State officials rehear updates to SB 678 community corrections funding formula

The Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Corrections heard administration and analyst testimony May (date not specified) on proposed updates to SB 678, the Community Corrections Performance Incentive Act of 2009, a state statute that provides incentive funding to county probation departments intended to reduce state prison admissions.

The administration, represented by Justin Adelman of the Department of Finance, told the committee it is proposing a set of methodology changes that would (1) create a stable maintenance payment in the baseline component of the formula, (2) revise the incentive calculation to use per‑person incarceration costs and multi‑year averages rather than outdated contract bed rates and single‑year lookbacks, and (3) retain an existing $200,000 minimum county payment for jurisdictions that submit required data but otherwise receive no award.

Those recommendations were met with questions from committee members and alternative recommendations from the Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO). "We were reproposing and this is a rehearing on SB 678 methodology updates," Justin Adelman said in his opening remarks, noting the formula still rests on three components and that the administration seeks greater stability for county budgeting.

Why it matters

SB 678 distributes state dollars intended to support county probation practices that reduce returns to prison. The formula governs tens of millions of dollars in annual funding and affects how…