AB 1056: Second Chance Program.

(1)Existing law, until January 1, 2020, establishes the Social Innovation Financing Program, and requires the Board of State and Community Corrections to administer the program. Existing law, among other things, authorizes the board, upon appropriation of funds by the Legislature for deposit into the Recidivism Reduction Fund, to award grants in amounts of not less than $500,000 and not more than $2,000,000 to each of 3 counties, selected as specified, for the purpose of entering into a pay for success or social innovation financing contract, pursuant to which private investors agree to provide financing to service providers to achieve social outcomes agreed upon in advance and the government agency that is a party to the contractual agreement agrees to pay a return on the investment to the investors if successful programmatic outcomes are achieved by the service provider. Existing law limits the total amount of the grants awarded to $5,000,000. Existing law requires each county receiving an award to report annually to the Governor and Legislature on the status of its program. Existing law requires the board to compile the county reports and submit a summary report to the Governor and the Legislature annually.

This bill would extend the operation of that program and the reporting requirements until January 1, 2022.

This bill would also require the board to administer a competitive grant program that focuses on community-based solutions for reducing recidivism. The bill would establish minimum criteria for the grant program and would require the board to establish an executive steering committee, as specified, to make recommendations regarding the design, efficacy, and viability of proposals and to make recommendations on guidelines for the submission of proposals for the grant program, including threshold or scoring criteria, or both. Among other things, the bill would require those guidelines to prioritize proposals that advance principles of restorative justice while demonstrating a capacity to reduce recidivism, and that leverage certain other federal, state, and local funds or social investments. The bill would define recidivism, for the purposes of these provisions, as a conviction of a new felony or misdemeanor committed within 3 years of release from custody or committed within 3 years of placement on supervision for a previous criminal conviction.

(2)The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act establishes within the State Treasury the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund to receive moneys transferred from the General Fund in an amount equal to the savings resulting from the implementation of the act, as specified. The act requires that 65% of the moneys in the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund be allocated the Board of State and Community Corrections to administer a grant program to public agencies aimed at supporting specified types of programs, including diversion programs, for people in the criminal justice system with an emphasis on programs that reduce recidivism, as specified.

This bill would create the Second Chance Fund in the State Treasury for the purpose of funding the above-described recidivism reduction program. The bill would require the Controller, upon order of the Director of Finance, to transfer the moneys available to the Board of State and Community Corrections from the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund into the Second Chance Fund. The bill would also authorize the Second Chance Fund to receive moneys from any other federal, state, or local grant, or from any private donation. The bill would prohibit the board from using the moneys in the fund to supplant existing programs and from spending more than 5% per year of the total moneys in the fund for administrative purposes.

The bill would require the board to administer these provisions, and moneys in the fund would be continuously appropriated to the board for expenditure for these purposes. By creating a continuously appropriated fund, this bill would make an appropriation.

(3)The Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act provides that its provisions may be amended by a statute, passed by a ²/₃ vote of each house of the Legislature and signed by the Governor, that is consistent with and furthers the intent of the act.

This bill would declare that its provisions further the intent of the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act.