(a) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities shall purchase, after a competitive bidding process, two medical devices that utilize a laser to remove a tattoo from a person’s skin. The department shall determine, through a competitive bidding process, the placement of the two medical devices pursuant to the following guidelines:
(1) One of the medical devices shall be located within Los Angeles County and the other shall be located within one of the following counties: Alameda, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz.
(2) Possible sites may include: a licensed health facility, a licensed health clinic, an educational institution, or a probation office. The department may enter into an agreement with a licensed health facility to permit the health facility to use the medical device when it is not needed for tattoo removal pursuant to this section if the health facility provides tattoo removal services pursuant to this section free of charge.
(3) The medical devices shall remain the property of the state. However, they shall be used in conjunction with the tattoo removal program pursuant to this section for the functional life of the medical devices.
(b) Candidates for tattoo removal shall be screened by community groups working collaboratively with the operators of the sites of the tattoo removal devices. A male candidate for tattoo removal shall have a tattoo on his lower arm, hand, neck, or head. A female candidate for tattoo removal shall have a tattoo that would be visible in a professional work environment. To be eligible for participation, the presence of the tattoo must be deemed to present either a threat to the personal safety of, or an obstacle to the employability of, the candidate. Priority shall be given to candidates who have a job offer that is contingent upon removal of the tattoo. At the discretion of the organization that screens a candidate, a candidate for this tattoo removal may be required to complete 20 hours of supervised public service work in order to participate in this program. Parental consent shall be required before the tattoo of any person under 18 years of age is removed.
Community groups recommended pursuant to this subdivision shall meet the following criteria:
(1) Serve at-risk youth, ex-offenders, ex-convicts, current and former gang members, or victims of trafficking and prostitution.
(2) Possess an established record of providing community-based services for at least one year to the persons described in paragraph (1).
(c) Community groups that participate in this program and the operators of the sites of the tattoo removal devices shall solicit the pro bono services of licensed health care providers to participate in the program in order to increase the number of individuals served.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that at least 200 tattoo removals shall be performed at each tattoo removal site in its first year of operation. After two years of operation, community groups that participate in this program and the operators of each site shall report to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities on the number of tattoo removals performed by each device and the success of the program in assisting individuals to join the workforce. By March 1, 2000, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities shall report these findings to the Legislature.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature to expand these pilot programs as rapidly as possible to other areas of the state where there is gang violence and where there are active community-based gang violence prevention programs.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 746, Sec. 1. (AB 1956) Effective January 1, 2013.)