AB 109

Brief Summary of Key Provisions for AB 109 2011 Public Safety Realignment

This is historic legislation that will enable California to close the revolving door of low-level inmates cycling in and out of state prisons. It is the cornerstone of California's solution for reducing the number of inmates in the state's 33 prisons to 137.5% design capacity by May 24, 2013, as ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Jail vs. Prison

AB 109 allows non-violent, non-serious, and non-sex offenders to serve their sentence in county jails instead of state prisons. However, counties can contract back with the State to house local offenders. It also allows for the county-level supervision of offenders upon release from prison (Post Release Community Supervision) which includes current non-violent, current non-serious (irrespective of priors) and some sex offenders.

Supervision

In all 58 counties, the Probation Department is the designated agency responsible for post-release supervision. In Nevada County, our Post Release Community Supervision program utilizes many services for the supervision and support of these offenders. County-level supervision will not include:

  • High-risk offenders, as defined by CDCR
  • Inmates paroled from life terms to include third-strike offenders
  • Mentally Disordered Offenders
  • Offenders on parole prior to October 1, 2011
  • Offenders whose current commitment offense is violent or serious, as defined by California's Penal Code Section 667.5 (c) and 1192.7 (c)

Additional Information

For more information view the AB 109 Brief (PDF).