BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 165| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD READING Bill No: AB 165 Author: Gomez (D) Amended: 4/6/15 in Assembly Vote: 27 - Urgency SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/26/15 AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 4/20/15 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: State claims SOURCE: Author DIGEST: This bill, an urgency measure, appropriates $504,743.99 from specified funds to the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board (board) for the payment of 110 state claims. This bill also appropriates $968,400 from the General Fund to the board for the payment of three erroneous conviction claims. ANALYSIS: The State Board of Control was established in 1945. It was revised and renamed the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board by AB 2491 (Jackson, Chapter 1016, Statutes of 2000). Government Code Section 13928 requires the board to ensure that all claims that have been approved by the board, and for which no legally available appropriation exists, are submitted for legislative approval at least twice during each calendar year. In general, the board will approve claims in November and February. Those claims are reported to the chairs of the Appropriations Committees who introduce bills AB 165 Page 2 appropriating General Funds and special funds to pay the claims. These bills may appropriate funds in amounts to the penny for tens to hundreds of claims. Government Code Section 906 provides for the payment of interest on claims approved by the board for which an appropriation has been made beginning 30 days after the effective date of the law by which the appropriation is enacted. The re-issuance of stale-dated warrants is the most prevalent claim approved by the board. For stale-dated warrants, the State Controller must confirm that (1) the check was not cashed and has not been issued and (2) more than three years have elapsed since the check was issued and the monies have reverted to the General Fund or to the relevant special fund. For these warrants an appropriation is needed to reissue the payment. This category also may include state treasury bonds that have not been redeemed within 10 years of their maturity date (there are no such claims in this bill), but the majority of warrants are payroll or tax refund checks. In addition to stale-dated warrants, existing law authorizes a person convicted and imprisoned for a felony to submit a claim to the board for pecuniary injury sustained as a result of erroneous conviction and imprisonment. Recent changes to these provisions, SB 618 (Leno, Chapter 800, Statutes of 2013), specifies that a person who has secured a declaration of factual innocence from the court after having his or her conviction set aside is eligible payment in a claim against the state. Upon application by the petitioner, the board shall, without a hearing, recommend to the Legislature an appropriation to cover the claim. Likewise, if the court finds the petitioner has proven his or her innocence by a preponderance of the evidence, or the court grants a writ of habeas corpus concerning a person who is unlawfully imprisoned, or when the court vacates a judgment for a person on the basis of new evidence concerning a person who is no longer unlawfully imprisoned, and the court finds the evidence points unerringly to innocence, the board shall, upon application by the claimant, without a hearing, recommend to the Legislature an appropriation to cover the petitioner's claim. Otherwise, a claimant is required to introduce evidence in support of his or her claim at a hearing before the board, and the Attorney General may introduce evidence in opposition. The AB 165 Page 3 claimant must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence: (1) the crime was not committed at all, or, if committed, was not committed by the claimant; (2) the claimant did not contribute to the arrest or conviction for the crime; and (3) the claimant sustained pecuniary injury though the erroneous conviction and imprisonment. If a claimant meets the burden of proof, the board shall recommend to the Legislature an appropriation of $100 per day of incarceration served in a state prison subsequent to the claimant's conviction. This bill appropriates $504,743.99 in various state funds, including $227,308.96 from the General Fund, to the board for the payment of 110 state claims for reissuance of stale-dated warrants. This bill also appropriates $968,400 to the board for payment of three specified erroneous conviction claims. AB 165 is an urgency measure. Background Erroneous Conviction Claims: Ronald Ross, binding finding of factual innocence, $229,300. Mr. Ross was convicted of premeditated attempted murder and assault with a firearm in 2006. In February 2012, more than five years after his conviction, Mr. Ross filed a habeas corpus petition. Based new testimony, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office believed that false evidence was used against Mr. Ross and supported the petition. On February 20, 2013, the court granted the writ. Susan Mellen, binding finding of factual innocence, $597,200. In 1998, Ms. Mellen was convicted of first degree murder, and the jury found true to special circumstances allegation that she tortured the victim. On September 18, 2014, Innocence Matters filed a habeas corpus petition asserting Ms. Mellen was factually innocent. On October 10, 2014 the Los Angeles AB 165 Page 4 District Attorney's Office conceded the merits of the petition and on November 21, 2014, the court granted the petition and reversed the conviction. Brian Banks, binding finding of factual innocence, $142,200. On January 22, 2003, sixteen-year-old old Brian Banks was charged with forcible rape, forcible sodomy, and kidnapping. On August 20, 2003, Mr. Banks pled no contest to the charge of forcible rape and was sentenced to six years in prison. In 2006, Mr. Banks filed a habeas corpus petition, but it was denied based on vagueness, failure to state a claim, and failure to raise issues on direct appeal. On August 15, 2011, Mr. Banks filed a habeas corpus petition and the court granted the petition on May 24, 2012, reversing the rape conviction and all charges were dismissed. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Yes Fiscal Com.:YesLocal: No According to the Senate Appropriations Committee: Stale-dated warrants. General Fund appropriations in the amount of $227,308.96 to pay 105 claims, and special fund appropriations in the amount of $277,435.03 to pay five claims. All of these claims are for reissuance of stale-dated warrants (expired checks). The individual claim amounts range from $16 to $274,117.66. Erroneous Convictions: 1)General Fund appropriation in the amount of $597,200 to pay the claim of Susan Mellen, approved by the board on January 15, 2015. 2)General Fund appropriation in the amount of $229,000 to pay the claim of Ronald Ross, approved by the board on September 18, 2014. 3)General Fund appropriation in the amount of $142,200 to pay AB 165 Page 5 the claim of Brian Banks, approved by the board on March 19, 2015. SUPPORT: (Verified5/27/15) None received OPPOSITION: (Verified5/27/15) None received ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 80-0, 4/20/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins Prepared by:Mark McKenzie / APPR. / (916) 651-4101 5/27/15 12:59:18 **** END ****