BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 898|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 898
Author: Gonzalez (D)
Amended: 6/21/16 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/10/16
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 1/27/16 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Parole suitability: notice
SOURCE: CAL FIRE Local 2881
California Professional Firefighters
DIGEST: This bill provides that when an inmate who was
convicted of the murder of a firefighter becomes eligible for a
parole-suitability hearing, the Board of Parole Hearings or
Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation must give written
notice of the hearing to the fire department that had employed
the deceased firefighter.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Requires the Board of Parole Hearings (BPH) to send written
notice to each of the following persons before it meets to
consider the parole suitability or setting of a parole date of
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an inmate serving a life sentence:
a) The superior court judge before whom the prisoner was
tried and convicted;
b) The attorney who represented the defendant at trial;
c) The district attorney of the county in which the offense
was committed;
d) The law enforcement agency that investigated the case;
and,
e) If the prisoner was convicted of the murder of a peace
officer, the law enforcement agency which had employed that
officer at the time of the murder. (Penal Code § 3042 (a).)
2)Provides that these entities must be notified at least 30 days
before the BPH meets to review or consider the parole
suitability or the setting of a parole date. (Penal Code §
3042(a).)
3)Allows the entities who receive notice of the
parole-suitability hearing to submit information to the BPH
for its consideration. (Penal Code § 3042 (f)(3).)
4)Requires the BPH to review and consider all information
received from the judge and these other persons, and to
consider adjusting the terms or conditions of parole to
reflect the comments or concerns raised by this information.
(Penal Code § 3042 (f)(3).)
5)Requires the BPH to provide the victim 90-days notice of an
upcoming parole-suitability hearing, if he or she requests
that notice be given. (Penal Code § 3043 (a).)
6)Allows the victim to personally appear at the suitability
hearing or to submit a recorded statement expressing his or
her views. (Penal Code §§ 3043 (b)(1), and 3043.2 (a)(1).)
7)States that any person interested in the grant or denial of
parole may submit a statement supporting or opposing parole
and that such statements must be considered by the hearing
panel. (Penal Code § 3043.5.)
8)Requires the Director of the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to give written notice to the State Fire
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Marshal, and all police departments and the sheriff in the
county in which the person was convicted before releasing an
inmate convicted of arson. (Penal Code § 11150.)
This bill provides that if an inmate was convicted of the murder
of a firefighter BPH or the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation shall also send the written notice to the fire
department that employed the firefighter at the time of the
murder, if that fire department registers with BPH to receive
that notification and provides the appropriate contact
information.
Background
The BPH must send notice of a parole-suitability hearing to the
trial judge, the prosecutor, defense counsel, the investigating
law enforcement agency, and in the case of the murder of a peace
officer, the officer's employer. (Penal Code § 3042 (a).) These
individuals are entitled to submit a statement expressing their
views on whether the inmate should be paroled. Additionally, the
victim of the crime may request that the BPH notify him or her
of any scheduled parole-suitability hearing. The victim is
entitled to personally appear to express his or her views on the
granting of parole, or may submit a written or recorded
statement instead. (Penal Code § 3043.) Finally, any person
interested in the grant or denial of parole may submit a
statement supporting or opposing parole. (Penal Code § 3043.5.)
The BPH must consider all statements submitted in making its
decision.
While under existing law the employer of a murdered firefighter
may already submit a statement expressing its views on the grant
of parole, the law currently does not require the employer be
notified of the hearing. This bill will ensure that the agency
which employed the deceased firefighter has notice that a
parole-suitability hearing has been scheduled.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified 6/22/16)
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CAL FIRE Local 2881 (co-source)
California Professional Firefighters (co-source)
California Fire Chiefs Association
California Labor Federation
California Special Districts Association
California State Association of Counties
California State Firefighters' Association
Fire Districts Association of California
LIUNA Local 792
Orange County Professional Firefighters Association, Local 3631
Peace Officers Research Association of California
OPPOSITION: (Verified 6/22/16)
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 1/27/16
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, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, Melendez,
Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson,
Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago,
Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber,
Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mathis
Prepared by:Mary Kennedy / PUB. S. /
6/22/16 17:39:28
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