Existing law prohibits plea bargaining in a case in which a serious felony is charged and imposes a 5-year enhancement for conviction of a serious felony if the person has previously been convicted of a serious felony. Existing law makes a felony in which the defendant personally inflicts great bodily injury on a person a serious felony.

Existing law makes it a crime for a person who has the care or custody of a child to willfully cause or permit the person or health of that child to be injured or willfully cause or permit that child to be placed in a situation where the childs health may be endangered, as specified. Existing law imposes a 4-year enhancement on a person who violates that provision and who willfully causes or permits a child to suffer, inflicts thereon unjustifiable physical pain or injury that results in death, or, having the care or custody of a child, willfully causes or permits that child to be injured or harmed, as specified, and that injury or harm results in death.

Existing law requires a person who, having the care or custody of a child who is under 8 years of age, assaults the child by means of force that to a reasonable person would be likely to produce great bodily injury, resulting in the childs death, to be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life.

This bill, Rylas Law, would make the child abuse crimes described above serious felonies for the above-specified purposes. By expanding the scope of an enhancement, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

Under existing law, a prisoner can reduce their term of imprisonment by earning credit for, among other things, continuous incarceration, good behavior, and participation in approved rehabilitative programming. Existing law prohibits a prisoner convicted of specified felony offenses from earning credit if the prisoner previously has been convicted of one of those felony offenses 2 or more times and has served 2 or more separate prior prison terms.

Existing law makes an inmate of a state prison, or of a county jail, who has completed training for assignment to a correctional institution as an inmate firefighter, or who is assigned to a correctional institution as an inmate firefighter, eligible to earn 2 days of credit for every one day served in that assignment or after completing that training.

This bill would make a person convicted of specific child abuse crimes ineligible to earn 2 days of credit for every one day served as an inmate firefighter or after completing inmate firefighting training. By reducing the amount of credits an inmate sentenced to county jail can earn, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Date of Hearing: April 23, 2024

Counsel: Liah Burnley

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON

Kevin McCarty, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:

Author:() – As Ver:

SUMMARY:

1. Adds child abuse offenses to the “serious felonies” list and makes any person convicted of specific child neglect offenses ineligible to earn credits for their service as an inmate firefighter. Specifically, this bill:
   
2. Adds the following offenses to the “serious felony” list:
   
   1. Child endangerment, if the four year sentence enhancement for great bodily injury is imposed [Penal Code sections 273a and 12022.95]; and,
      
   2. Assault causing death of a child under 8 years old [Penal Code section 273ab].
      
3. Prohibits any person convicted of the above-listed offense from earning credits for their service as a firefighter while incarcerated in county jail or state prison.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Provides that any person who, under circumstances or conditions likely to produce great bodily harm or death, willfully causes or permits any child to suffer, or inflicts thereon unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or having the care or custody of any child, willfully causes or permits the person or health of that child to be injured, or willfully causes or permits that child to be placed in a situation where his or her person or health is endangered, shall be punished as a misdemeanor by imprisonment in a county jail not exceeding one year, or as a felony punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or six years. (Pen. Code, § 273a, subd. (a).)
   
2. Provides that any person who, under circumstances or conditions other than those likely to produce great bodily harm or death, willfully causes or permits any child to suffer, or inflicts thereon unjustifiable physical pain or mental suffering, or having the care or custody of any child, willfully causes or permits the person or health of that child to be injured, or willfully causes or permits that child to be placed in a situation where his or her person or health may be endangered, is guilty of a misdemeanor. (Pen. Code, § 273a, subd. (b).)
   
3. Provides that any person convicted of the above-described offense, who under circumstances or conditions likely to produce great bodily harm or death, willfully causes or permits any child to suffer, or inflicts thereon unjustifiable physical pain or injury that results in death, or having the care or custody of any child, under circumstances likely to produce great bodily harm or death, willfully causes or permits that child to be injured or harmed, and that injury or harm results in death, shall receive a four-year enhancement for each violation, in addition to the sentence provided for that conviction. (Pen. Code, § 12022.95.)
   
4. Provides that any person, having the care or custody of a child who is under eight, who assaults the child by means of force that to a reasonable person would be likely to produce great bodily injury, resulting in the child’s death, is guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life. (Pen. Code, § 273ab, subd. (a).)
   
5. Provides that any person, having the care or custody of a child who is under eight, who assaults the child by means of force that to a reasonable person would be likely to produce great bodily injury, resulting in the child becoming comatose due to brain injury or suffering paralysis of a permanent nature, is guilty of a felony, punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole. (Pen. Code, § 273ab, subd. (b).)
   
6. List the offenses that are “serious felonies” for the purposes of the three-strikes law. (Pen. Code, § 1192.7, subd. (c) & 1192.8.)
   
7. Provides that persons sentenced to county jail are eligible to earn custody credits, as specified. (Pen. Code, § 4019.)
   
8. Provides that any person sentenced to county jail assigned to a conservation camp by a sheriff and who is eligible to earn the above-described credits, shall earn two days of credit for every one day of service. Any person who has completed training as an inmate firefighter or who is assigned to a county or state correctional institution as an inmate firefighter shall earn two days of credit for every one day served in that assignment or after completing that training. In addition, a person who has successfully completed training for firefighter assignments shall receive a credit reduction from their term of confinement. (Pen. Code, § 4019.2.)
   
9. Provides that persons sentenced to state prison are eligible to earn custody credits, as specified. (Pen. Code, § 2933.)
   
10. Provides that any person assigned to a conservation camp by CDCR, who is eligible to earn the above-described credits, shall earn two days of credit for every one day of service. Any person who has completed training as an inmate firefighter or who is assigned to a correctional institution as an inmate firefighter shall earn two days of credit for every one day served in that assignment or after completing that training. In addition, a person who has successfully completed training for firefighter assignments shall receive a credit reduction from their term of confinement pursuant to regulations adopted by CDCR. (Pen. Code, § 2933.3.)

FISCAL EFFECT:

Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, “Child abuse is always heartbreaking but when it results in death it is the worst kind of tragedy. Unfortunately, child abuse happens far too frequently in our country and usually at the hands of a parent or caretaker. Under California law, child abuse is considered a ‘non-serious, non-violent’ offense. That means when an individual is found guilty of this crime, the offender qualifies for early release programs. That is also true even when the abuse results in a child’s death. This bill would prohibit a person whose abuse causes a child’s death from being eligible to serve in a conservation/fire camp, which is the state’s most generous early release program. Killing a child is a horrific crime and should be treated as such.”
   
2. Effect of Adding Offenses to the Serious Felony List: This bill designates child endangerment, if the four-year sentence enhancement for great bodily injury is imposed, and assault on a child under eight years of age resulting in death or in the child becoming comatose due to brain injury, as “serious” felonies.
   
   Penal Code section 1192.7, subdivision (a)(2) prohibits plea bargaining in any case in which the indictment or information charges a “serious” felony unless there is insufficient evidence to prove the charge, the testimony of a material witness cannot be obtained, or a reduction or dismissal would not result in a substantial change in sentence. The plea bargaining prohibition in “serious” felony cases may result in less cases being settled and more cases going to jury trial resulting in longer sentences. Additionally, any person convicted of a “serious” felony who has previously been convicted of a “serious” felony receives, in addition to the sentence imposed by the court, an additional and consecutive five-year enhancement for each such prior conviction. (Pen. Code, § 667, subd. (a)(1).)
   

Notably, nothing prevents offenses causing death of a child from being charged as murder and voluntary manslaughter, which are already serious felonies. In addition, murder, voluntary manslaughter, and any felony in which the defendant inflicts great bodily injury on any person are all already on the “violent” felony list. (Pen. Code, § 667.5.) Thus, any person convicted of murder or voluntary manslaughter of a child, or who inflicts great bodily injury on a child, can already be convicted of a “serious” or “violent” felony.

1. Three Strikes Implications: In general, “serious” felonies as specified in Penal Code section 1192.7, subdivision (c), are considered “strikes” for purposes of California’s Three Strikes Law. However, Proposition 36, which was passed by California voters on November 6, 2012, specifies that only the crimes that were included in the “serious” felonies list as of November 7, 2012, shall be treated as “strikes” for purposes of the Three Strikes law.

Notwithstanding subdivision (h) of Section 667, for all offenses committed on or after November 7, 2012, all references to existing statutes in subdivisions (c) to (g), inclusive, of Section 667 (Three Strikes Law), are to those statutes as they existed on November 7, 2012.

(Pen. Code, § 667.1.)

This bill would not make these offenses a “strike” under California law because the bill would not amend the date that defines the list of strikes to include the provisions of this bill. However, if the date that defines the list of strikes is updated in a future bill, these offenses would become a “strike.”

1. Prison Overcrowding: In January 2010, a three-judge panel issued a ruling ordering the State of California to reduce its prison population to 137.5% of design capacity because overcrowding was the primary reason that CDCR was unable to provide inmates with constitutionally adequate healthcare. After continued litigation, on February 10, 2014, the federal court ordered California to reduce its in-state adult institution population to 137.5% of design capacity by February 28, 2016, as follows: 143% of design bed capacity by June 30, 2014; 141.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2015; and, 137.5% of design bed capacity by February 28, 2016.

CDCR’s most recent monthly report on the prison population notes that the state prison population is at 90,331. CDCR’s institutional design capacity is 75,530 as of March 13, 2024. Accordingly, CDCR is currently occupying 119.6 percent of design capacity.^[1]

Thus, while CDCR is currently in compliance with the three-judge panel’s order on the prison population, the state needs to maintain a “durable solution” to prison overcrowding “consistently demanded” by the court.^[2] In addition, the State’s commitment to closing prisons^[3] demands that the Legislature are judicious about measures that will result in increased prison population.

Making these offenses a “serious” felony will result in increased prison sentences. Likewise preventing individuals convicted of these offenses from earning credits as an inmate firefighter would further add to the incarcerated population. This will put additional pressure on prison overcrowding.

1. Inmate Firefighter Credits: Most incarcerated fire crew members receive 2-for-1 credits, meaning they receive two additional days off their sentence for every one day they serve on a fire crew. Camp volunteers who work as support staff, but not on a fire crew, receive day-for day credits, meaning they receive one day off their sentence for every one day they serve as a firefighter.^[4]
   
   Volunteers must have “minimum custody” status, or the lowest-security classification based on their sustained good behavior in prison, ability to follow rules, and participation in rehabilitative programming. Volunteers must have eight years or less remaining on their sentence to be considered. Some convictions automatically make someone ineligible for conservation camp assignment, even if they have minimum-custody status. Disqualifying convictions include rape and other sex offenses, arson, and escape history. Other disqualifiers include active warrants, medical issues, and high-notoriety cases.^[5]
   
2. Argument in Support: According to California District Attorneys Association (CDAA), “Your bill makes a person convicted of specific child endangerment or abuse crimes resulting in death of the child, ineligible to earn credits to reduce their term of imprisonment for participation as an inmate firefighter or after completing inmate firefighting training.
   
   “AB 3032 recognizes the horrific tragedy of causing a child’s death and ensures enhanced credits are not available to offenders convicted of child endangerment and abuse offenses that result in a child’s death.”
3. Argument in Opposition: According to Initiate Justice Action (IJ Action), “this bill would prohibit plea bargaining from such cases and impose a 5-year enhancement for this conviction or future serious felony convictions if the person has previously been convicted of a serious felony. This bill would also prohibit someone convicted of this crime from participating in the firefighter program for currently incarcerated persons, limiting the good conduct credits an incarcerated person convicted of such crimes can earn through their participation in this program. […]
   
   “The commission of such harm against a child already carries steep penalties. Existing law makes it a crime for a person who has the care or custody of a child to willfully cause or permit the person or health of that child to be injured or willfully cause or permit that child to be placed in a situation where the child’s health may be endangered. Existing law imposes a 4-year enhancement on a person who violates that provision and who willfully causes or permits a child to suffer, inflicts unjustifiable physical pain or injury that results in death, or, having the care or custody of a child, willfully causes or permits that child to be injured or harmed and that injury or harm results in death. Existing law also requires a person who, having the care or custody of a child who is under 8 years of age, assaults the child by means of force that to a reasonable person would be likely to produce great bodily injury, resulting in the child’s death, to be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life.
   
   “AB 3032 will not prevent child neglect or support families - it is yet another ill-advised attempt at degrading the opportunity for rehabilitation and good conduct credits, which are strongly supported by California voters. Under existing law, people in prison can earn 2 days of credit for every one day served as an incarcerated firefighter or upon completion of firefighter training. This bill would deny these credits altogether if someone has a child abuse related conviction as outlined by AB 3032. It is nonsensical and arbitrary to deny firefighter credits based on a certain conviction, especially when there is no legitimate connection between the conviction and participation in a fire program. Good conduct credits are not a “get out of jail free” card as opponents claim it be - instead, they are one of the most important investments into rehabilitation and education programming California has ever enacted. We should be incentivizing as many incarcerated people towards such programming as possible to help them turn their lives around, not curtailing access.
   

“Furthermore, significant research has found that lengthy prison terms do not have a strong deterrent effect on future crime1, especially compared to other deterrence tools such as the certainty of apprehension. Sentencing enhancements will not will not address violence in any demonstrable way. Enhancements are, however, one of the drivers of mass incarceration, a systematic means of economically and politically disenfranchising Black, Latinx and Indigenous families and communities. We urge the Committee to reject failed Carceral approaches, and to invest in proven community-based solutions.”

1. Prior Legislation:
   
   1. AB 1665 (Seyarto) of the 2022-2023 Legislative Session, would have added trafficking a minor to the “serious” felony list. AB 1665 failed passage in this committee.
      
   2. AB 1746 (Hoover) of the 2022-2023 Legislative Session, was substantially similar to this bill. AB 1746 failed passage in this committee.
      
   3. AB 945 (Reyes), of the 2023-2024 Legislative Session, would have required courts to report specified data to the Judicial Council regarding petitions for expungement relief filed on the basis of having successfully participated as an incarcerated fire camp member or at an institutional firehouse. AB 945 was vetoed by the Governor.
      
   4. AB 3000 (Budget Committee), Chapter 1124, Statutes of 2002, as relevant here, provides that any inmate assigned to a conservation camp shall earn two days of work-time credit for every day of service.
      
   5. AB 537 (Acosta), of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session, would added crimes, including human trafficking involving sexual exploitation, to the list of “serious” felonies. AB 537 failed passage in this committee.
      
   6. AB 1321 (Stone), of the 2013-2014 Legislative Session, would have added crimes, including human trafficking, to the list of “serious” felonies. AB 1321 was held in this committee.
      
   7. AB 1188 (Pan), of the 2011-2012 Legislative Session, would have added d five new offenses related to human trafficking and the abuse of a child to the “serious” felony list. AB 1188 failed passage in this committee.
      
   8. AB 16 (Swanson), of the 2009-2010 Legislative Session, would have added human trafficking to the list of “serious” and “violent” felonies. AB 16 failed passage in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
      
   9. SB 440 (Denham), of the 2009-2010 Legislative Session, added the crimes of child abuse likely to produce great bodily injury or death, physical child abuse, killing, mutilating, or torturing a domestic animal, elder abuse for which the defendant was incarcerated in state prison, and escape or attempted escape by force or violence to the lists of “serious” felonies as well as to the list of "violent” felonies, as specified; and added the crimes of human trafficking, stalking, solicitation to commit murder, fleeing or attempting to elude a pursuing peace officer, willful flight or attempting to elude a pursuing peace officer, and felon in possession of a firearm, to the list of “serious felonies," as specified. SB 440 failed passage in the Senate Public Safety Committee.
      
   10. AB 426 (Galgiani), of the 2007-2008 Legislative Session, would have added human trafficking to the list of “serious” and “violent” felonies. AB 426 failed passage in the Senate Public Safety Committee
       

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

California District Attorneys Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
Peace Officers Research Association of California (PORAC)

Oppose

ACLU California Action
California Alliance for Youth and Community Justice
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
California Public Defenders Association
Californians United for A Responsible Budget
Children's Defense Fund - CA
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Felony Murder Elimination Project
Initiate Justice
Initiate Justice Action
Legal Services for Prisoners With Children
Pacific Juvenile Defender Center
San Francisco Public Defender
Team Justice
Uncommon Law
Vera Institute of Justice
Young Women's Freedom Center

Analysis Prepared by:

1. CDCR, Three Judge Court Update. Available at: <https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/3-judge-court-update>. ↑

2. Opinion Re: Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Defendants’ Request For Extension of December 31, 2013 Deadline, NO. 2:90-cv-0520 LKK DAD (PC), 3-Judge Court, Coleman v. Brown, Plata v. Brown (2-10-14).) ↑

3. 11) LAO, The 2024-25 Budget, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Available at: <https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/4852#Prison_Capacity_Reduction>. see also, Penal Code section 17.5 [criminal justice policies that rely on building and operating more prisons to address community safety concerns are not sustainable, and will not result in improved public safety]. ↑

4. CDCR, Fire Camp Program. Available at: <https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/facility-locator/conservation-camps/faq-conservation-fire-camp-program/>. ↑

5. Ibid. ↑