Research-Informed Policy and Practice

from the Council of State Governments Justice Center

The Council of State Governments Justice Center released a new report called, Mental Health Courts: A Guide to Research-Informed Policy and Practice. This guide summarizes the research on mental health court design, function and efficacy.

Understanding National Rape Statistics

Understanding National Rape Statistics, by Dean Kilpatrick and Jenna McCauley (September 2009), is now available at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC).

Lifting Ban on Counseling for Prisoner Rape Survivors

from Just Detention International

Rape is devastating – no matter where the assault occurs. It is also a crime – regardless of whether the victim is detained or lives in the community. Survivors of such crimes need and deserve support services, such as crisis counseling. Unfortunately, in the U.S. today, countless prisoners who are sexually assaulted while incarcerated are excluded from these life-saving services. Why?

California Struggles With Paroled Sex Offenders

By SOLOMON MOORE

Darrell Littleton, a California parole agent, checks on “his guys,” parolees in the Escondido area.

One got drunk and exposed himself to a jogger in a public park. Another was a fire captain until he molested his 13-year-old stepdaughter, went to prison and lost his wife, his job and his home. Now the man sleeps behind a drive-through restaurant.

from Just Detention International

Rape is devastating – no matter where the assault occurs. It is also a crime – regardless of whether the victim is detained or lives in the community. Survivors of such crimes need and deserve support services, such as crisis counseling. Unfortunately, in the U.S. today, countless prisoners who are sexually assaulted while incarcerated are excluded from these life-saving services. Why?

A federal funding restriction prohibits the use of Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) money to assist rape survivors who are locked up.  Just Detention International (JDI) believes that this VOCA funding restriction must be lifted as a matter of urgency.   No one deserves to be raped. Instead of limiting services, the government should encourage community-based organizations, such a rape crisis centers, to support anyone who has been sexually assaulted, including people in detention.

Please read more in JDI’s new fact sheet: Prisoner rape survivors need crime victim assistance services.

The Best Question from the Last Two Weeks

The tragedy of the Jaycee Dugard case has (rightly) resulted in quite a bit of media attention and interest.  At this early stage, reliable facts are just starting to emerge – despite the volume of coverage and conversation.  The paucity of new information, however, hasn’t stopped more than a few media outlets from asking a whole host of questions that I suspect no one knows the answer to, such as

Why would someone do this?

I don’t think that the media poses these questions out of malice, or ill intent. I think that journalists are trying to respond to the intense public interest (and outrage) that a crime like this one could happen in one of our California communities. I also think that some of the relentlessness of the coverage is also the product of the 24-hour news cycle that demands new information on a constant basis.

Continue reading the article here.

California to Submit Population Management Plan that Prioritizes Public Safety and Relieves overcrowding

Last week, The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) announced it will “file a comprehensive plan with the federal three judge panel that reforms the prison system over several years and eventually could exceed the panel’s order to bring the operational capacity to 137.5 percent of combined design capacity of the state’s 33 prisons.”

California’s domestic violence shelters prepare for funding fight

By Sean Maher

California’s domestic violence shelters, hit with a huge budget loss when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cut all their state funding in July, pledged Tuesday to continue pressing for that money to be restored after a bill that would have done just that failed in the state Senate.

Six of the state’s 94 domestic violence shelters have closed since Schwarzenegger used a line-item veto July 28 to cut the $16.3 million California provided across the system, said Camille Hayes, a spokeswoman for The California Partnership to End Domestic Violence.

Opinion

What we can learn from the Dugard case

Sarah Tofte

…During the 18 years Jaycee was missing, in the aftermath of a series of horrendous crimes against children, California legislators and their counterparts across the nation addressed the problem of sexual violence primarily by establishing and expanding registration and community notification requirements for convicted sex offenders.

Courts, policymakers and the public operated on the assumption that sex-offender laws worked and were worth the money, even if they meant diverting resources from prevention efforts. Lawmakers have poured a tremendous amount of resources into these programs with strong public support.

by Michael Rushford

California has had no shortage of notorious criminals over the years. Often their crimes have exposed weaknesses in state and local law enforcement policy.

The Onion Field murder, which involved the 1963 kidnapping of two Los Angeles police officers and the killing of one, led to changes in police procedures during traffic stops. The slaughter of seven people in 1969 by followers of Charles Manson helped marshal public support for the death penalty and inspired reforms in legal procedures.

Sarah Tofte wrote an interesting article on the Jaycee Dugard case and discussed how “America’s sex offender registries hurt efforts to stop repeat sex crimes.”

Americans have been doing some soul-searching about our approach to monitoring convicted sex offenders since the recent discovery of Jaycee Lee Dugard. Dugard was kidnapped in California at age 11 and held captive for 18 years in Phillip Garrido’s garden. He managed to hide his secret prisoner from the police even though he was a convicted rapist and his name appeared on the public sex offender registry.

NAESV Policy Day

Last week, CALCASA staff members participated in a policy day hosted by the National Alliance to End Sexual Violence (NAESV).

CALCASA staff went to Capitol Hill and met with many California delegates and staff including…

Modesto Bee: “Chowchilla distinctive for sex assaults”

By Jonah Owen Lamb

One of the nation’s largest prisons for women, the Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla, is among the worst prisons in America for sexual assaults. The portrayal came from a survey of 10 percent of the country’s prisons.

The survey found that more than 10 percent of the Chow- chilla prison’s 2,867 inmates reported some sort of sexual victimization. No other California prison surveyed matched those numbers, according to the survey.

High court won’t extend California prison deadline

from the Associated Press

The Supreme Court on Friday turned down California’s request to delay a federal court order related to state prison overcrowding.

The justices refused to extend a deadline beyond Sept. 18 for telling a special three-judge panel how California will reduce its inmate population by 40,000, roughly a quarter, over two years.

The judges called for the reduction so the state can improve medical and mental health care for inmates in its 33 adult prisons. The federal courts have found the care so poor that it violates inmates’ constitutional rights.

Judge sets $30 million bail for Phillip Garrido

By Sam Stanton and Denny Walsh

Phillip Garrido was ordered held on $30 million bail today by an El Dorado County judge who said Garrido posed too great a flight risk and was a danger to the community.

The ruling came at a bail hearing for Garrido and his wife, Nancy Garrido, who are accused in the 1991 abduction of 11-year-old Jaycee Lee Dugard. Nancy Garrido was ordered held without bail.

Week of August 31st

California State Assembly Votes to let Sex Offender Management Board Continue

SB 588, one of CALCASA’s sponsored bills passed the California State Assembly today. The final vote was 65-0.

This bill eliminates the sunset date on California’s Sex Offender Management Board, which would otherwise disappear beginning December 31st this year. The passage of this bill will ensure that this vital board of experts addressing sex offender policy on a statewide basis will be able to do so on an ongoing basis.

The final word on this bill lies with Governor Schwarzenegger, when he chooses to sign or veto the bill. The bill has already received strong support from the administration, so this is a very good sign.

The California Report: “Governing Sex Offenders”

Suzanne Brown-McBride is the Executive Director of CALCASA as well as the chair of California’s Sex Offender Management Board. Brown-McBride was recently interviewed for a story about Jaycee Lee Dugard and discussed state policies governing sex offenders.

Listen to the interview here:

WSJ: “Sex-Registry Flaws Stand Out”

In a recent article, the Wall Street Journal discussed the California Sex Offender Management Board and the Jaycee Dugard case.

The article also discussed the number of sex offenders on parole in California, the state’s sex-offender registry, risk classification, and the amount of resources spent monitoring sex offenders.

Friday Legislative Update: Week of August 31st

Below is a summary of what happened this week with bills that CALCASA is tracking through the state legislature. The list includes bills that CALCASA is sponsoring, supporting and watching. We included links to each bill, so that you can read the text. All bills over $150,000 are sent to suspense and reconsidered later in the legislative session

Another view: What we did wrong, and right

By Suzanne Brown-McBride

Over the past 18 years, Jaycee Dugard suffered through an unimaginable ordeal, the details of which are just starting to become clear. While specific missteps or missed opportunities to intervene earlier and more effectively might be identified over time, one significant public safety problem is already clear:

Phillip Garrido was able to offend, largely unnoticed, due to a fractured approach to sex offender management. This approach didn’t include active communication and collaboration among law enforcement and public safety agencies, clinical offender management resources and community members.

In a recent article, the Wall Street Journal discussed the California Sex Offender Management Board and the Jaycee Dugard case.

The article also discussed the number of sex offenders on parole in California, the state’s sex-offender registry, risk classification, and the amount of resources spent monitoring sex offenders.

Janet Neeley, a deputy California attorney general and member of the state’s sex offender board said:

There are now so many people on the registry it’s difficult for law enforcement to effectively track them all, and “it’s more helpful for law enforcement to know…who the highest-risk offenders are,” said Neeley.

…California has been trying to sharpen its focus, but federal and state laws passed in 2006 offer conflicting rules for monitoring sex offenders, Ms. Neeley said.

Under its law, California has chosen to use a program called Static 99, which categorizes sex offenders based on their likelihood to reoffend. To predict risk, it looks at things like the nature of the crime, the offender’s relationship with the victim and whether the offender has been able to form long-term intimate relationships. But the system hasn’t been introduced by most local jurisdictions for those convicted before 2007. Click here to read the full story.

Bipartisan Leaders Discuss Cutting-Edge Criminal Justice Policies

A group of state and local leaders from across the nation including respected state lawmakers and gubernatorial appointees who direct large state agencies, state supreme court chief justices and other court officials, and law enforcement executives and prosecutors met in Burlington, Vt., this week to discuss critical criminal justice policies.

Among the leaders, was CALCASA’s Executive Director Suzanne Brown-McBride, who serves on the center’s board of directors. The group gathered to determine the best ways to advance the latest thinking and evidence-based practices on issues such as corrections spending, recidivism, services and supports for survivors of crime, response to children of incarcerated parents and other at-risk juveniles, and the intersection of the criminal justice and mental health systems.

“CALCASA has come to be known as for our support of data-driven policies to make a true impact on communities,” said Brown-McBride. “We want to invest in effective public safety solutions that have an evidence base.”

The board of directors charted the Justice Center’s course for the coming year. The group examined options for keeping pace with the demand for its technical assistance, research, and policy guidance in such areas as prisoner reentry, Project Safe Neighborhoods, justice reinvestment, and criminal justice/mental health collaborations.

The Council of State Governments Justice Center is a national nonprofit organization that serves policymakers at the local, state, and federal levels from all branches of government. It provides practical, nonpartisan advice and consensus-driven strategies—informed by available evidence—to increase public safety and strengthen communities.

CALCASA is a statewide organization in California working to end sexual violence. CALCASA’s membership is the eighty-five rape crisis programs throughout California, Campus-based rape prevention programs, and allied organizations and individuals sharing the mission to end sexual violence.

Earlier this week, the Huffington Post, posted a story about rape victims who have been required to pay for evidence collection.

When a woman is raped, police turn to scientific evidence-semen, blood and tissue samples-to identify her attacker. The evidence is collected through a medical exam of the victim, who is not supposed to pay for this crime-solving process.

But 15 years after Congress passed a law to ensure that rape victims would never see a bill, loopholes and bureaucratic tangles still leave some victims paying for hospital expenses and exams, which can cost up to $1,200.

Click here to read the full article.

from The International Cruise Victims Association, Inc. (ICV)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The International Cruise Victims Association, Inc. (ICV), a non-profit corporation formed by victims and families of victims of cruise crimes, applauded Congressional action to move the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2009 through Committee and for Congressional consideration. The pending legislation passed the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation unanimously last week, S.B. 588, and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is expected to begin mark-up of H.R. 1485 in the coming weeks.

Volunteer members of the ICV have long lobbied for legislation to be put in place to protect cruise ship passengers. The legislation they have been instrumental in crafting will require that that all crimes that occur aboard cruise ships be reported to the Coast Guard and Federal Bureau of Investigations. Currently, cruise ships operating under foreign flags of convenience are not required under U.S. law to report crimes occurring outside of U.S. territorial waters.

“The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2009 is moving forward so quickly because of the tireless efforts of Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) and Senator John Kerry (D-MA), who each had constituents come to them for help,” said ICV President Ken Carver, whose own daughter went missing on a cruise ship in 2004. “Every day that goes by without these necessary protections in place, Americans are unknowingly putting themselves at risk – which is why it is absolutely imperative that The Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act of 2009 is signed-into law as quickly as possible.”

As this crucial legislation moves forward, it serves as a sign to many amongst the ICV’s community of followers that progress is being made towards ensuring the safety of Americans abroad. The measure approved by the Senate Commerce Committee is the first of its kind; a major victory in the fight for cruise passengers’ rights. The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is expected to take up debate on the companion bill in the near future.

Carver expressed his hopeful outlook as the legislation moves forward and urged Congress to act swiftly: “Final passage of this bill would be proof to the world that our small group of volunteers with limited funds has been able to make a difference in the safety of Americans,” he said. “When the Cruise Safety bill is signed into law, it will serve to protect Americans across the nation during what ought to be relaxing vacations.”

“We learned during Congressional hearings that there has not been a conviction of an accused rape in recent history,” said Congresswoman Matsui. “With continued news coverage of recent rapes on cruise ships, it is clear that legislation is both urgent and necessary. I applaud Senator Kerry and the Senate Committee for making the safety of Americans a priority, and look forward to making significant progress moving this legislation forward in the coming weeks in the House of Representatives.”

“The term ‘duty free’ does not apply to the safety of passengers,” said Senator Kerry. “Murky lines of jurisdiction are no longer an excuse for risking the safety of millions of Americans who will board cruise ships this year. Security, safety, and accountability must all be strengthened to hold criminals accountable and end the cycle of serious crimes on these vessels. I thank Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) for giving this issue the timely attention it deserves and call on my colleagues to quickly move this legislation to the Senate floor.”

ICV will continue to work with Members of Congress in both chambers, on both sides of the aisle, to ensure that this legislation is passed in a timely fashion with the support it deserves.

For more information about the International Crime Victims Association, please visit The International Cruise Victims Association, Inc.

Recently, an Ohio appellate court found Ohio’s Adam Walsh Act (AWA) to be unconstitutional. Three opinions were issued by the court’s three-judge panel.  The majority opinion found the law was in violation of the separation of powers doctrine. The case is State v. Spangler, 2009-Ohio-3178, and the opinion can be found online by clicking here.

In a recent article, Caroline Johnston-Polisi examined how spousal rape laws have changed in the United States. She pointed out that “the ‘marital rape exemption’ still exists in many states’ laws, even though all 50 states now criminalize spousal rape. Plea bargains can also lead to more lenient sentencing.”

Click here to read the full article.

The California Coalition Against Sexual Assault applauds the release of the first-ever binding national standards aimed at preventing and addressing sexual abuse in U.S. corrections facilities. Developed by the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission, in close collaboration with Just Detention International, these standards represent a milestone in the effort to end sexual violence in detention. Attorney General Eric Holder now has one year to encode the standards as part of federal regulations.

CALCASA is a signatory of the “Call for Change,” sponsored by Just Detention International.

You can download the report by clicking here.

Additional Information

The National Rape Commission was created by the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 and charged with developing standards to eliminate sexual abuse in correctional and detention facilities.  The Commission has developed standards to build leadership, protect vulnerable populations, encourage reporting, improve investigations, provide treatment for victims, strengthen oversight and hold perpetrators accountable. The Commission engaged in a rigorous information gathering process that included testimony from eight public hearings, input and feedback from experts on the subject areas where standards were developed, site visits, organizational roundtables and two periods of public comment while the standards were in draft form.  As required by the statute, the Commission will sunset sixty days after the release of the report and standards.

Yesterday, the LA Times reported that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has suspended its effort to analyze DNA evidence from thousands of rape and sexual assault cases.

The department halted shipments of the genetic evidence to private crime laboratories at the end of May after funds allotted for the testing ran dry, according to a report submitted by Sheriff Lee Baca to the county Board of Supervisors late last week.

Sheriff’s Department officials said they expected to receive federal grant money next month, and more funds in the fall, that would allow them to continue testing for four or five months. After that, however, the department will have to rely on an uncertain stream of state funding, officials said.

In late April, CALCASA’s Executive Director, Suzanne Brown-McBride, testified in support of AB 1017 (Portantino): Sexual assault Crimes. This bill relates to the Sexual Assault Victims’ DNA Bill of Rights and has several important provisions that will help victims of sexual assault.

First, this bill would require law enforcement agencies to inform victims if their DNA rape kit evidence is not analyzed within a specified amount of time; second, the bill would require each law enforcement agency responsible for processing rape kit evidence to annually report to the Department of Justice the total number of rape kits in its possession that it has not tested or analyzed.

AB 1017 is scheduled to be hear in Senate Public Safety in late June.

Click here to read the full article.

Earlier this week, CNN reported on the high rates of sexual assault on cruise ships and the difficulty in reporting and prosecuting sex crimes.

The story also discussed the introduction of the “2009 Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act, which requires the cruise industry to publicly report crimes and improve safety on board. It mandates peepholes and security latches in cabins. This week, several victims of cruise crimes will meet with senators to discuss the issue.”

In addition, Laurie Dishman was featured in the story. Dishman, is a member of the CALCASA Speaker’s Bureau, was a keynote speaker at Denim Day ‘07, and has been advocating to change cruise industry policies.

Laurie Dishman, 38, testified before Congress that she was raped aboard a Royal Caribbean ship three years ago. She said cruise staff instructed her to gather evidence, so she and a friend went to the cabin where the assault occurred and piled her clothes and bed sheets into plastic bags they were given.

“We didn’t know what we were doing,” says Dishman. She said she was later told by authorities there wasn’t enough evidence to prosecute a criminal case. “It makes me frustrated looking back that the cruise lines didn’t handle evidence properly.”

In early 2008, Dishman’s suit against Royal Caribbean was settled.

Click here to read the article.

Geography and Public Safety’s latest issue focuses on “how mapping and spatial analysis can help jurisdictions understand the effects of restrictions on where sex offenders are allowed to live. Specifically, it discusses how residency restrictions affect recidivism — whether they hamper offenders’ reentry process and make it less likely that they will get treatment and services.”

Other articles in the issue include a “discussion of whether residency restrictions are a good idea, a study of residency restrictions in Minnesota, a report on the use of GPS monitoring for sex offenders in Florida, and a description of a spatial analysis technique for tracking sex offenders piloted by California Department of Corrections data.”

Click here to download the report.

Richard DeAtley reported over the weekend that “a key 2006 Jessica’s Law section allowing open-ended state me