3041.
(a) (1) In the case of any inmate incarcerated person 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 inmate incarcerated person during the sixth year before the inmate’s
incarcerated person’s
minimum eligible parole date for the purposes of reviewing and documenting the inmate’s individual’s activities and conduct pertinent to parole eligibility. During this consultation, the board shall provide the inmate incarcerated person information about the parole hearing process, legal factors relevant to his or her their suitability or unsuitability for parole, and individualized recommendations for the inmate
incarcerated person regarding his or her 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 inmate incarcerated person in writing.(2) One year before the inmate’s incarcerated person’s
minimum eligible parole date a panel of two or more commissioners or deputy commissioners shall again meet with the inmate incarcerated person 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 inmate
incarcerated person
shall be released subject to all applicable review periods. However, an inmate incarcerated person shall not be released before reaching his or her their minimum eligible parole date as set pursuant to Section 3046 unless the inmate incarcerated person is eligible for earlier release pursuant to his or her
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. Any 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. incarcerated person.
(b) (1) The panel or the board, sitting en banc, shall grant parole
to an inmate incarcerated person 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. 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, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity,
disability, or cultural or religious affiliation.
(B) The person’s 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, 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 status as a victim or alleged victim of crime, 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.
(2) After July 30, 2001, any decision of the parole panel finding an inmate
incarcerated person 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.
(3) 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 inmates
incarcerated persons 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 inmate incarcerated person
until the time the person is released pursuant to proceedings or reaches the expiration of his or her 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 inmates incarcerated persons 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 an inmate
incarcerated person 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 inmate incarcerated person 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 inmates incarcerated persons 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.
