BOB CONAWAY's POSITION STATEMENT ON AB 999 & JUVENILE ADD-ONS

Youth in California serve the longest average sentences in the US. California's Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) can lock up youth longer by imposing "time adds" based on behavior arbitrarily assessed by the youth prison authority. Add-on sentence time accounts for 1/3 of custody time in DJJ. I support AB 999 to eliminate time adds & establish incentive programs in which youth can earn credits for program participation & save California over $130 million. I'd oppose time adds until AB 999 passes not only because it appears to be an unconstitutional increase in the sentence imposed by a court by a corrections official (without court approval), but it would save us money in housing (custody costs). Its a time for change.