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AB-675 Prisons: security assessments.(2019-2020)

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Date Published: 03/20/2019 09:00 PM
AB675:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 20, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 675

Introduced by Assembly Member Rodriguez

February 15, 2019

An act to add Sections 5015 and 5015.5 to the Penal Code, relating to prisons.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 675, as amended, Rodriguez. Prisons: security assessments.
Existing law establishes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and charges them with jurisdiction over the prisons and correctional institutions of the state, as specified.
This bill would require the CDCR to conduct a security inspection and audit, as specified, of each facility that houses inmates at regular intervals, but at least every ____ 4 years.
The bill would require the CDCR, under the supervision of the Office of the Inspector General, to develop a plan and take reasonable steps to remediate those deficiencies to the extent that resources are available. The bill would require the Office of the Inspector General to provide contemporaneous oversight of the security inspection and audit process conducted by the department and to prepare a report on the department’s process of performing these security inspections and audits. The bill would require the department to provide the summary of the inspection to city and county law enforcement agencies within a 10-mile radius of the prison facility and would require peace officers and other personnel of the receiving law enforcement agencies to keep the summary confidential. The bill would also require the CDCR to annually prepare a confidential report on deficiencies identified during the inspection and audit procedure and the remediation or planned remediation of those deficiencies. The report would be available to Members of the Legislature, upon request. The bill would make information about the location, nature, and details of identified security deficiencies confidential and exempt from public disclosure requirements.
Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest.
This bill would make legislative findings to that effect.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) The security of our state prisons is vital for the safety of staff, inmates, and the community at large.
(b) Investment in security measures at our state prisons, many of which are 50 years old or older, reduces the risk of prisoner breaches and escapes, thereby reducing the risk of crime in surrounding communities.
(c) Adequate oversight, regular inspections, and timely repairs of our state prisons promote public trust in California’s correctional system.

SEC. 2.

 Section 5015 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

5015.
 (a) The department, under the supervision of the Office of the Inspector General, shall conduct a security inspection and audit of each of its prisons and its other facilities that house inmates at regular intervals, but at least every ____ four years.
(b) At least 30 days before each scheduled security audit and inspection, the department shall notify the Office of the Inspector General. The department shall, upon request, allow staff of the office to attend any site inspection or otherwise observe any component of the security inspection and audit.
(c) The inspection and audit of a facility shall include, but not be limited to, a physical inspection of the facility and grounds, observation of facility operations, a review of procedures and other documentation, and interviews with staff. The inspection and audit shall cover, without limitation, inmate counts, inmate movement, inmate searches, inmate visiting, inmate mail, transportation, key control, tool control, institution access, and armory and restraint equipment, as applicable.
(d) Within 60 days after the conclusion of each security inspection and audit, the department, in coordination with the Office of the Inspector General, department shall prepare a summary of the inspection and audit, any findings, any deficiencies found, and a plan to address those deficiencies, including the prioritization of addressing those deficiencies and a response to the recommendations provided by the Office of the Inspector General.

(e)The Office of the Inspector General shall provide the department with recommendations on how to remediate security deficiencies identified in each inspection and audit.

(e) (1) The Office of the Inspector General shall provide contemporaneous oversight of the security inspection and audit process conducted by the department, including, but not limited to, recommendations on how to remediate the security deficiencies identified in each inspection and audit.
(2) The Office of the Inspector General shall prepare a report, consistent with the reporting requirements of subdivision (c) of Section 6126, on the department’s process of performing these security inspections and audits, including, but not limited to, any recommendations suggested to the department for the remediation of all identified security deficiencies.
(f) Within 60 days after the conclusion of a security inspection and audit, the department shall begin the remediation process for each identified security deficiency.
(g) The department shall track and oversee the remediation of security deficiencies.
(h) The department shall complete the remediation of each identified security deficiency within one year after the conclusion of the facility’s security inspection and audit.
(i) When the remediation of security deficiencies is complete, the department shall provide an update to the summary of the inspected facility to reflect the changes.
(j) The department shall make the summary of the inspection available to city and county law enforcement agencies within a 10-mile radius of the prison facility. Peace officers and other personnel within the law enforcement agency receiving the summary shall keep the information confidential.
(k) This section does not limit the authority of the department to immediately address or remediate a security deficiency of a critical nature or any deficiency that may be addressed without significant cost, planning, or expenditure.

SEC. 3.

 Section 5015.5 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

5015.5.
 (a) Notwithstanding Sections 9795 and 10231.5 of the Government Code, by March 1, 2021, and annually thereafter, the department shall prepare a confidential report detailing the findings of the inspections conducted pursuant to Section 5015 during the previous calendar year. The report shall include any security deficiencies identified at each facility and plans for remediation of those deficiencies, including an estimate of the cost and time required to implement those remedial measures and updates on any remediation plans submitted in previous years.
(b) The President pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly shall be provided with a copy of the report. Any Member of the Legislature, upon request, may access and view the report. Any person who views, receives a copy of, or otherwise obtains information from, the report, shall keep confidential any information related to the locations, nature, and details of security deficiencies identified in the report, and that information shall be exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code) and the Legislative Open Records Act (Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 9071) of Chapter 1.5 of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 2 of the Government Code).

SEC. 4.

 The Legislature finds and declares that Section 3 of this act, which adds Section 5015.5 to the Penal Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest:
In order to maintain the security and integrity of state prisons, to protect the public by preventing escapes, and to protect prison staff and inmates by limiting the infiltration of contraband and weapons, it is necessary to keep confidential the details of any security deficiencies that may be exploited.