Inventory of the Robert Presley Papers

Archives Staff and Sara Roberson

California State Archives

1020 "O" Street

Sacramento, California 95814

Phone: (916) 653-2246

Fax: (916) 653-7363

Email: ArchivesWeb@sos.ca.gov

URL: http://www.sos.ca.gov/archives/

Inventory of the Robert Presley Papers

Collection number: See series descriptions

California State Archives

Office of the Secretary of State

Sacramento, California

Processed by:: Archives Staff and Sara Roberson
Date Completed:: April 2005
Encoded by:: Sara Roberson

Descriptive Summary

Title: Robert Presley papers

Dates: 1973-1994

Collection number: See series descriptions

Creator: Presley, Robert B.

Collection Size: 23.5 cubic feet

Repository: California State Archives

Sacramento, California

Abstract: Robert Presley, Democrat, was a California State Senator from 1975-1994. The Robert Presley Papers consist of 23.5 cubic feet of records reflecting Presley's activities during his 19-year Senate career. The records contain Bill Files, 1975-1994; Subject Files, 1973-1994; and Correspondence, 1985-1990.

Physical location: California State Archives

Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Administrative Information

Restrictions

Several items are restricted from bill file SB269 (1993-1994) due to restrictions under California Penal Code, sec. 3515 and from bill file SB1218 (1991-1992) due to restrictions under California Insurance Code, sec. 1877.3-1877.4.

The following subject files are restricted. LP347:362 is restricted under the Public Records Act, California Government Code, sec. 7923.600-7923.625 (formerly sec. 6254 (f)). LP347:368 and LP347:370 are restricted under the Public Records Act, California Government Code, sec. 7927.700 (formerly sec. 6254 (c)).

Publication Rights

For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the California State Archives. Permission for reproduction or publication is given on behalf of the California State Archives as the owner of the physical items. The researcher assumes all responsibility for possible infringement which may arise from reproduction or publication of materials from the California State Archives collections.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Robert Presley Papers, LP[number]:[folder number], California State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State, Sacramento, California.

Acquisition Information

The California State Archives acquired the Robert Presley Papers following his final term in the California Legislature.

Biography

Robert Presley, Democrat, was a California State Senator from 1975-1994. In 1974, Presley was elected to represent California's 34th Senate District, which included cities within Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Following redistricting in 1982, he represented California's 36th Senate District that encompassed Riverside County only. Robert Presley served Riverside County exclusively until another redistricting in 1992 shifted the 36th district to include a portion of San Diego County.

Robert Presley was born on December 4, 1924 in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. He was the first-born son of Doyle and Ann Presley who had lived in the Tahlequah area their entire lives. His father supported his family through farming and later in his life he acquired a job with the Oklahoma State Parks Department. His mother spent her days with her children as a homemaker. For most of his childhood, Presley attended local public schools. However, for ninth and tenth grade he attended boarding school at Haskell Institute in Lawrence, Kansas, then returned to Tahlequah to complete high school at the Central High School in Tahlequah. His parents stressed the importance of education, especially given the disruptions of the Great Depression of the 1930s. Senator Presley remembered his mother describing education as "something they can't take away from you" (Presley Oral History, 4). He credited his parents with giving him both determination and a strong work ethic.

When Presley graduated from Central High School the world was in the midst of World War II. After graduation, he quickly signed up for the Army at Fort Sill in Lawton, Oklahoma and served in the Medical Corps. Presley was honored for his service when he received a Bronze Star for heroism in Italy. The military also exposed Presley to California for the first time when he was stationed at Beale Air Force Base near Marysville, California. When he was discharged in January 1946, Presley went to Riverside County for the first time to visit relatives for a few months. (Presley Oral History, 6-7)

Also at this time Presley married his wife Ahni with whom he had three children: Marilyn, Donna, and Robert Jr. (Who's Who in the California Legislature, 1994, 69).

It was during this time that Presley became involved with the Sheriff's office and remained in Riverside County for the next 36 years. While Presley worked for the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, he attended Riverside City College where he earned an Associate of Arts degree and took courses in police science. Presley attended the FBI National Academy in Washington, D.C., the University of California, Los Angeles and the University of California, Riverside; however, he never completed the requirements for his Bachelor's degree. Presley holds a lifetime Designated Subjects Teaching Credential.

Presley worked for 24 years with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, and served as Undersheriff for 12 of those years. Presley began his law enforcement career in a patrol car, and quickly worked his way up through the ranks. He specialized in homicide cases. In the detective division, he was promoted to sergeant, lieutenant, and captain. Presley's promotion to criminal division chief positioned him for appointment to undersheriff when the current sheriff died in office and the current undersheriff took his place. Presley's experiences as a detective remained with him forever and greatly influenced his legislative policies. In particular, he focused on domestic violence and the flaws he observed in treating victims of that crime. As a Senator, Presley worked diligently to reform this portion of the penal code and established domestic violence shelters (Presley Oral History, 8-15; Who's Who in the California Legislature, 1994, 69).

With no significant political experience, Presley ran for the California State Senate in 1972 in a special election. The special election was held because Governor Reagan had appointed Riverside County's Republican Senator, Gordon Cologne, as a justice for the California Appellate Court. The Democratic Central Committee convinced Presley to run for the open seat and the Democrats fought hard to beat the incumbent Republicans. However, in his first attempt at the State Senate Presley lost to Assembly Member Craig Biddle by 2,586 votes. Nevertheless, the close race finally convinced Presley that he was a serious contender and the following election year, 1974, he sought out the Democratic nomination for Senate. On his second attempt, Presley fully committed himself to the campaign and beat Biddle by 253 votes (Presley Oral History, 15-19; California Legislature at Sacramento (Handbooks), 1973, 76).

Although Presley's transition into politics was abrupt, he succeeded in his new profession. Throughout nearly 20 years of service, Presley remained active in his representation of his district as well as in his commitment to improve and reform California's government. This commitment coupled with his moderate political attitude allowed Presley to pass the majority of the bills he introduced. His reputation and work ethic also made him a favorite candidate to serve as Chair on numerous legislative committees such as the Joint Prison Committee and the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, which he chaired from 1987-1994 (Who's Who in the California Legislature, 1994, 69).

In addition to his political activities, Robert Presley was also a member of the Lions Club, Riverside Family Services Association, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Loyal Order of Moose, and the Elks Club. By 1982, Presley had been named as one of Ten Outstanding State Legislators in the United States by the National Assembly of Governmental Employees, and twice named "Legislator of the Year" by the California Peace Officers Association. During his twenty years in office, he received numerous awards including a special award from the California State Sheriffs Association, the Sierra Club's Distinguished Legislative Achievement Award and the League of California Cities' Special Services Award (California Legislature at Sacramento (Handbooks), 1982, 35; 1983, 35).

According to the California Legislature at Sacramento (Handbooks), Presley served on the following committees:

California State Senate, 1974-1994

Standing Committees
Agriculture and Water Resources 1975 -1994
Appropriations 1987-1994
*Chairman 1987-1994
Budget and Fiscal Review 1985-1986
Business and Professions 1977-1978
Finance 1980-1984
Health and Welfare 1977-1979
Industrial Relations 1975-1976
Judiciary 1975-1976, 1980-1994
*Vice Chairman 1980
Local Government 1975-1976, 1993-1994
*Vice Chairman 1975-1976
Natural Resources and Wildlife 1981-1990
*Chairman 1981-1986
Rules 1979-1980
Toxics and Public Safety Management 1985-1986
Transportation 1977- 1979
*Chairman 1977-1978
*Vice Chairman 1979
Subcommittees
Subcommittee on Auto Repair 1981
Subcommittee on Social Services and Welfare 1978-1979
Subcommittee on Corrections 1980-1983
*Chairman 1980-1983
Select Committees
Select Committee on Children and Youth 1977-1994
*Chairman 1977-1994
Select Committee on Political Reform 1978-1979
Joint Committees
Joint Committee on Job Development 1978-1979
Joint Legislative Audit Committee 1980-1983
Joint Legislative Ethics Committee 1980-1983
*Chairman 1982-1983
Joint Committee on Peace Officer Classifications 1979-1980
*Chairman 1980
Joint Committee on Prison Construction and Operations 1984-1986
*Chairman 1984-1986
Joint Prison Committee 1987-1994
*Chairman 1987-1994

Senator Robert Presley did not run for re-election in 1994. This decision was based on the new term limits that would only allow him to stay in the Senate for one more term. Presley personally disliked the amount of effort and fundraising necessary to win an election campaign. Since the boundaries of Senate District 36 were again moved to include more Republican communities, another reelection campaign would have required considerable effort. Therefore, Presley retired from his Senate seat in 1994. He had served as a California Senator for 19 years (Presley Oral History, 134).

Following the conclusion of Presley's legislative service, he continued to participate and influence California politics. Initially, Presley returned to Riverside County to serve as the Chairman of the Board of the Crime Control Technology Research Center at the University of California, Riverside. However, his desire for the quick pace of politics lead him back to Sacramento in 1995 when Governor Pete Wilson appointed him Chairman of the California Youthful Offender Parole Board. In 1999, Governor Gray Davis appointed Presley as Secretary of the Youth and Adult Correctional Agency. He served until 2003 when Governor Schwarzenegger appointed Roderick Q. Hickman in his place. In January 2004, Presley filed lobbying papers with the Secretary of State and established his own lobbying firm in Sacramento to provide legislative representation for his clients, which included the County of Riverside (Presley Oral History, ii, 136-137).

The California Legislature and Riverside County have shown their gratitude for Robert Presley's civil service. In September 1989, the county renamed the Riverside County Jail located in Riverside, California the Robert Presley Detention Center. Then in 1994, Presley's aspiration to provide more advanced training to criminal investigators was realized when AB1329 (Stats. 1994, ch. 43) added Penal Code section 13519.9 and formalized the Robert Presley Institute for Criminal Investigation under the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).

Scope and Content

The Robert Presley Papers consist of 23.5 cubic feet of records reflecting Presley's activities during his 19-year Senate career. The records contain Bill Files, 1975-1994; Subject Files, 1973-1994; and Correspondence, 1985-1990.

The bill files document his legislative activity during his term as a member of the California State Legislature. The bills introduced by Robert Presley include a wide array of subjects. He authored bills concerning prisons and corrections; child safety, education, and rights; professional ethics; and environmental issues. Senator Presley's primary issue while in the Legislature was corrections. He regularly introduced and supported legislation that attempted to modernize and improve California's Penal Code. Presley looked at every aspect of the correctional system beginning with the Peace Officers who enforce the laws to the problem of overcrowding in California's prisons. In 1982, he became Chairman of the Joint Committee on Prison Construction and Operations and served in this capacity until 1994. As Chairman of this joint committee, Presley consistently introduced bills to improve California's prison system. From 1982-1994, California opened sixteen new state prisons (www.corr.ca.gov/InstitutionsDiv/INSTDIV/facilities).

Senator Presley also regularly introduced legislation concerning the environment. Being that he was from the inland county of Riverside, Presley was acutely aware of Los Angeles' chronic air pollution problems as much of that region's smog blew directly into his eastern county. In 1981, Presley passed SB33, establishing the Motor Vehicle Inspection and Maintenance Program that required motorists in certain urban districts to get annual emissions inspections in order for California to comply with federal Environmental Protection Agency standards (Stats. 1982, ch.892). Because of Presley's commitment to his constituents and his genuine concern for the environment he annually reintroduced legislation to control car emissions with mandatory statewide smog requirements. The subject files series provides further detail on Presley's policy towards corrections and environmental issues.

The correspondence series represents a sampling of his office's active communication with his constituents. For every letter or group of letters that Senator Presley's Sacramento or Riverside office received, he would send a response. The content of these letters range from angry constituents with certain needs to thank you notes from constituents who were pleased with Presley's representation. This series illustrates Presley's continued professionalism and his respect for his district's concerns.

Arrangement

The Robert Presley Papers are arranged into three series: bill files, subject files, and correspondence.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Presley, Robert B.

Prisons Law and legislation

Family violence

Correctional law

Air pollution

California. Legislature. Joint Committee on Prison Construction and Operations

California. Legislature. Joint Legislative Prison Committee

Related Material

Robert Presley, Oral History Interview, conducted 2001 by Patrick Ettinger, Oral History Program, California State University, Sacramento for the State Government Oral History Program available at the California State Archives and some other repositories.

folder LP220:30-79, LP228:57-114, LP347:1-347

Series 1 Bill Files 1975-1994

Physical Description: 455 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by legislative session and numerically by bill number.

Scope and Content Note

Bill files created by Robert Presley document legislation he authored while serving as a member of the State Senate. An average file may contain drafts of bills, analyses by committees and state agencies, comments by constituents or other interested parties, notes by Presley and his staff, relevant background reports or newspaper articles, correspondence in support of or opposed to legislation, veto messages, notices from the legislative counsel about related bills and other miscellaneous materials. Depending on the extent of the bill file, they help reveal the legislator's intent for the measure.

Among his significant initiatives was a package of ten bills that proposed to reform the California's Corrections policy in 1991. The bills sought to redistribute the power at California prisons. In a press release from February13, 1991 Presley stated, ". . . wardens have too much control and do not take enough direction from the Director to assure a standardized statewide operation." Therefore, he introduced SB346 and SB345, which attempted to put medical and educational decisions at prisons in the hands of professional physicians and educators. SB 343 proposed to require wardens to obtain a Master's Degree and deputy wardens a Bachelor's Degree in an appropriate field such as criminology or business administration. Other bills focused more on prisoners and their interactions with correctional officers. SB223 sought to extend Presley's SB1913 (Stats. 1988, ch. 1579) which permitted prison officials to demand a prisoner be tested for AIDS if there is a possibility either an officer or a fellow inmate may have contracted AIDS from that individual. Several bills proposed positive solutions to the state's overcrowded prisons problem. SB187, the Community Offender Re-Entry Act, would provide judges and parole and probation officers with more options than incarceration for the punishment of non-violent criminals. During his nineteen years as a Senator, Presley maintained one of the greatest percentages of getting bills passed. However, nearly all of the bills in this prison reform package failed to become law.

Presley was much more successful with other corrections legislation. He passed legislation to protect Peace Officers physically by allowing them to carry weapons while off-duty (SB1445, Stats. 1982, ch.1086) and protected them from retaliation by making their personal information confidential (SB241, Stats. 1984, ch. 399). Presley also focused on the Courts and in 1984 introduced SB365 (Stats. 1984, ch. 1311) to increase the number of Superior Court Judges in several counties, including Riverside, in order to decrease the 40-year case backlog. Presley continuously addressed the problem of overcrowded prisons in California and in 1982 he proposed and passed two bills to build new prisons in southern California and northern California (SB1574, ch. 1549; SB1609, ch.1548).

Presley regularly proposed unconventional solutions to society's chronic problems. One such example of this method was his idea to help society cope with domestic violence. Every two-year session Presley introduced a bill that would increase marriage license fees by about $5 to provide more funding for domestic abuse centers through out the state. For example, in 1982 he introduced and passed SB1330 (1982, chaptered 522), which increased the fees to $13 then the following session Presley's SB1364 (1984, chaptered 112) further increased the fees to $19. He continued this pattern for the duration of his legislative term. Presley's commitment to a cause he felt strongly about was characteristic of his political career.

1975-1976: SB203-SB2104; SCR38, SCR94; SJR11, SJR67 (16ff) LP220:30-45

1977-1978: SB56-SB2136; SCA20 (34ff) LP220:46-79

1979-1980: SB69-SB1982; SCA7, SCA17; SCR25, SCR52; SR25 (58ff) LP228:57-114

1981-1982: SB14-SB1988; SCR38, SCR39, SCR80; SJR36 (38ff) LP347:1-38

1983-1984: SB21-SB2278; SCA10; SCR48-85; SR43 (36ff) LP347:39-74

1985-1986: SB3-SB2562; SCR34-SCR56; SJR13, SJR28 (57ff) LP347:75-131

1987-1988: SB4-SB2868; SCR43-105; SJR15; SR39 (48ff) LP347:132-179

1989-1990: SB4-SB2882; SCR23-45; SJR65-74; SR62 (69ff) LP347:180-248

1991-1992: SB5-SB1958; SCA29; SCR39-83; SJR26, SJR55 (52ff) LP347:249-300

1993-1994: SB5-SB2056; SCA19; SCR52; SJR18-SJR26; SR29; SB13X-SB44X (47ff) LP347:301-347

folder LP347:348-389

Series 2 Subject Files 1973-1994

Physical Description: 42 file folders

Arrangement

Arranged alphabetically by subject heading.

Scope and Content Note

Subject files can contain newspaper clippings, press releases, correspondence, reports, notes, memorandums, and other materials. The subject files contain information gathered by Presley throughout his political career and demonstrate his wide array of political interests. Several files contain information concerning children and youth specifically the problems of runaway and missing children, and foster care. The subject files also provide more detail into Presley's environmental concerns such as toxic waste at the Stringfellow site in Riverside County and the Better Automotive Repair Program. Many files reflect Presley's involvement and commitment to the committees, which served as Chair. For example, Presley served as Chairman for Joint Prison committee's from 1984-1994 and the files he maintained on subjects such as prison construction and renovation, and improving the standards and hiring ethics of the Department of Corrections are well represented in the subject files.

A list of subject headings is available in Appendix A of the master finding aid at the California State Archives.

Additional Series Information

Appendix A: List of Subject Files

folder LP347:390-392

Series 3 Correspondence 1985-1990

Physical Description: 3 files folders

Arrangement

Arranged chronologically by date.

Scope and Content Note

The correspondence files include letters to Senator Presley from concerned constituents and in some cases his response to those constituents. Also included are letters to and from other public officials such as Governor George Deukmajian, Attorney General John Van de Kamp, fellow legislators, and local officials from his district. The series covers only the years 1985-1990, however, it shows Presley's strong commitment to respond to the concerns of his constituents both publicly and personally.

This correspondence series is distinct from the support and opposition letters found in the bill files. It includes support and opposition letters about bills that Presley did not author, but because he served as the Chair of several committees including the Senate Appropriations Committee, his vote was important. The majority of these support and opposition letters concern animal testing, gun control, and education funding and his responses explain his position on some of these issues. Also included are Presley's responses to invitations to events, congratulatory letters to constituents who were celebrating wedding anniversaries and graduations, as well as condolence letters to constituents who recently lost loved ones.