OFFICIAL CDCR RELEASE
As of Oct. 1, 2011, our Department and the State of California are undergoing significant changes to facilitate reducing overcrowding and recidivism, which as a by-product will ultimately reduce cost. There are many rumors and misinformation about how these changes will occur and what the impact is estimated to be. Below is a briefing synopsis of the changes that are occurring beginning on October 1st:
Earlier this year, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. signed Assembly Bill (AB) 109 and AB 117, historic legislation that will enable California to close the revolving door of low-level inmates cycling in and out of state prisons. It is the cornerstone of California’s solution for reducing the number of inmates in the state’s 33 prisons to 137.5 percent design capacity by May 24, 2013, as ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court.
All provisions of AB 109 and AB 117 are prospective and implementation of the 2011 Realignment will begin October 1, 2011. No inmates currently in state prison will be transferred to county jails or released early.
Governor Brown also signed multiple trailer bills to ensure the 2011 Realignment secured proper funding before implementation could go into effect.
The 2011 Realignment is funded with a dedicated portion of state sales tax revenue and Vehicle License Fees (VLF) outlined in trailer bills AB 118 and SB 89. The latter provides revenue to counties for local public safety programs and the former establishes the Local Revenue Fund 2011 (Fund) for counties to receive the revenues and appropriate funding for 2011 Public Safety Realignment.
COMMUNITY, LOCAL CUSTODY
AB 109 allows non-violent, non-serious, and non sex offenders to serve their sentence in county jails instead of state prisons. However, counties can contract back with the State to house local offenders.
Under AB 109:
• No inmates currently in state prison will be transferred to county jails.
• No inmates currently in state prison will be released early.
• All felons sent to state prison will continue to serve their entire sentence in state prison.
• All felons convicted of current or prior serious or violent offenses, sex offenses, and sex offenses against children will go to state prison.
There are more than 60 additional crimes that are not defined in Penal Code as serious or violent offenses but at the request of law enforcement were added as offenses that would be served in state prison rather than in local custody
POST-RELEASE (COUNTY-LEVEL) COMMUNITY SUPERVISION
CDCR continues to have jurisdiction over all offenders who are on state parole prior to the implementation date of Oct. 1, 2011. Prospectively, county-level supervision for offenders upon release from prison will include current non-violent, non-serious (irrespective of priors) and sex offenders. County-level supervision will not include:
• Third-strike offenders- those whose third strike was for a non-violent offense would still be on State parole.
• Offenders whose current commitment offense is serious or violent, as defined by California’s Penal Codes 667.5(c) and PC 1192.7(c).
• High-risk sex offenders,
• Mentally Disordered Offenders
• Offenders on parole prior to October 1st
Offenders who meet the above-stated conditions will continue to be under state parole supervision.
The county Board of Supervisors will designate a county agency to be responsible for post-release supervision and will provide that information to CDCR by Aug. 1, 2011. CDCR must notify counties of an individual’s release at least one month prior. Once the individual has been released CDCR no longer has jurisdiction over any person who is under post-release community supervision. No person shall be returned to prison on a parole revocation except for those persons previously sentenced to a term of life.
PAROLE REVOCATIONS
Starting Oct. 1, 2011 all parole revocations will be served in county jail instead of state prison and can only be up to 180 days.
The responsibility of parole revocations will continue under the Board of Parole Hearings until July 1, 2013 at which time the parole revocation process will become a local court-based process. Local courts, rather than the Board of Parole Hearings, will be the designated authority for determining revocations. Contracting back to the state for offenders to complete an custody parole revocation is not an option. Only offenders previously sentenced to a term of life can be revoked to prison.
PRISON BOARD
After July, 1, 2013 The Board of Parole Hearings will continue to conduct
• Parole consideration for lifers,
• Medical parole hearings,
• Mentally disordered offender cases, and
• Sexually Violent Predator cases.
AB 109 also provides the following under parole:
• Allows local parole revocations up to 180 days
• Authorizes flash incarceration at the local level for up to 10 days
VIOLENT AND SEX OFFENDERS PAROLE REVOCATION
Inmates released to parole after serving a life term (e.g., murderers, violent sex offenders, and third-strikers) will be eligible for parole revocation back to state prison if ordered by the Board.
