>> good afternoon, and welcome to the regular rules committee for july 19th, 2012. i will be chairing the meeting today. i will be joined by supervisor farrell and supervisor campos. the committee but like to acknowledge the staff at sf gov tv for making our transcript's available to the public at each of our meetings. >> please turn off all cell phones and electronic devices. items acted upon today will appear on the july 30th -- july 24th supervisors agenda unless otherwise stated item number

one, the san francisco commission. >> i believe both applicants are here today. i will call you in the order that you are on the agenda. >> can you hear me ok? chairperson kim: yes. our format is pretty similar, but we ask that you cover in a couple of minutes, briefly, your background, and some of your priorities if you are appointed. >> good afternoon. thank you for the opportunity to present my qualifications your -- to you. i am with the drug policy alliance, a national organization that provides alternatives to punitive drug laws. at the national, state, and

local level. for 15 years in california, drug policy alliance has been involved in some of the nation's most progressive criminal- justice reform efforts, as i mentioned, in the nation, including creating the largest treatment amphetamine incarceration program, working on the rehabilitation act of 2008, which is designed to evaluate criminal sentences, as well as reducing prison overcrowding that was occurring at the time. as well as working on the state level legislation and reducing penalties for drug possession. from its inception, we had an office in san francisco, and we have been involved in multiple initiatives to make san francisco a model city. our wo providing funds to the d.a.'s office for

the bike and track program, of working with various tax -- task forces, working to crackdown on medical marijuana, and working with medical marijuana access for patients. my commitment to criminal- justice reform began early. i grew up in south africa. for more than seven years i've been involved in a wide range of criminal justice reform issues reforming the system, and especially focusing on drug policy. i believe that is where the disparate impact on communities of color as the most impact. this accounts for the exponential growth of our jail and prison system. the united states, and even california, is the leading a

greater in the world. a -- incarcerator in the world. many are in jail for drug or possession offenses. it is important to have someone with a drug policy background sitting on the commission. you cannot go right -- go wrong in that regard, because the kel applicant also works on these issues, and i have the highest regard for him, having worked with him and on several years. my experience in reforming criminal-justice policies runs the gamut from pre-arrest to post-conviction release. i have evaluated sentencing laws, practices, and outcomes. i have drafted legislation. i have drafted measures.

i have been involved in a cost- effective sentencing reforms that reduce the length of time that someone is incarcerated without jeopardize in public safety. our draconian laws can be as devastating as a primary punishment and strikes at the heart of a person's ability to reintegrate into a community. moreover, drug policies have had a devastating and definite impact on communities of color. unfortunately, san francisco is not estranged from this problem. i will be wrapping up shortly. we uncovered a four decade old pattern of law enforcement practices by the police department. the reason i highlight this is to show that african-americans are 19 times more likely to be arrested for drug-related offenses. >> if i may -- i'm glad you're

outlining a lot of problems. for us, i think we are more interested in hearing what you would like to do in serving on the commission. >> that leads me directly into the next point and great to make. drug policy and drug enforcement is a critical area in san francisco, and local counties can make a difference in criminal justice outcomes. despite state laws and federal laws, the local community can do something to affect criminal justice outcomes, and the sentencing commission is the best position to uncover the disparate arrest rates and uncover a solution. in san francisco, the bite best program that you are probably all familiar with, the undercover officers perform drug operations to try to catch drug

dealers, but surveys show only 1% of those actually caught up in his professional -- profession are dealers. most of the people caught up in the system are engaging in low- level sales. or they are doing it for -- or they are economically marginalized. one change incentives in that we could explore for the city has been implemented in seattle. it is a pre-booking diversion program. it provides law enforcement officers some tools and community-based alternative to incarceration and arrest and booking. and it is all community-based treatment. the sentencing commission can come up with some innovative solutions, evaluate the practices in the city, find out how to efficiently invest in a law enforcement resources, and at the same time, prevent people from being caught up in the net of the criminal-justice system about which we all know is a

revolving door. once they are caught in it, it is hard to get out. to conclude my would like to urge members to vote in favor of my point to the commission. my experience and passion for reforming criminal justice policy would make me an excellent fit for the commission. i thank you for your time. >> thank you. we do have a question from supervisor campos. supervisor campos: thank you for your interest. and for your impressive resume. this is a question for you, and for allen harper -- alan hopper. i'm wondering if you can speak to your experience and commitment to san francisco, notwithstanding the presidency waiver. >> i have a history of working in san francisco. i internet the public defender's office here in the city.

i worked at a homeless policy organization in san francisco, assistant city in applying for federal money to fund homeless services. i reside in the east bay, but we do have a san francisco office. i work very closely with the office. we work on san francisco's city initiatives. despite my residency, i have a strong connection to san francisco. san francisco does -- does have the ability to be a model for california and for the nation, and i would like to be part of this process with the sentencing commission. thank you supervisor campos: -- thank you. supervisor campos: thank you. so, you do work and live outside of san francisco? >> yes, i do.

chairperson kim: next we have mr. allen hopper. >> good afternoon. i have worked with her for many years. you cannot go wrong today. i am honored to be considered for the commission. it is an incredibly important commission and, in fact, historical time in the state of california. we have the potential to significantly reformed the criminal-justice system and change the way we deal with the low-level non-violent offenders. live at 30 years of failed incarceration policies throughout the state that have taken as to the brink of fiscal disaster. i will give you a little bit of information about my background and what i think would be most important to get started with, with the sentencing commission. i mean 1992 graduate of uc-davis law school. my entire career has been

focused on the criminal-justice system. in one way or another i began at -- in one way or another. i began as a public defender. i then worked for the california appellate project, which is a non-profit established by the state bar and the supreme court to provide assistance and expertise to the lawyers who represent folks on death row in their appeals. i then worked for the national aclu. i was the litigation director for the drug reform project. for the past two years i've worked for the aclu here in northern california in san francisco. our office is down on drug street. now i am not a litigator. my focus is now entirely on policy work and realignment. shortly after i got to the aclu in northern california, governor brown revealed his realignment proposal. we immediately recognized this

as an opportunity for significantly changing the way we think about and deal with criminal justice, especially the lowest level offenders. we have one of the highest recidivism rate in the country in california, nearly 70% of the people who go into our criminal justice system and are incarcerated blowback within three years of release. it is clear that simply focusing on incarceration has not worked. it does not make us safer and is costing us too much money. within a couple of weeks, literally after the realignment legislation was enacted last july, we released a report, the aclu did, that analyze the new law and the sentencing discretion that it grants to local sheriffs in terms of food to incarcerate and hutu release. we proposed a set of recommendations for county-level officials to consider as they

implemented realignment. we-and much heard that across the state and are continuing to do so. we issued a second report that we send to this committee, and i hope that you received it. we analyzed what cat -- what counties are doing around the state. they have a huge amount of discretion in how to implement realignment and are doing it in different ways. counties traditionally have relied on state prison for these low-level offenses. they're using the money that they got for the state to increase their capacity to incarcerate at the local level. san francisco has not done that. there is the potential for san francisco to be a model for the rest of the state, and indeed, the rest of the nation. i'm hoping that all of you saw

the front page san francisco article chronic -- chronicle article on monday. if not, i will be happy to provide you with that. i was struck by the comments of people across the spectrum in the governmental structure you're dealing with criminal justice. it is unparalleled to anywhere else in the state. you have the district attorney's office, the public defender's office, the sheriff, the chief of police, the chief probation officer all indicating in their comments and actions that they truly do embrace the intention of realignment, which is to develop alterative ways of dealing with the lowest level offenses that are not just focusing on incarceration. at the aclu, we're working both to push back against what we see as the worst excesses -- we are trying to push back at the counties that are just using it as an opportunity to expand their jail capacity. but at the same time, we want to

find and highlight for the state those counties that are doing it right. the san francisco is really doing it right and has the potential to be a model. that is not to say there will not be challenges. san francisco has one of the two or three cities in the country, one of the highest disparities in drug arrests. i have lived in the bay area for most of my adult life. it shocks me that is the case here in san francisco. also, judges, even in san francisco, have been so far slowed to embrace these options that are available to them. they need to be pushed to structure a sentence with their new authority to allow people not to spend all their time in jail, but also to be properly supervised and given the opportunities that they need in

between the time that they are released from jail and back into the communities. in addition to focusing on san francisco and the implementation of realignment here, one of the things that iambs -- i am excited about the sentencing potential -- the sentencing commission's potential to do is to make recommendations to the state for better ways to implement realignment. i have appeared before various state bodies, including the board for state community corrections, and lobbied for changes front -- for changes in the funding formula by which the state determines how much money the county's debt. san francisco came out better the second time around, but they're still need to be changes to incentivize counties to move away from incarceration. realignment is not the half. -- is not enough. the aclu in seattle was deeply involved in establishing the program.

i would like to see something like that here, where an initial decision is made by a police officer to refer someone rather than booking them into jail. to refer them to a program or some other type of treatment facility. and you do not even incur the cost of the initial booking process and the other court costs. the last thing i will mention is, dealing with people pre- trial is a huge problem in this state, including in san francisco. nearly 70% of those in our jails are there because they have been convicted of nothing at all. they are their pre-trial before their day in court. and that an enormous cost to the county, $100 a day or more, to incarcerate someone. it is much cheaper to develop effective pre-trial programs so we can release those people that can afford to pay bail, and also

those that are not a danger to the community and may not be able to afford bail. i am optimistic about this opportunity and i am honored to be considered for appointment. speaking to your question, supervisor campos, i have lived in the bay area most of my adult life. i've lived in the mission ended north beach. i currently live in marin. my father-in-law has medical issues and his doctors are there and we live there to be close to him. but i work in san francisco and i consider this my home. >> how many years did you live in san francisco? >> i graduated from law school in 1982 and i moved here then. i've lived here until a couple of years in the late 1990's when i lived in sacramento for a couple of years. that was back in the city and that i was in mill valley before

moving to santa cruz for the past six years. i would say seven, eight years. chairperson kim: i see no questions for mr. hopper. thank you. >> thank you. chairperson kim: i will open it up for public comment on this item. if you would like to speak, two minutes. mr. hyde. commissioner, thank you for being here. >> it is good to be here again. i'm glad i'm not doing the presentation this time. i am representing the harvey milk, lgbt democratic club. one of the biggest issues we are working on this year is drug policy. the organization has asked me to come here and offer our backing for backingnaidu for this position -- backing ms.