Restricting Application Of Three Strikes Law To Violent And Serious Felonies.

RESTRICTING APPLICATION OF THREE STRIKES LAW TO VIOLENT AND SERIOUS FELONIES. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Amends Three Strikes law to require mandatory increased sentences only when current conviction is for serious or violent felony such as rape, robbery or burglary. Provides that only prior convictions for serious or violent felonies will qualify for second and third strike sentence enhancements. Requires re-sentencing within 180 days of enactment for persons currently sentenced pursuant to Three Strikes law if offense for which they were sentenced or prior convictions used to increase their sentences do not qualify under this measure as serious or violent felonies. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Estimated short term state savings of as much as $250 million from reduced prison operations with long term prison operations savings of as much as $500 million. Additional one time savings of up to $1 billion could result from delayed construction of new prisons. Increased short term costs to counties of tens of millions of dollars primarily due to the re-sentencing provisions of this measure. In the long term, the measure could result in net savings to counties, on a statewide basis, of as much as $15 million annually