Bill Text: CA SB81 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

California Senate Bill 81

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

Bill Title: Parole hearings.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2024-01-25 - Veto sustained. [SB81 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB81-Amended.html

Amended IN Assembly September 01, 2023

Amended IN Assembly June 21, 2023

Amended IN Senate May 23, 2023

Amended IN Senate March 22, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 81

Introduced by Senators Skinner and Becker
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Connolly, Jackson, and Ting)

January 12, 2023

An act to ~~amend Section 3041 of, and to add Section 3041.8 to,~~ add Section 3041.8 to the Penal Code, relating to parole.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 81, as amended, Skinner. Parole hearings.

Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings, among other responsibilities, to conduct parole suitability hearings and determine whether an inmate is suitable for parole. Existing law establishes the procedures at all hearings for the purpose of reviewing a prisoner’s parole suitability, or the setting, postponing, or rescinding of parole dates, and provides inmates specified rights at parole suitability hearings.
This bill would prohibit the board from considering any discriminatory factor, as specified, in reaching a finding of unsuitability for parole. The bill would require the board, when stating the reasons for its decision to deny parole, to articulate the relationship between each reason for denial and the parole candidate’s current risk of violence.

This bill would require the Board of Parole Hearings to notify a parole candidate with an indeterminate sentence who has been denied parole of their right to petition the court for habeas relief. The bill would ~~require~~ authorize the court to, upon request, appoint counsel to a parole candidate who has reached their minimum eligible parole date who petitions the court for habeas relief after being denied parole. The bill would establish that a parole candidate who has reached their minimum eligible parole date has made a case for relief that should be accepted as correct unless proved otherwise and that the reviewing court may not deny a petition based on that fact without a hearing. The bill would require a court reviewing a petition for habeas relief based on a parole denial to uphold a decision to deny parole only if the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the person presents a current, unreasonable risk of danger to public safety, as specified. ~~The bill would require the Judicial Council to annually track and publish data on habeas petitions, including, but not limited to, the number of petitions filed, granted, and denied.~~

Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.Section 3041 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
3041.
(a)(1)In the case of a parole candidate sentenced pursuant to any law, other than Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 1170) of Title 7 of Part 2, the Board of Parole Hearings shall meet with each parole candidate during the sixth year before the parole candidate’s minimum eligible parole date for the purposes of reviewing and documenting the parole candidate’s activities and conduct pertinent to parole eligibility. During this consultation, the board shall provide the parole candidate information about the parole hearing process, legal factors relevant to their suitability or unsuitability for parole, and individualized recommendations for the parole candidate regarding their work assignments, rehabilitative programs, and institutional behavior. Within 30 days following the consultation, the board shall issue its positive and negative findings and recommendations to the parole candidate in writing.
(2)One year before the parole candidate’s minimum eligible parole date a panel of two or more commissioners or deputy commissioners shall again meet with the parole candidate and shall normally grant parole as provided in Section 3041.5. No more than one member of the panel shall be a deputy commissioner.
(3)In the event of a tie vote, the matter shall be referred for an en banc review of the record that was before the panel that rendered the tie vote. Upon en banc review, the board shall vote to either grant or deny parole and render a statement of decision. The en banc review shall be conducted pursuant to subdivision (e).
(4)Upon a grant of parole, the parole candidate shall be released subject to all applicable review periods. However, an inmate shall not be released before reaching their minimum eligible parole date as set pursuant to Section 3046 unless the parole candidate is eligible for earlier release pursuant to their youth offender parole eligibility date or elderly parole eligible date.
(5)At least one commissioner of the panel shall have been present at the last preceding meeting, unless it is not feasible to do so or where the last preceding meeting was the initial meeting. A person on the hearing panel may request review of any decision regarding parole for an en banc hearing by the board. In case of a review, a majority vote in favor of parole by the board members participating in an en banc review is required to grant parole to any inmate.
(b)(1)The panel or the board, sitting en banc, shall grant parole to a parole candidate unless it determines that the gravity of the current convicted offense or offenses, or the timing and gravity of current or past convicted offense or offenses, is such that consideration of the public safety requires a more lengthy period of incarceration for this individual.
~~(2)The board shall not consider any discriminatory factor in reaching a finding of unsuitability for parole, including, but not limited to, any of the following:~~
~~(A)The person’s race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or cultural or religious affiliation.~~
~~(B)The person’s physical or mental disability, or cognitive, speech, or physical impairment.~~
(C)The person’s current or prior history of mental illness or a substance use disorder unless there is clear and convincing evidence that the illness or disorder cannot be effectively managed in the community.
~~(D)The person’s housing status at the time of conviction, current or prior employment history, socioeconomic status, English language proficiency, immigration history or status, or education level.~~
(E)The person’s relations or prior association with a group of persons who share the person’s race, ethnicity, national origin, neighborhood, or religion, unless there is clear and convincing evidence that the association is ongoing and currently relevant to a specific future risk of violence.
(F)Other factors which have been documented to be subject to bias, including, but not limited to, a parole candidate’s prior experience as a victim of violence or abuse, verbal or nonverbal communication, tone of voice, volume of speech, facial expressions, body language, eye contact, or the candidate’s ability to articulate complex or abstract concepts.
~~(3)When stating reasons for its decision to deny parole, the board shall articulate the relationship between each reason for denial and the parole candidate’s current risk of violence.~~
(4)After July 30, 2001, a decision of the parole panel finding a parole candidate suitable for parole shall become final within 120 days of the date of the hearing. During that period, the board may review the panel’s decision. The panel’s decision shall become final pursuant to this subdivision unless the board finds that the panel made an error of law, or that the panel’s decision was based on an error of fact, or that new information should be presented to the board, any of which when corrected or considered by the board has a substantial likelihood of resulting in a substantially different decision upon a rehearing. In making this determination, the board shall consult with the commissioners who conducted the parole consideration hearing.
~~(5)A decision of a panel shall not be disapproved and referred for rehearing except by a majority vote of the board, sitting en banc, following a public meeting.~~
(c)For the purpose of reviewing the suitability for parole of those parole candidates eligible for parole under prior law at a date earlier than that calculated under Section 1170.2, the board shall appoint panels of at least two persons to meet annually with each parole candidate until the time the person is released pursuant to proceedings or reaches the expiration of their term as calculated under Section 1170.2.
(d)It is the intent of the Legislature that, during times when there is no backlog of parole candidates awaiting parole hearings, life parole consideration hearings, or life rescission hearings, hearings will be conducted by a panel of three or more members, the majority of whom shall be commissioners. The board shall report monthly on the number of cases where a parole candidate has not received a completed initial or subsequent parole consideration hearing within 30 days of the hearing date required by subdivision (a) of Section 3041.5 or paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 3041.5, unless the parole candidate has waived the right to those timeframes. That report shall be considered the backlog of cases for purposes of this section, and shall include information on the progress toward eliminating the backlog, and on the number of parole candidates who have waived their right to the above timeframes. The report shall be made public at a regularly scheduled meeting of the board and a written report shall be made available to the public and transmitted to the Legislature quarterly.
(e)For purposes of this section, an en banc review by the board means a review conducted by a majority of commissioners holding office on the date the matter is heard by the board. An en banc review shall be conducted in compliance with the following:
~~(1)The commissioners conducting the review shall consider the entire record of the hearing that resulted in the tie vote.~~
(2)The review shall be limited to the record of the hearing. The record shall consist of the transcript or audiotape of the hearing, written or electronically recorded statements actually considered by the panel that produced the tie vote, and any other material actually considered by the panel. New evidence or comments shall not be considered in the en banc proceeding.
~~(3)The board shall separately state reasons for its decision to grant or deny parole.~~
~~(4)A commissioner who was involved in the tie vote shall be recused from consideration of the matter in the en banc review.~~

SEC. 2.SECTION 1.

Section 3041.8 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

3041.8.

(a) Upon ~~denial of parole,~~ the denial of parole to a parole candidate with an indeterminate sentence, the Board of Parole Hearings shall notify the parole candidate of their right to petition for habeas relief from a court. ~~A parole candidate may have the petition heard in either the county of conviction or in the county in which the parole candidate is incarcerated.~~

(b) A parole candidate may petition a court for relief after a denial of parole by petition for writ of habeas corpus. The parole candidate may request the assistance of counsel for this purpose. The court ~~shall~~ may appoint counsel upon request, whether the request is made upon the submission of a petition or upon a request for assistance to prepare the petition.

(c) A parole candidate who has been denied parole after reaching their minimum eligible parole date as described in Section 3041, their youth parole eligible date as defined in Section 3051, or their elderly parole eligible date as defined in Section 3055 has made a prima facie case for relief and the reviewing court may not summarily deny a petition for writ of habeas corpus filed pursuant to this section.

(d) A court reviewing a decision to deny parole ~~or to reverse the grant of parole~~ shall exercise its independent judgment on the decision. The court shall uphold a decision to deny parole only if the court finds, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the person presents a current, unreasonable risk of danger to public safety as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1170.18. The court may make this determination based on the record that was before the Board of Parole Hearings at the time of the denial. The admission of evidence in the court hearing shall be governed by the Evidence Code. The court may order whatever relief as the case may require, including an order for a new parole hearing, with or without limitations on what evidence the Board of Parole Hearings may consider.

(e) The court shall transmit its decision to the Board of Parole Hearings.

~~(f)The Judicial Council shall annually track and publish data on habeas petitions pursuant to this section, including, but not limited to:~~
~~(1)The number of petitions filed.~~
~~(2)The number of petitions granted.~~
~~(3)The number of petitions denied.~~