Administration of Justice update 9/2/14
Restitution: Collection of Fines and Fees
SB 419 (Block) – Support
As Amended August 22, 2014
CSAC supports SB 419, by Senator Marty Block, which would clarify the authority of local agencies to collect restitution fines from specified criminal justice populations and make these fines enforceable by the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board. The bill is sponsored by the Chief Probation Officers of California.
Specifically, SB 419 would amend Penal Code Sections 1214 and 2085.5 to make it clear that local collection programs and agencies designated by a county board of supervisors have the ability to collect restitution from inmates that have either: completed their sentence in county jail; have been sentenced to post-release community supervision; or have been sentenced to mandatory supervision. The bill also clarifies that restitution orders for these populations are fully enforceable by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board.
SB 419 is needed to ensure that local entities tasked with the collection of restitution from county jail inmates who previously would have served a prison term prior to Realignment, as well as those in the community on mandatory or post-release community supervision have the clear authority to carry out the duties assigned to them. Amendments taken late in August provide further clarification necessary to improve restitution recovery at the local level.
The bill passed both houses of the Legislature and awaits the Governor’s action.
Social Innovation Bonds
AB 1837 (Atkins) – Request for Comment
As amended August 21, 2014
AB 1837, by Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, would establish a framework for the issuance of up to $5 million in social innovation or pay-for-success bonds. An appropriation of the same amount included in the 2014-15 budget (see discussion of AB 1476 and SB 875 in the trailer bill section below) – part of the Recidivism Reduction Fund expenditures – is contingent upon authorizing legislation. This measure would serve as that authorizing vehicle.
The measure would dedicate grant funds, as specified, to social innovation financing contracts, which are agreements among government, private investors, and service providers under which the investors provide financing to service providers based on agreed-upon outcomes. In return, the governmental entity agrees to pay a return on the investment if the service provider achieves a successful programmatic outcome. (For more on this emergent contracting model, visit this page for Harvard Kennedy School’s Social Impact Bond Technical Assistance Lab.)
AB 1837 expresses legislative intent that this grant program, with the support of available philanthropic and private investment, would be dedicated to a variety of approaches shown to be successful in reducing recidivism – including strategies to address homelessness, substance use disorder treatment, and unemployment.
The measure would establish the Social Innovation Financing Program, with specifications regarding required elements of grant applications. The Board of State and Community Corrections, the administering entity of the program, would solicit applications from interested county boards of supervisors. Three counties would be selected to receive grants of between $500,000 and $2 million (for a total not to exceed $5 million) to enter into contracts with interested investors. AB 1837 also identifies required elements of grant applications as well as expectations regarding performance targets. Successful county applicants would be permitted to use up to 10 percent of the award grant to develop the pay for success financing contract. The provisions of the measure would sunset in 2020.
The bill passed both houses of the Legislature and awaits the Governor’s action.
2014-15 Budget Trailer Bills
Counties should be aware that several budget trailer bills were acted on by the Legislature in the closing days of session to clarify and correct certain provisions of the 2014-15 budget. A few with provisions relevant to public safety / justice budget items are highlighted below; all of these measures passed both houses and will be acted on by the Governor by the end of the month:
AB 1476 (Assembly Budget Committee) – Changes to 2014-15 Budget Act
AB 1476 makes a variety of changes to the 2014-15 Budget Act (SB 852), including the following adjustments or corrections to justice-related budget items of interest.
- Deletes from the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) a $5 million appropriation associated with social innovation bonds. (This item is restored and redirected to the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) in SB 875.)
- Clarifies that the $11.3 million appropriated to the BSCC is to be directed to probation departments for express purpose of addressing the limited-term increase in post-release community supervision population resulting from the increased credit earning required in the February 2014 three-judge panel order.
- Appropriates $27 million from the Judicial Branch’s Immediate and Critical Needs Account for preliminary plans and working drawings for the New Sacramento Court House.
SB 875 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee) – Public Safety Trailer Bill Clean-up
- Appropriates $5 million to the BSCC for the social innovation financing program (redirected from OPR, as noted above). As detailed in last week’s Bulletin, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins’ measure, AB 1837, is the accompanying legislative vehicle to establish the social innovation program.
- Makes technical changes to parole hearing notification process (by authorizing regular rather than certified mail notification in certain instances)
SB 877 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee) – Jail Construction Bond Clean-Up
- Eliminates duplicative language authorizing an additional $500 million in state lease-revenue bond capacity for local jail rehabilitative facilities. SB 863 remains the stand-alone measure that codifies these provisions. (SB 877 strips unnecessary and repetitive language from AB 1468, the previously enacted public safety trailer bill.)
Split Sentencing
Judicial Council Releases Draft Rule of Court on Presumption – Comments Due September 19
The Judicial Council’s Criminal Law Advisory Committee has released proposed amendments to rules 4.411 and 4.411.5 of the California Rules of Court and adoption of a new rule to govern the imposition of mandatory supervision under Penal Code section 1170(h)(5). The new and revised rules of court were necessitated by from the enactment of a presumption of a split sentence included in this year’s public safety trailer bill (AB 1468). The advisory committee proposal includes criteria for court consideration and contents and requirements for related probation reports. The rules must be adopted by January 1, 2015; deadline for comments is 5:00 p.m., Friday, September 19, 2014. See the memo for additional details on the proposal; instructions on how to submit comments can be found here. CSAC strongly encourages counties and other interested parties to provide input on this important rule.