20250AB__004798AMD INTRODUCED 2024-12-02 AMENDED_ASSEMBLY 2025-04-28 2025 AB AMD Introduced by Assembly Member Nguyen (Coauthor: Assembly Member Alanis) LEAD_AUTHOR ASSEMBLY Nguyen COAUTHOR ASSEMBLY Alanis

An act to amend

Section of the Penal Code, relating to parole. parole Elderly Parole Program. Existing law establishes the Elderly Parole Program for the purpose of reviewing the parole suitability of inmates who are years of age or older and who have served a minimum of 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 persons sentenced pursuant to existing sentencing provisions commonly known as the three strikes law. Under an existing court order, although statutorily excluded, an individual may be eligible for parole under the Elderly Parole Program when they are years of age or older and have been continuously incarcerated for at least years.

This bill would instead specify that persons required to register as sexual offenders, habitual sexual offenders, and persons convicted of various sexual offenses, including rape or sodomy, are not suitable for parole under the Elderly Parole Program until the person is years of age or older and has served a minimum of years of continuous incarceration on their current sentence. MAJORITY NO YES NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section of the Penal Code is amended to read: 3055. (

a) The Elderly Parole Program is hereby established, to be administered by the Board of Parole Hearings, for purposes of reviewing the parole suitability of any inmate who is years of age or older and has served a minimum of years of continuous incarceration on the inmate’s current sentence, serving either a determinate or indeterminate sentence. (b)

(1) For purposes of this code, the term “elderly parole eligible date” means the date on which an inmate who qualifies as an elderly offender is eligible for release from prison.

(2) For purposes of this section, “incarceration” means detention in a city or county jail, local juvenile facility, a mental health facility, or a Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facility for adults or juveniles. (

c) When considering the release of an inmate specified by subdivision (

a) pursuant to

Section 3041, the board shall give special consideration to whether age, time served, and diminished physical condition, if any, have reduced the elderly inmate’s risk for future violence. (

d) When scheduling a parole consideration hearing date pursuant to subdivision (

b) of

Section 3041.5 or when considering a request for an advance hearing pursuant to subdivision (

d) of

Section 3041.5, the board shall consider whether the inmate meets or will meet the criteria specified in subdivision (a). (

e) An individual who is subject to this

section shall meet with the board pursuant to subdivision (

a) of

Section 3041. If an inmate is found suitable for parole under the Elderly Parole Program, the board shall release the individual on parole as provided in

Section 3041. (

f) If parole is not granted, the board shall set the time for a subsequent elderly parole hearing in accordance with paragraph (3) of subdivision (

b) of

Section 3041.5. A subsequent elderly parole hearing shall not be necessary if the offender is released pursuant to other statutory provisions prior to the date of the subsequent hearing. (

g) This

section does not apply to cases in which sentencing occurs pursuant to

Section 1170.12, subdivisions (

b) to (i), inclusive, of

Section 667, or in cases which an individual was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole or death. (h)<xhtml:span class="EnSpace"/>This

section does not apply to cases in which sentencing occurs pursuant to

Section 667.61 or 667.71, or cases where an individual is required to register pursuant to subdivision (

c) of

Section 290.</xhtml:p>"?> (

h) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a person sentenced pursuant to

Section 667.61 or 667.71 shall not be suitable under this

section unless the person is years of age or older and has served a minimum of years of continuous incarceration on their current sentence. (

i) This

section does not apply if the person was convicted of first-degree murder if the victim was a peace officer, as defined in

Section 830.1, 830.2, 830.3, 830.31, 830.32, 830.33, 830.34, 830.35, 830.36, 830.37, 830.4, 830.5, 830.6, 830.10, 830.11, or 830.12, who was killed while engaged in the performance of their duties, and the individual knew, or reasonably should have known, that the victim was a peace officer engaged in the performance of their duties, or the victim was a peace officer or a former peace officer under any of the above-enumerated sections, and was intentionally killed in retaliation for the performance of their official duties. (

j) This

section does not alter the rights of victims at parole hearings. (

k) By December 31, 2022, the board shall complete all elderly parole hearings for individuals who were sentenced to determinate or indeterminate terms and who, on the effective date of the bill that added this subdivision, are or will be entitled to have their parole suitability considered at an elderly parole hearing before January 1, 2023.