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Senate subcommittee reviews trailer bill to strengthen enforcement of juvenile facility suitability findings
Summary
The Board of State and Community Corrections asked the Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 3 for trailer bill language to clarify and expand its authority to enforce unsuitability findings after Los Angeles juvenile halls were repeatedly found noncompliant.
The Senate Budget Subcommittee No. 3 heard testimony May 20 on trailer bill language that would give the Board of State and Community Corrections (BSCC) clearer authority to enforce findings that local juvenile detention facilities are unsuitable. The BSCC sought the change after repeated inspections of Los Angeles County juvenile halls found multiple facilities out of compliance with state minimum standards.
BSCC Executive Director Aaron Maguire told the subcommittee the board has conducted ongoing inspections and reinspections of Los Angeles facilities “which has resulted in a finding of unsuitability of 2 of Los Angeles's juvenile halls” and that when youth were moved between facilities noncompliance continued. Maguire said the county later filed suit against the board and the proposed trailer bill language would "specify also what the board can consider when determining whether a facility would be suitable" and would explicitly authorize staff to approve corrective action plans.
Anthony Frenz of the Department of Finance provided a brief overview for the item, and Jason Constantino of the Legislative Analyst's Office said the LAO has not raised concerns about the proposal. Senator Domencha Barra, whose district includes the affected Los Angeles facilities, thanked BSCC for bringing the language and said the changes would give the agency the "teeth" she had long sought to enforce standards.
Maguire said the draft language responds to an opinion from the attorney general that is cited by the department and will clarify what the board may consider in making suitability determinations. He added the bill would also permit the board to conduct more than the current inspections every other year and to take additional enforcement steps.
The subcommittee did not take a vote on the trailer bill language at the hearing. Members asked for follow-up technical details and indicated they would return to the issue as part of the normal budget negotiations.
The BSCC item was presented at the start of the hearing's public agenda and drew support from subcommittee members who represent the county where the unsuitability findings were issued. The matter is pending draft language and potential committee action in follow-up budget meetings.
