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AB-15 Public records: parole calculations and inmate release credits.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 01/03/2024 02:00 PM
AB15:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  January 03, 2024
Amended  IN  Assembly  February 28, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 15

Introduced by Assembly Member Dixon
(Principal coauthor: Senator Nguyen)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Davies, Essayli, Mathis, Joe Patterson, Alanis, Gallagher, Low, and Ta)
(Coauthors: Senators Dahle, Grove, Jones, Niello, Ochoa Bogh, Seyarto, Newman, and Wilk)

December 05, 2022

An act to add Section 7923.611 to the Government Code, relating to public records.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 15, as amended, Dixon. Public records: parole calculations and inmate release credits.
Existing law, the California Public Records Act, requires state and local agencies to make their records available for inspection by the public, subject to specified criteria and with specified exceptions. Existing law exempts from disclosure any investigatory or security file compiled by any other state or local police agency, or any investigatory or security files compiled by any other state or local agency for correctional, law enforcement, or licensing purposes.
Under existing law, criminal offenders sentenced to imprisonment in the state prison are sentenced for either a determinate term or an indeterminate life sentence, and a person sentenced to an indeterminate life sentence is held until release by the Board of Parole Hearings. Under existing law, a person sentenced to a determinate sentence is released after serving the term of their sentence, minus any credits earned, and is required to serve a period of time after release under parole supervision.
Existing constitutional provisions, enacted by Proposition 57 at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, make an inmate sentenced to state prison for a conviction of a nonviolent felony offense eligible for early parole consideration after completing the full term for their primary offense, as defined.
This bill would provide that Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation records pertaining to an inmate’s release date and their early release credits are public records and are subject to disclosure under the California Public Records Act. Act, with specified exceptions. The bill would state that the provisions relative to the California Public Records Act are declaratory of existing law.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 7923.611 is added to the Government Code, to read:

7923.611.
 (a) To the extent that disclosure is not prohibited by any other provision of the Public Records Act, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation records pertaining to an inmate’s release date and what the inmate did to earn any release credits are public records and are subject to disclosure under this division.
(1) A disclosure under this section shall be sufficiently detailed and include the number of days of credit that were based on each of the following categories:
(A) Good behavior.
(B) Rehabilitation and education program participation.
(C) Pretrial release credits.
(2) A disclosure shall also include the types of rehabilitative and education programs that the inmate participated in and completed.
(b) This section does not require the disclosure of Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation records that are subject to the privacy protections of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) (Public Law 104-191).
(c) (1) This section does not require the disclosure of early release credits earned by an in-custody informant for providing exceptional assistance in maintaining the safety and security of a prison, as described in Section 2935 of the Penal Code.
(2) As used in this section, “in-custody informant” has the same meaning as in subdivision (a) of Section 1127a of the Penal Code.

SEC. 2.

 The addition of Section 7923.611 to the Government Code made by this act does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, existing law.