(1) Existing law, the Trial Jury Selection and Management Act, generally governs the selection of juries in criminal and civil cases. Under existing law, a criminal defendant is generally entitled to exercise 10 peremptory challenges during the jury selection process. When 2 or more defendants are jointly tried, existing law requires these challenges to be exercised jointly, but grants each defendant an additional 5 challenges to be exercised separately. If the offense for which a defendant is being tried is punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of 90 days or less, existing law entitles the defendant to 6 peremptory challenges and grants each jointly tried defendant 4 additional challenges to be exercised separately.
This bill would instead, commencing January 1, 2017, and until January 1, 2021,
grant a defendant 6 peremptory challenges in a criminal case if the offense charged is punishable with a maximum term of imprisonment of one year or less, and would reduce the number of peremptory challenges that may be exercised separately by a defendant who is jointly tried from 4 to 2 in cases in which the maximum term of imprisonment is one year or less. The bill would require the Judicial Council to conduct a study and, on or before January 1, 2020, submit a report to the Legislature on that reduction in the number of peremptory challenges, as specified.
(2) Existing law establishes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, which consists of, among other divisions, the Board of Parole Hearings. The Board of Parole Hearings is comprised of 17 commissioners, appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate, for 3-year terms. Of those 17 commissioners, existing law requires 5 to be appointed and
trained to hear only juvenile matters. Within 60 days of appointment and annually thereafter, existing law requires the commissioners and deputy commissioners to undergo a minimum of 40 hours of training in specified areas, including treatment and training programs provided to wards. Existing law requires the board to, among other things, conduct parole consideration hearings, parole rescission hearings, and parole progress hearings for adults and juveniles under the jurisdiction of the department and discharges of commitment, orders for discharge from the jurisdiction of the Division of Juvenile Facilities to the jurisdiction of the committing court, and disciplinary appeals with respect to wards in the custody of the Division of Juvenile Facilities in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
This bill would establish the Board of Juvenile Hearings to assume the powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Board of Parole Hearings as it relates to hearings
by the Board of Parole Hearings on juvenile matters and would also require the Board of Juvenile Hearings to conduct initial case reviews and annual reviews. The Board of Juvenile Hearings would be comprised of 3 commissioners, appointed by the Governor, subject to Senate confirmation, for 5-year terms. The bill would require the Governor to periodically designate the chair of the Board of Juvenile Hearings. The bill would authorize the Governor to appoint an executive officer of the board, subject to Senate confirmation, who would hold office at the pleasure of the Governor and would require the executive officer to exercise all duties and functions necessary to ensure that the responsibilities of the Board of Juvenile Hearings are successfully discharged. The bill would authorize the Governor to remove any member of the Board of Juvenile Hearings for misconduct, incompetency, or neglect of duty after a full hearing by the Board of State and Community Corrections.
The bill would authorize the Board of Juvenile Hearings to utilize board representatives to whom it may assign appropriate duties, including hearing cases and making decisions, as specified. The bill would require commissioners and board representatives to undergo, within 60 days of appointment and annually thereafter, a minimum of 40 hours of training, as described above, and would also require training in the areas of adolescent brain development, the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy, and evidence-based treatment and recidivism-reduction models.
The bill would delete references to the Juvenile Parole Board and would refer instead to the Board of Juvenile Hearings. The bill would delete other obsolete provisions and make other conforming changes to implement the creation of the Board of Juvenile Hearings.
(3) Existing law requires the
Judicial Council to adopt a budget and allocate funding for the trial courts. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to set aside 2% of specified funds appropriated in the annual Budget Act and requires the funds to remain in the Trial Court Trust Fund to be allocated by the Judicial Council to trial courts for unforeseen emergencies, unanticipated expenses, or unavoidable funding shortfalls.
This bill would instead require the Judicial Council to hold a reserve of $10,000,000 in the Trial Court Trust Fund to be available to trial courts for emergencies. The bill would require any funding allocated to be replenished on an annual basis from the trial court base allocations. The bill would require the Judicial Council to establish a process for trial courts to apply for emergency funding.
(4) Existing law, the Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Act, requires legal counsel to be
appointed to represent low-income parties in civil matters involving critical issues affecting basic human needs in those courts selected by the Judicial Council, as specified. Existing law, subject to funding specifically provided for this purpose, requires the Judicial Council to develop one or more model pilot projects in selected courts to provide that representation of counsel in civil matters, as specified.
Existing law provides for the assessment of various fees and fines, including, among others, sanctions for violation of a court order. Existing law requires the superior court to deposit the fees and fines in a bank account with the Administrative Office of the Courts and specifies how those moneys are to be distributed, including, until January 1, 2017, to the Trial Court Trust Fund to be used by the Judicial Council to implement and administer the civil representation pilot program described above.
This bill would repeal the date restriction on this distribution, thereby extending that provision indefinitely.
(5) Existing law, until July 1, 2017, sets the fees at $25 or $30 for various court services, including, but not limited to, issuing a writ for the enforcement of an order or judgment and filing an application for renewal of judgment, respectively. Existing law requires, only through June 30, 2017, the Judicial Council to use $10 of each fee collected for those services for the expenses of the Judicial Council in implementing and administering the civil representation pilot program described above. Existing law, commencing July 1, 2017, reduces each of the above fees by $10.
This bill would require that the above fees remain set at $25 and $30, respectively. The bill would instead require the Judicial Council
to use an amount equivalent to $10 of each fee for expenses in administering the civil representation pilot program. The bill would make related findings and declarations.
This bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive changes.
(6) Existing law requires specified sports organizations, among other entities, to register with the Department of Justice prior to conducting a raffle. Existing law authorizes the department to require an annual registration fee to cover the reasonable costs of this registration, which is deposited by the department into the General Fund.
This bill would create the Major League Sporting Event Raffle Fund, and deposit the registration fees into that fund instead of the General Fund. The bill would, under specified conditions, authorize a loan of $1,005,000 from the
General Fund to the Major League Sporting Event Raffle Fund for use by the department for specified enforcement activities.
(7) Existing law authorizes a county to establish a pretrial diversion program for defendants who have been charged with a misdemeanor offense and authorizes other diversion programs, including for defendants with cognitive developmental disabilities, defendants in nonviolent drug cases, and traffic violations.
This bill would establish the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) pilot program, to be administered by the Board of State and Community Corrections, to improve public safety and reduce recidivism by increasing the availability and use of social service resources while reducing costs to law enforcement agencies and courts stemming from repeated incarceration. The bill would require the board to award grants, on a competitive
basis, to up to 3 jurisdictions to establish LEAD programs and would require the board to establish minimum standards, funding schedules, and procedures for awarding grants. The bill would establish requirements for referral of people who may be arrested for, or who have a history of, low-level drug offenses or prostitution, as defined, to social services in lieu of prosecution. The bill would require the board to contract with a nonprofit research entity, university, or college to evaluate the effectiveness of the LEAD program and submit a report of the findings to the Governor and the Legislature by January 1, 2020. The bill would appropriate $15,000,000 from the General Fund for the LEAD pilot program and would authorize the board to spend up to $550,000 of that amount for the contracts to evaluate the effectiveness of the LEAD program and to contract with experts in the implementation of LEAD in other jurisdictions, as specified.
(8) Existing law establishes the Division of Health Care Operations and the Division of Health Care Policy and Administration within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation under the Undersecretary of Health Care Services. Existing law requires these divisions to be headed by a director, who shall be appointed by the Governor. Existing law requires the department to expand substance abuse treatment services in prisons to accommodate at least 4,000 additional inmates who have histories of substance abuse.
This bill would require the department to establish a 3-year pilot program to provide a medically assisted substance use disorder treatment model for the treatment of inmates, as specified. The bill would require the department to submit reports to the fiscal and appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, including specified information regarding the pilot program.
(9) Existing law allows the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to enter into an agreement with a city, county, or city and county, to permit transfer of prisoners in the custody of the secretary to a jail or other adult correctional facility. Under existing law, prisoners transferred to a local facility remain under the legal custody of the department. Existing law, until January 1, 2017, allows a transfer of prisoners to include inmates who have been sentenced to the department but remain housed in a county jail, and specifies that these prisoners shall be under the sole legal custody and jurisdiction of the sheriff or other official having jurisdiction over the facility and not under the legal custody and jurisdiction of the department. Existing law, until January 1, 2017, for purposes of entering into agreements pursuant to the above provisions, waives any process, regulation, or requirement relating to entering into
those agreements.
This bill would extend those provisions until January 1, 2020.
(10) Existing law, until January 1, 2017, allows the secretary to enter into one or more agreements in the form of a lease or operating agreement with private entities to obtain secure housing capacity in the state or in another state, upon terms and conditions deemed necessary and appropriate to the secretary. Existing law, until January 1, 2017, waives any process, regulation, or requirement that relates to the procurement or implementation of those agreements, except as specified. Existing law, until January 1, 2017, makes the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act inapplicable to these provisions.
This bill would extend those provisions until January 1, 2020.
(11) Existing law establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections to, among other things, administer the Second Chance Program to invest in community-based programs, services, and initiatives for formerly incarcerated individuals in need of mental health and substance use treatment services. Existing law prohibits specified officials from being financially interested in any contract made by them in their official capacity. Existing law states that members of a committee created by the Board of State and Community Corrections have no financial interest in any contract made by the board, as specified, based upon the receipt of compensation for holding public office or public employment. Existing federal law, the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, provides federal criminal justice funding to state and local entities.
This bill would instead provide that,
for the purpose of the prohibition on officials being financially interested in any contract made by them in their official capacity, members of a committee created by the board pursuant to the Second Chance Program or the federal Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program have no financial interest in any contract made by the board, as specified, based upon the receipt of compensation for holding public office or public employment.
(12) Existing law establishes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to oversee the state prison system.
This bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require the department to award funding for a grant program to not-for-profit organizations to replicate their programs at institutions that are underserved by volunteer and not-for-profit organizations, as specified. The bill would require grant
funding be provided to programs that have demonstrated success and focus on offender responsibility and restorative justice principles. The bill would require these programs to demonstrate that they will become self-sufficient or will be funded in the long term by donations or another source of ongoing funding.
(13) Existing law, until January 1, 2017, allows the secretary to enter into agreements for the transfer of prisoners to, or placement of prisoners in, community correctional centers and to enter into contracts to provide housing, sustenance, and supervision for inmates placed in community correctional centers. Existing law, until January 1, 2017, waives any process, regulation, or requirement that relates to entering into those agreements.
This bill would extend those provisions until January 1, 2020.
(14) Existing law allows any court or other agency or officer of this state having power to commit or transfer an inmate to any institution for confinement to commit or transfer that inmate to any institution outside this state if this state has entered into a contract or contracts for the confinement of inmates in that institution and the inmate, if he or she was sentenced under California law and has executed written consent to the transfer, except that existing law, until January 1, 2017, allows the secretary to transfer the inmate to a facility in another state without the consent of the inmate.
This bill would extend the authority of the secretary to transfer an inmate to a facility in another state without the consent of the inmate until January 1, 2020.
(15) Existing law prohibits the
transfer of an inmate to a community correctional reentry facility unless certain conditions have been met, including that the inmate has less than 120 days left to serve in a correctional facility.
This bill would instead condition the transfer of an inmate to a community correctional reentry facility on the inmate having less than one year left to serve in a correctional facility.
(16) Existing law requires the department to work with the appropriate budget and policy committees of the Legislature and the Legislative Analyst’s Office to establish appropriate oversight, evaluation, and accountability measures to be adopted as part of its “future of corrections plan.” Existing law requires the plan to include periodic review by the Department of Finance’s Office of State Audits and Evaluations.
This bill would repeal those provisions.
(17) Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop policies, as specified, related to the department’s contraband interdiction efforts for individuals entering the department’s detention facilities. Existing law requires the department to conduct an evaluation of the policy within 2 years of its implementation. Existing law requires this evaluation to include, among other information, the amount of contraband found in the prisons and the number of staff assaults that occurred in the prisons where the policy was implemented.
This bill would require that the evaluation additionally include the rates of drug use by inmates in the prisons where the policy was implemented. The bill would also require the department to provide an interim report
detailing its evaluation of the policy to the Legislature by June 30, 2016, and a final report to the Legislature on April 30, 2017, as specified.
(18) Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, when amending regulations impacting visitation of inmates, to recognize and consider, among other things, the value of visiting as a means to improve the safety of prisons for both staff and inmates.
This bill would provide that inmates are not prohibited from family visits based solely on the fact that the inmate was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole or was sentenced to life and is without a parole date established by the Board of Parole Hearings.
(19) Existing law establishes the Commission on Correctional Peace Officer Standards and
Training within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and requires the commission to develop standards for the selection and training of state correctional peace officer apprentices.
This bill would require the commission, when developing, approving, and monitoring the standards for the training of state correctional peace officer apprentices, to consider including additional training in the areas of mental health and rehabilitation, as well as coursework on the theory and history of corrections.
(20) Existing law establishes the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training within the Department of Justice, and requires the commission to adopt rules regarding the minimum occupational standards governing peace officers. Existing law requires the commission to select a chairperson and vice chairperson from among its members.
This bill would require the Governor to designate the chair of the commission from among the members of the commission. The bill would provide that the chair would serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The bill would require the commission to annually select a vice chair from among its members.
(21) Existing law authorizes the Department of Justice to require each dealer to charge each firearm purchaser or transferee a fee not to exceed $1 for each firearm transaction for the purpose of supporting department program costs related to the Deadly Weapons Recodification Act of 2010.
This bill would authorize the Department of Justice to increase that fee at a rate not to exceed any increase in the California Consumer Price Index and not to exceed the reasonable cost of regulation to the department.
(22) Existing law establishes the Firearms Safety and Enforcement Special Fund and continuously appropriates the moneys in the fund to the Department of Justice for purposes relating to the regulation of firearms. Existing law also authorizes the department to require firearms dealers to charge each person who obtains a firearm a fee not to exceed $5 for each transaction. Revenues from this fee are deposited into the fund.
This bill would make the revenue deposited into that fund available for expenditure by the department upon appropriation by the Legislature. The bill would also authorize the department to increase the $5 fee at a rate not to exceed any increase in the California Consumer Price Index as compiled and reported by the Department of Industrial Relations, and not to exceed the reasonable cost of regulation to the department.
(23) The California Health Facilities Financing Authority Act authorizes the California Health Facilities Financing Authority (authority) to make loans from the continuously appropriated California Health Facilities Financing Authority Fund to participating health institutions for financing or refinancing the acquisition, construction, or remodeling of health facilities.
This bill would provide that funds appropriated by the Legislature to the authority for the purposes of the provisions of the bill be made available to selected counties, city and county, or counties acting jointly and used to establish a competitive grant program designed to promote diversion programs and services by increasing and expanding mental health treatment facilities, substance use disorder treatment facilities, and trauma-centered service facilities, including facilities providing services for sex trafficking
victims, domestic violence victims, and victims of other violent crimes, in local communities, through the provision of infrastructure grants. The bill would require the authority to develop and to consider specified selection criteria for awarding grants, as prescribed. The bill would require the authority to provide prescribed reports to the fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature on April 1, 2018, and annually until April 1, 2020. The bill would authorize the authority to adopt emergency regulations to implement the grant program, as prescribed. The bill would prohibit funds awarded by the authority from being used to supplant existing financial and resource commitments of the grantee.
(24) Existing law establishes state hospitals for the care, treatment, and education of mentally disordered persons. These hospitals are under the jurisdiction of the State Department of State Hospitals, which is authorized by
existing law to adopt regulations regarding the conduct and management of these facilities. Existing law requires that at least 20% of the 1,362 licensed beds at Napa State Hospital be available in any given fiscal year for use by counties for contracted services. Existing law also restricts the placement of patients in the remaining beds, as specified.
This bill would delete these provisions pertaining to the placement of patients in beds at Napa State Hospital.
(25) This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as a bill providing for appropriations related to the Budget Bill.