SB 850: Prisons.

(1) Existing law, the California Public Employees’ Pension Reform Act of 2013, establishes various limits on retirement benefits generally applicable to a public employee retirement system, as specified. Existing law requires a public employee who is a member of a public retirement system to forfeit accrued rights and benefits in the public retirement system if the individual is convicted of certain felonies, including for conduct arising out of or in the performance of their official duties, relating to salary, disability retirement, service retirement, or other benefits, or that is committed against a child, as specified. Existing law limits this forfeiture to rights and benefits earned or accrued from the earliest date of the commission of the felony.

This bill would require a public employee who is a correctional officer or other prison staff member that is employed by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation who is a current member of a public retirement system, convicted of sexually assaulting an inmate within the prison system system, to forfeit all accrued rights and benefits in any public retirement system in which that public employee is a member and would prohibit that employee from accruing any further benefits in that retirement system. The bill would prohibit any contributions made by the member to the public retirement system from being returned to that member upon the occurrence of a conviction resulting in forfeiture, except as specified. rights and benefits in the public retirement system, as prescribed. The bill would also require a correctional officer or other prison staff member employed by the department who first becomes a member of a public retirement system on or after January 1, 2026, who is convicted of sexually assaulting an inmate within the state prison system, to forfeit all rights and benefits in the retirement system. The bill would establish procedures governing these forfeiture provisions, the forfeiture process, including authorizing a public retirement system to assess a public employer a reasonable amount for reimbursement of specified costs. The bill would require a public retirement system to implement these provisions in a manner that protects an innocent or former spouse and is consistent with existing law governing the division of community property. The bill would apply these provisions retroactively and prospectively, regardless of the public employee’s date of hire.

(2) Existing law provides the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with jurisdiction over prisons and institutions, including, among others, the California Correctional Institution in the City of Tehachapi and the Central California Women’s Facility, and sets forth its powers and duties regarding the administration of correctional facilities and the care and custody of inmates. Existing law also authorizes the secretary of the department to construct and equip suitable buildings, structures, and facilities for, among others, the California Correctional Institution in the City of Tehachapi for the confinement of males under the custody of the secretary.

This bill would require the department to construct and establish one new building with 100 additional single-cell housing units at the Central California Women’s Facility state prison located in the City of Chowchilla for the confinement of women under the custody of the secretary. The bill would also require the department to install fixed cameras by January 1, 2028, in all designated locations that have been ordered by the court or the Legislature, install thermal sensor cameras that track body movements in inmate bathrooms, and eliminate solo shifts for correctional officers, in women’s state prison facilities. The bill would also authorize a correctional lieutenant on the site of a state prison facility to grant permission to an inmate, upon the inmate’s request, to be transferred to restrictive housing.