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SB-418 California Prison Redevelopment Commission.(2023-2024)



Current Version: 07/12/23 - Amended Assembly

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SB418:v96#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  July 12, 2023
Amended  IN  Assembly  July 10, 2023
Amended  IN  Senate  May 18, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 418

Introduced by Senator Padilla
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Jackson and Villapudua)

February 09, 2023

An act to add and repeal Chapter 1.3 (commencing with Section 8030) of Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, relating to state government.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 418, as amended, Padilla. California Prison Redevelopment Commission.
Existing law establishes the state prisons under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to begin reducing private in-state male contract correctional facilities and reducing the capacity of state-owned and operated prisons or in-state leased or contract correctional facilities, as specified.
Existing law establishes the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), which serves the Governor as the lead entity for economic strategy and the marketing of California on issues relating to business development, private sector investment, and economic growth.
This bill would establish the California Prison Redevelopment Commission, under the direction of the Director of GO-Biz and consisting of 15 members, including, among others, representatives from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Department of Finance, and the Department of General Services, and members appointed by the Governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Senate Rules Committee, as specified.
This bill would specify that the task of the commission is to prepare a report with the commission’s findings and recommendations that deliver a set of clear and credible recommendations for creative uses of closed prison facilities that will turn those sites into community assets, as specified.
This bill would require the commission to submit a report to the Legislature by August 1, 2024, detailing the commission’s findings and recommendations. The bill would repeal these provisions as of January 1, 2026, and would make related findings and declarations. The bill would provide that its requirements are operative only upon an appropriation by the Legislature for the bill’s purposes.
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) Pursuant to the 2022–23 Budget Act and Section 2067 of the Penal Code, in December of 2022, Governor Newsom directed the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to close Chuckawalla Valley State Prison in the City of Blythe in March of 2025. In that order, the Governor directed that a “resiliency plan” be developed that engages impacted employees, provides them with state hiring preferences for all state agencies, and provides them with other forms of employment and economic assistance. In the order, the Governor also announced the planned deactivation of portions of six other prisons across the state.
(b) Chuckawalla Valley State Prison is located in a rural area of the state and represents a central economic driver in an otherwise economically disadvantaged community. The closure of the local prison will have a significant economic impact on the local community that welcomed a prison facility other communities shunned. While fiscal responsibility is driving the decision to close this facility, it is incumbent upon the State of California to develop and implement a community-based plan to redevelop that facility in a way that turns the site into a community asset. That locally driven redevelopment plan must also be coupled with economic incentives to grow investment and job creation in impacted communities. This plan can also serve as a blueprint if other facilities are required to close as a result of declining prison populations. That blueprint must be based on a community engagement process that solicits input from economic development experts, local leaders, local leaders, economic development experts, and stakeholders.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 1.3 (commencing with Section 8030) is added to Division 1 of Title 2 of the Government Code, to read:
CHAPTER  1.3. California Prison Redevelopment Commission

8030.
 (a) There is hereby established in state government the California Prison Redevelopment Commission.
(b) For purposes of this chapter, “commission” means the California Prison Redevelopment Commission.

8031.
 (a) The commission shall be under the direction of the Director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.
(b) The commission shall be composed of 15 members, as follows:
(1) One representative from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, appointed by the secretary of that department.
(2) One representative from the Department of Finance, appointed by the director of that department.
(3) One representative from the Department of General Services, appointed by the director of that department.
(4) One representative from the Department of Parks and Recreation, appointed by the director of that department.
(5) One representative from the Employment Development Department, appointed by the director of that department.
(6) One representative from the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission, appointed by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission.
(7) A representative from a county impacted by the prison closure, appointed by the Governor.
(8) A representative from a city impacted by the prison closure, appointed by the Governor.
(9) A member of the public with expertise in domestic economic development, appointed by the Governor.
(10) A member of the public with expertise in real estate, appointed by the Governor.
(11) A member of the public representing labor organizations, appointed by the Governor.
(12) A member of the public representing labor organizations, appointed by the Senate Rules Committee.
(13) A member of the public representing community-based organizations, appointed by the Senate Rules Committee.
(14) A member of the public representing local business, appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(15) A member of the public with expertise in criminal justice reform, appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
(c) The members appointed pursuant to this section shall receive reimbursement for per diem and expenses while engaged in commission activities.

8032.
 (a) (1) The commission’s task shall be to prepare a report with the commission’s findings and recommendations that deliver a set of clear and credible recommendations for creative uses of closed prison facilities that will turn those sites into community assets.
(2) The report shall include, but shall not be limited to, all of the following:
(A) Timeframes for each proposal.
(B) Key departments and partners and implementation guidance to better ensure the success of the redevelopment of these sites and economic revitalization of impacted communities.
(C) Recommendations that are tailored to the needs of the impacted local communities and that serve the larger economic interests of the state.
(b) In preparing the report, the commission shall do, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) Engage regional leaders, stakeholders, and economic development, labor, health care, and business experts.
(2) Consider and investigate clean energy opportunities and partnerships.
(3) Identify economic development tools to attract investment and job creation.
(4) Identify economic opportunities for the local region built on community consensus.

8033.
 (a) The commission shall submit its report to the Legislature detailing the commission’s findings and recommendations by August 1, 2024.
(b) The report submitted pursuant to this section shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795.

8034.
 This chapter shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2026, and as of that date is repealed.

8035.
 The requirements of this chapter shall become operative only upon an appropriation by the Legislature for the purposes of this chapter.