AB 1056 Expands Areas of Prop 47 Funding

With the signing of AB 1056, the Board of State and Community Corrections now has an expanded framework for its work in implementing grants funded through state savings realized under Proposition 47.

On October 2, 2015 Governor Jerry Brown signed the legislation that adds additional administrative duties for the BSCC and makes priorities for the grant programs that will be funded by the proposition.

Proposition 47 reduced penalties for many low-level crimes and called for spending the state savings on treatment programs.

Atkins’ legislation provided additional programmatic priorities for the types of recidivism-reduction services that will be funded. Those include entry housing assistance for offenders who have served their sentences and have been released from incarceration, and employment-related services such as job skills training, as well as civil legal services.

The BSCC will be seeking public input on potential funding priorities for the Prop 47 savings at a series of regional meetings. The first will be from 6-8 p.m. on October 28 at the Alameda County Board of Supervisors’ chambers in Oakland. The others will be scheduled after the first of the year.

The BSCC was charged under the voter initiative with awarding grants intended to reduce recidivism using 65 percent of the funds that would be saved with the measure’s enactment. The Department of Finance is working to determine savings to the state as a result of Prop 47.

By law public agencies will be the lead agencies for Prop 47 grants. These public agencies can work in cooperation with local service providers.

A limited-term Executive Steering Committee appointed by the Board will develop grant program criteria for final Board approval. Soon the BSCC will begin accepting through its website statements of interest for ESC membership, and will be looking for people who are representative of California’s diverse population who bring a variety of perspectives, backgrounds, professional expertise, life experiences and geographic representation.

The BSCC is a multi-faceted organization that provides assistance to the counties on community corrections issues. The agency annually administers and awards millions of dollars in grants designed to reduce recidivism, sets standards for the training of local corrections officers and the operations of local corrections facilities, and administers the current lease-revenue bond process for local jail improvements.

For more information about the BSCC’s Prop 47 responsibilities please read the FAQs.