Administration of Justice 08/23/2013
Judgment Interest Rate
AB 748 (Eggman) – Support
As amended August 20, 2013
AB 748, by Assembly Member Susan Talamantes Eggman, would amend the current calculation of the judicial interest rate charged to public entities. The measure passed the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 19 and now awaits action by the full Senate. SB 748 is sponsored by the Urban Counties Caucus, with CSAC, a number of individual counties, and a range of other public entity advocacy groups supporting.
As counties are aware, under current law, the interest rate for judgments against public entities is 7 percent. By way of comparison, the interest rate on federal judgments is indexed to a Treasury yield, which currently sits at less than 1 percent. At a time of historically low interest rates, we believe it is appropriate to revise the mechanism by which judgment interest rates are calculated.
As now drafted, AB 748 would specify that for any tax or fee claim that results in a judgment against a public entity, the judicial interest rate would be set at the weekly average one-year constant maturity U.S. Treasury yield. The bill has been clarified to ensure that in no case would the calculation exceed the existing rate of 7 percent annually.
CSAC believe this measure is appropriate and fair, as it merely
seeks to modernize the interest rate calculation to reflect
current market conditions. The change comes at no cost to the
taxpayer and, importantly, would free up resources for the public
benefit. It is our understanding that for counties alone,
interest payments associated with tax and inverse condemnation
claims over the last three years exceed $14 million. The state
would certainly benefit from this modest and, in our view,
reasonable adjustment as well.
Electronic Filing of Statements of Economic Interest
AB 409 (Quirk-Silva) – Watch
As amended August 13, 2013
AB 409, by Assembly Member Sharon Quirk-Silva, would enact a framework to permit the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) to establish an online filing system for statements of economic interest. The measure does not specify a timeframe for implementation, but does require the FPPC to conduct public hearings and solicit input about the implementation of the online system. AB 409 is an urgency measure.
Additional substantive amendments are expected for the bill based on the input of county clerks and elections officials. These amendments are intended to ensure that implementation of a statewide online filing system contemplates necessary and ongoing coordination and communication with local filing officers. The proposed amendments offered by counties would clarify roles and responsibilities to ensure a smooth and orderly transition to an online filing system.
AB 409 passed the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee this week and moves now to the Senate Appropriations Committee. Counties with an interest in this measure are encouraged to review the revisions to the bill as soon as they are in print.
Realignment Resources
Pre-Trial Services
In late July, the Joint Training Partnership – a collaboration of CSAC, the California State Sheriffs’ Association, and the Chief Probation Officers of California – sponsored a Pre-Trial Executive Session. A description of the three-day course, course materials, and other resources are now available online.
Jails and Health Information Technology
Community Oriented Correctional Health Services (COCHS) has recently published an issue paper about the integration of health information technology and jails. In this paper, COCHS identifies an underlying connectivity framework of three macro systems that collect and communicate health care data about detainees: jail management systems, jail health systems, and community health systems. Five case studies are presented, providing examples of how different jurisdictions have implemented or are attempting to implement various parts of this connectivity framework. It is intended that jurisdictions can learn from these case studies and use them as templates for their own connectivity efforts.
International Community Corrections Association Conference
The International Community Corrections Association’s (ICCA) Conference is planned for Reno, Nevada in September. The conference focuses on how to build more effective and cohesive systems through two tracks – public policy and operational policy. This conference will provide opportunities for learning more about the research of evidence-based practice and how to apply it in criminal justice systems bringing various stakeholders to a shared vision. California Forward’s Partnership for Community Excellence is helping sponsor the conference.
Conference highlights include the following:
- Evidence Based Decision Making Panel: “Criminal Justice System Collaboration and Decision Making - National Institute of Corrections
- A Review of the Evidence to Inform Custody Decisions both at the Pretrial and Post Adjudication Stages, Meghan Guevara and Renee Gobeil
- A Compilation of Research Conducted for State and Local Criminal Justice Policy Makers, Steve Aos, Washington State Institute for Public Policy
- Health Insurance Enrollment Assistance: Opportunities for Community Corrections, Captain Jon Perez, the Regional Administrator for SAMHSA for Region 9
To supplement the NIC plenary session and preconference workshop, the Partnership will be sponsoring a workshop on Tuesday, September 10 entitled Making System Collaboration Work. That workshop will include a presentation by retired Placer Court Judge Richard Couzens regarding the key collaborations required to build an effective criminal justice system. Interdisciplinary discussions will focus on eliciting strategies to improve collaboration.
Counties are encouraged to review program information and registration details here.