Criminal Justice

Existing law, the State Civil Service Act, regulates employment with the state and vests in the Department of Human Resources all powers, duties, and authority necessary to operate the state civil service system. Existing law, except as specified, authorizes adverse action to be taken against any employee, or person whose name appears on any employment list, for specified causes of discipline. This bill, except as specified, would prohibit an employee from being disciplined for cause unless the conduct constituting cause is reasonably related to the employee's fitness, qualifications, or ability to perform the duties of the position. The bill would prohibit its provisions from being construed to limit any procedural or substantive protections otherwise provided by statute, regulation, or memorandum of understanding. This bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop and implement, no later than January 1, 2030, an employee training or diversion program as an available alternative to monetary disciplinary penalties for any correctional peace officer employed by a department, division, board, or commission under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The bill would require the appointing authority to consider whether an employee is eligible for participation in the program before imposing a monetary disciplinary penalty on the employee for any act or omission giving rise to a cause for discipline. The bill would authorize the appointing authority to impose more serious penalties if the nature and frequency of the conduct of the correctional peace officer constitutes serious and grave misconduct and the appointing authority states in writing the specific facts supporting that determination and documents why participation in the training or diversion program would be inappropriate. The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, beginning on January 1, 2031, and annually thereafter, to submit a report to appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature that includes specified information about the program.

(1) Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings to meet with each indeterminately sentenced inmate during the 6th year before the inmate's minimum eligible parole date for the purpose of reviewing and documenting the inmate's activities and conduct pertinent to parole eligibility. One year before the inmate's minimum eligible parole date, existing law requires a panel of the board to meet with the inmate and to grant parole unless the panel or board sitting en banc determines that the gravity of the current convicted offense, or the timing and gravity of current or past convicted offenses, is such that consideration of the public safety requires a more lengthy period of incarceration for the inmate. In certain circumstances, the board will conduct an en banc review and existing law specifies how the en banc review is required to be conducted. Existing law requires a decision of the board to become final 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, and that, when corrected or considered by the board, has a substantial likelihood of resulting in a substantially different decision upon a rehearing. Existing law authorizes the Governor to request a review of a decision by the board to grant or deny parole and, if a request has been made, existing law requires the request to be reviewed by a majority of commissioners, as specified. This bill would instead require a decision by the board to become final unless the board finds an error of law or fact or new information should be presented to the board and that, when corrected or considered by the board, has a substantial likelihood of resulting in a different decision upon a rehearing. The bill would also make the decision and vote of each commissioner of the board in an en banc review a public record. The bill would require the board, when reviewing decisions referred en banc based on review of a panel's decision, to determine if there was a material error of law or fact, or new information that, when corrected or considered by the board, has a substantial likelihood of resulting in a different decision upon a rehearing, and would require the board to vote to either affirm the decision or vacate the decision and set a new hearing. The bill would require the board, when reviewing a parole decision referred en banc by the Governor, to address the Governor's stated reason or reasons for the requested review, and would require the board to either affirm the decision, refer for a recision hearing for lack of substantial evidence, or, in the case of a denial, vacate the decision and set a new hearing. The bill would also make nonsubstantive changes throughout these provisions. (2) Existing law defines a sexually violent predator to mean a person who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense against one or more victims and who has a diagnosed mental disorder that makes the person a danger to the health and safety of others in that it is likely that the person will engage in sexually violent criminal behavior. For purposes of this definition, a conviction for a sexually violent offense includes convictions that resulted in either a determinate or an indeterminate prison sentence, as specified. Existing law requires the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to refer a person who is in custody under that department's jurisdiction, and who is serving a determinate sentence or whose parole has been revoked, for evaluation by the State Department of State Hospitals at least 6 months prior to that individual's scheduled date for release from prison if the secretary determines that the person may be a sexually violent predator. Existing law requires a petition for commitment as a sexually violent predator to be filed in the county in which the person was convicted of the sexual offense for which the person was committed to the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. This bill would authorize the Executive Officer of the Board of Parole Hearings to refer individuals for evaluation as a sexually violent predator pursuant to these provisions. The bill would authorize the secretary or executive officer of the board to refer the person for evaluation if the incarcerated person is determinately sentenced and is scheduled for a parole hearing in the next 6 months. The bill would additionally authorize the secretary or executive officer of the board to refer an individual who is serving an indeterminate term or whose parole was revoked who meets certain criteria for evaluation at least 6 months before the individual's scheduled release date or if the person is scheduled for a parole hearing within the next 6 months, as specified. By imposing additional duties on counties regarding commitment of persons as sexually violent predators, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to report an emergency to specified government entities knowing that report to be false. Existing law makes it a misdemeanor to initiate communication with the 911 emergency system with the intent to annoy or harass another person. This bill would make a 2nd or subsequent violation of these provisions punishable as a misdemeanor or felony for a person who was 18 years of age or older at the time the person committed the prior offense or offenses. By increasing the penalty for existing crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law makes an individual convicted of the crimes described above liable to a public agency for the reasonable costs of an emergency response by the public agency. The bill would extend those liability provisions to property damage incurred as a result of the emergency response. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law requires specified businesses and other establishments, including, among others, airports, intercity passenger rail or light rail stations, bus stations, and truck stops, to post a notice, as developed by the Department of Justice, that contains information relating to slavery and human trafficking, including information regarding specified nonprofit organizations that a person can call for services or support in the elimination of slavery and human trafficking. This bill would additionally require a privately operated entity that operates in a designated disaster site or designated mitigation site, as those terms are defined, that is involved in the response, recovery, rebuilding, or cleanup of a disaster site, permitting related to recovery, rebuilding, or cleanup of a disaster site, or efforts to mitigate or prevent the occurrence of a disaster, to post the above-described notice, except for telecommunications companies or internet service providers. Existing law requires a business or other establishment that operates intercity passenger rail or light rail stations or bus stations to provide at least 20 minutes of training to specified employees in recognizing the signs of human trafficking and how to report those signs to the appropriate law enforcement agency. Existing law requires that training to include, among other things, the definition of human trafficking, including sex trafficking and labor trafficking, and guidance on how to identify individuals who are most at risk for human trafficking. This bill would, starting June 1, 2027, require a privately operated entity that operates in a designated disaster site or designated mitigation site to provide at least 20 minutes of training to all employees involved in specified disaster recovery or mitigation tasks. The bill would authorize the training to be developed or administered by a nonprofit or private entity with professional experience related to human trafficking and would require the training to be delivered in the language that is the most widely spoken language among the employees that will receive the training. The bill would require the training to include the same elements as the training described in the above-paragraph and examples and case scenarios relevant to how trafficking occurs at designated disaster sites and designated mitigation sites.

Existing law prohibits the touching of an intimate part, as defined, of another person if the touching is against the will of the person touched and is for the specific purpose of sexual arousal, sexual gratification, or sexual abuse. Existing law makes a physician and surgeon, psychotherapist, or alcohol and drug abuse counselor who engages in specified sexual acts or sexual contact with a patient or client guilty of sexual exploitation and makes a violation of those provisions a crime, except as specified, punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. This bill would make a member of the clergy, as defined, who engages in specified sexual acts or contact with a current or former patient, client, or member of the congregation, as specified, guilty of sexual exploitation by a member of the clergy. The bill would specify that consent is not a defense to a violation of that provision and would make the crime punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony. By creating a new crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

The California Uniform Controlled Substances Act (act) , among other things, requires a retail distributor to comply with specific requirements for the sale of certain types of controlled substances, including, among other requirements, not selling in a single transaction more than 3 packages of a product that is known to contain ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine. A violation of these requirements by a retail distributor is a crime. The act defines a "retail distributor," for its purposes, as a grocery store, general merchandise store, drugstore, or other related entity, the activities of which, as a distributor of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine products, are limited exclusively to the sale of ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, norpseudoephedrine, or phenylpropanolamine products for personal use both in number of sales and volume of sales, either directly to walk-in customers or in face-to-face transactions by direct sales. This bill would include an online retailer, as specified, within the definition of a retail distributor. By expanding the types of entities that are subject to the requirements imposed on retail distributors under the act, the violation of which is a crime, this bill would expand the scope of a crime, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law authorizes the finder of fact in a criminal prosecution to find the defendant guilty of an offense that is necessarily included in the charged offense. Case law requires the trial court to instruct the jury that it must find the defendant guilty of a necessarily included offense if there is substantial evidence that the defendant is guilty of the necessarily included offense. This bill would require the court, if requested by a defendant, to instruct the jury on a lesser offense, which is closely related to the offense charged, if the court finds that the defendant has relied on a theory of defense consistent with a conviction for the lesser offense, the evidence of the lesser offense is relevant to and admitted for the purpose of establishing guilt of the charged offense, and a basis exists on which the jury could find the offense to be less than charged. The bill would also authorize the judge to find the defendant guilty of the lesser offense if there is no jury. The bill would require the defendant to provide notice to the prosecution of the intent to seek the above-described jury instruction, as specified.

Existing law, subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, requires the Department of Housing and Community Development to provide, under the Transitional Housing Program, funding to counties for allocation to child welfare services agencies to help young adults who are 18 to 24 years of age, inclusive, secure and maintain housing, with priority given to young adults formerly in the state's foster care or probation systems. Existing law, subject to an appropriation in the annual Budget Act, also requires the department to allocate funding to counties under the Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program to help young adults who are 18 to 24 years of age, inclusive, secure and maintain housing, with priority given to young adults currently or formerly in the foster care system. This bill would extend the age of eligibility for the Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program to young adults who are 18 to 28 years of age, inclusive, and would, instead, give priority to nonminor dependents and young adults formerly in the state's foster care or probation system, as defined. The bill would specify the eligible uses of the funding allocated to a county child welfare agency under the Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program. Existing law requires a child welfare agency that accepts any distribution of money under either program to report certain data to the department on an annual basis, including specified information relating to the number of homeless youth served and the number of former or current foster youth served, as defined. This bill would revise those reporting requirements to instead require information about the number of young adults served, including the number of young adults formerly in the state's foster care or probation system, as defined, and would require additional information to be reported under the Housing Navigation and Maintenance Program related to housing vouchers, as specified.

Existing law establishes the Elderly Parole Program for the purpose of reviewing the parole suitability of inmates who are 50 years of age or older and who have served a minimum of 20 years of continuous incarceration on their sentence. Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings, when considering the release of qualifying inmates, to give special consideration to whether certain criteria have reduced the elderly inmate's risk for future violence. Existing law excludes various persons from these provisions, including, among others, persons convicted of serious felonies, persons convicted of first-degree murder of a peace officer, or persons sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This bill would additionally exclude, among others, persons receiving an enhancement to their sentence for committing certain sexual offenses including, among others, rape, sodomy, or lewd and lascivious acts, and habitual sex offenders. The bill would specify that these exclusions apply to all persons incarcerated as of January 1, 2027, regardless of the person's previous eligibility for parole or the status of any parole petition filed prior to that date.

Existing law allows the court to issue a protective order restraining a defendant from any contact with the victim if the defendant has been convicted of a crime of domestic violence, human trafficking, a crime in furtherance of a criminal street gang, or a registerable sex offense. Under existing law, the protective order may be valid for up to 10 years, as determined by the court. Beginning July 1, 2027, this bill would additionally allow the court to issue a protective order, valid for up to the later of 10 years or until the minor victim reaches 18 years of age, restraining a defendant from any contact with a victim if the defendant has been convicted of a registerable sex offense involving a minor victim, as specified. The bill would require the Judicial Council, no later than July 1, 2027, to develop forms, instructions, and rules relating to these orders. The bill would make other conforming changes. By authorizing the issuance of protective orders in certain circumstances and the extension of certain protective orders, a violation of which is punishable as a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.