California Assembly Bill 109
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| California Assembly Bill 109 | |
|---|---|
| Bill | California Assembly Bill 109 |
| Enacted | 2011 |
| Author | Jerry Brown |
| Status | Enacted |
| Chapter | Substantive realignment statute |
California Assembly Bill 109 California Assembly Bill 109 enacted sweeping criminal justice realignment in California in 2011, reallocating responsibility for many nonviolent, nonserious, nonsex offenders from California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to local county supervision and custody. The measure followed high-profile rulings and fiscal pressures involving the Supreme Court of the United States, the Brown v. Plata decision, and budgetary conflicts with the California State Legislature and Governor of California. Its passage reshaped interactions among California State Assembly, California State Senate, county sheriffs, county boards of supervisors, and local probation departments.
Background and Legislative History
AB 109 arose after the Supreme Court of the United States ordered California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to reduce prison overcrowding in Brown v. Plata. Faced with court mandates, budget constraints in the 2011 California budget, and pressure from advocacy groups such as the ACLU and the Public Policy Institute of California, the Jerry Brown administration and the Legislature negotiated a package that included the Public Safety Realignment Act. Prominent legislators involved included Tom Ammiano, Martin Garrick, and committees in the California State Assembly and California State Senate. The law built on earlier policy debates involving figures like Bill Lockyer and institutions such as the California Constitution and the Judicial Council of California.
Provisions and Objectives
AB 109's provisions transferred responsibility for supervising specified low-level felons from state prisons to county jails and probation, defining exclusions tied to convictions under statutes such as the Three-strikes law and serious felony lists codified in state penal codes. It authorized county incarceration for offenders serving sentences previously served in state prison, expanded use of county jail credits, and reallocated funding via the state budget to counties to implement realignment. Objectives included compliance with Brown v. Plata, reducing state correctional populations overseen by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, shifting fiscal burdens to county entities like the Board of Supervisors, and promoting local supervision models favored by organizations such as the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice.
Implementation and Administration
Implementation required coordination among county probation departments, county jails, local law enforcement agencies including county sheriff offices, and state executive agencies such as the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the California Department of Justice. The law established funding mechanisms through state allocations and the Public Safety Realignment fund, involving fiscal analysis by the Legislative Analyst's Office and budgetary decisions by the Governor of California and the California State Legislature. Counties developed custody alternatives including reentry programs run by entities like the Council of State Governments and nonprofits such as the Urban Institute and Vera Institute of Justice, and used data systems interoperable with state repositories managed by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Impact on Incarceration and Community Supervision
Realignment produced measurable declines in populations at facilities operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation while increasing jail populations under county control and expanding probation caseloads supervised by county agencies and private providers. Studies by the Public Policy Institute of California, reports from the Legislative Analyst's Office, and research from universities including University of California, Berkeley and Stanford University documented shifts in recidivism metrics, incarceration rates, and expenditures. The policy prompted innovations in community supervision drawing on models from the National Institute of Justice, and affected stakeholders including district attorneys, public defenders such as those from county public defender offices, and organizations like the California State Sheriffs' Association.
Criticism and Legal Challenges
Critics including the ACLU, public defender organizations, some county officials, and advocacy groups such as Families Against Mandatory Minimums argued that AB 109 imposed burdens on counties lacking resources, raised public safety concerns, and produced disparities among jurisdictions. Legal challenges and litigation examined aspects of custody credits, classification of offenders, and funding obligations, involving courts at the California Supreme Court and federal trial courts responding to claims tied to the Eighth Amendment and state statutory interpretation. National commentators and scholars from institutions like Harvard Law School and the Brookings Institution debated its effects relative to alternative reforms like parole restructuring championed by organizations such as the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Amendments and Subsequent Legislation
Subsequent legislative actions and administrative adjustments refined AB 109’s scope, funding, and procedural rules through bills enacted by the California State Legislature, actions by the Governor of California, and policy changes by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Later measures intersected with initiatives such as Proposition 47 (2014), Proposition 57 (2016), and statutory amendments addressing parole, sentencing credits, and juvenile transfers debated by lawmakers including Kevin de León and Anthony Rendon. Ongoing oversight by the Legislative Analyst's Office, research by institutions such as RAND Corporation, and monitoring by advocacy groups have continued to influence reforms to realignment, funding allocations for counties, and collaboration among entities including county probation departments and nonprofit reentry providers.