CSAC and CPOC are opposed to
Senate Bill 284 by Senator Jim Beall. This measure would
increase the fee charged to counties to send a youth to the
Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). While we certainly understand
the author’s goal of incentivizing counties to reduce the number
of youth that they send to DJJ, the final decision as to where
youth are placed following adjudication is one held and decided
by a juvenile court judge. This legislation will do little to
prevent youth from being sent to DJJ and instead result in
significant financial impacts on counties. This fiscal impact,
especially in smaller counties, will negatively impact counties
and the progress we have made to enhance services and could put
programming for youth in jeopardy.
SB 284 passed out of the Senate Public Safety Committee 5-1
on March 26 and is waiting to be heard in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
CSAC supports
Assembly Bill 141 by Assembly Member Jim Cooper. This measure
would enact the Justice Act of 2019 for the Reimbursement of
County Costs Arising from the Matter of the People v. Joseph
DeAngelo, and would authorize the County of Sacramento and other
California counties to be reimbursed for the reasonable and
necessary costs incurred in connection with the prosecution and
defense of Joseph DeAngelo. The bill would require a county
seeking reimbursement to send a statement of costs to the
Controller for approval, and would require the Controller, within
60 days, to either pay approved costs or provide a written
statement as to the reason for not making reimbursement at that
time. The bill would create the Justice Act of 2019 Fund for
these purposes.
AB 141 is waiting to be heard in the Assembly Business and
Professions Committee.
CSAC opposes
Assembly Bill 964 by Assembly Member Jose Medina. AB 964
would require all local detention facilities offer in-person
visitation at the facility. For existing correctional facilities
that do not provide in-person visitation, these facilities must
comply with these requirements by January 1, 2025. While this
legislation allows counties five years to comply with the
provisions of the legislation, it does not take into
consideration the significant costs that retrofitting brand new
facilities with in-person visiting will entail. As such,
this measure creates a new and costly mandate on counties who
complied with all state guidelines when building their
facilities. AB
964 is set to be heard in the Assembly Public Safety
Committee on April 2.
