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Board approves AB 109 funding recommendation with requirement that administration detail client impacts
Summary
Supervisors approved revised recommendations for criminal‑justice system costs tied to AB 109 but asked administration to return in August with a contract‑level accounting of specific service reductions and the number of clients affected.
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on June 10 approved revised recommendations for AB 109 (realignment) funding but directed county administration to report back in August with a detailed accounting of any contract reductions and the specific number of clients who would lose services.
The board voted to accept the item with a direction for an August report after supervisors and public speakers raised concerns about proposed cuts to reentry services, including legal assistance and navigation services. The motion carried with four yes votes and one abstention recorded.
County staff told the board an updated legislative file, posted the day before, included more detail and that the recommended budget added a one‑time augmentation of $550,000 to the AB 109 allocation while also noting a structural deficit in the AB 109 fund that will need to be addressed in FY 2027. Staff warned that increasing one‑time funding adds to next year’s structural gap.
Public comment during the consolidated items period emphasized the role of community‑based reentry programs. Mark Ashford, representing a Santa Clara County reentry group, said, "Let us help allocate resources to build a shared future." Angel Aliano of the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits warned that proposed cuts threaten services delivered by nonprofit partners and highlighted racial disparities in the county’s jailed population. Peggy Stevenson, founder and director of the Record Clearance Project at San Jose State University, said, "Providing assistance with clearing records and guidance as people leave custody is a sound policy and cost saving measure as well as the appropriate justice perspective to take." Another speaker who identified himself as Hamid described being exonerated after decades incarcerated and urged continued funding for expungement and navigation services.
Supervisors said they lacked sufficient program‑level detail in the recommended budget to assess impacts. Supervisor Lundberg (first speaker raising the matter during the item) moved to approve the item while requiring administration to return in August with finalized contract adjustments and an estimate of clients affected; the board also agreed to add a deeper programmatic review of AB 109 to the Public Safety and Justice Committee (PSJC) if members wished.
Votes at a glance: the motion to approve the revised AB 109 recommendation with direction for an August report passed (yes: 4; abstain: 1).
