AB622 - Parole: minimum eligible date.

Amended IN Assembly May 22, 2025 Amended IN Assembly March 17, 2025 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Assembly Bill No. 622 Introduced by Assembly Member Kalra February 13, 2025 An act to amend Section 3046 of the Penal Code, relating to parole. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 622, as amended, Kalra. Parole: minimum eligible date. Existing law punishes specified crimes, including, among others, some forms of murder and rape, with imprisonment in the state prison for life with the possibility of parole. Existing law states that an inmate imprisoned under a life sentence shall not be paroled until they have served the greater of either 7 years or the minimum term set in their sentence. Existing law, for defendants sentenced for murder, states that specified statutory provisions granting credits to reduce the term of imprisonment shall not apply to reduce the minimum term of imprisonment before the defendant may be paroled. Existing constitutional provisions grant the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation authority to award credits for good behavior and approved rehabilitative or educational achievements. This bill would require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to apply all applicable credits under those constitutional provisions to reduce the minimum term or minimum period of confinement of a person imprisoned under one or more life sentences. Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings, when considering a parole for an inmate, to consider, among other things, all statements and recommendations that may have been submitted by the judge, district attorney, and sheriff, as specified. This bill would additionally require the Board of Parole Hearings to consider any reports filed by the probation officer. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 3046 of the Penal Code is amended to read: 3046. (a) An inmate imprisoned under a life sentence shall not be paroled until they have served the greater of the following: (1) A term of at least seven calendar years. (2) A term as established pursuant to any other law that establishes a minimum term or minimum period of confinement under a life sentence before eligibility for parole. (b) If two or more life sentences are ordered to run consecutively to each other pursuant to Section 669, an inmate so imprisoned shall not be paroled until they have served the term specified in subdivision (a) on each of the life sentences that are ordered to run consecutively. (c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), an inmate found suitable for parole pursuant to a youth offender parole hearing as described in Section 3051 or an elderly parole hearing as described in Section 3055 shall be paroled regardless of the manner in which the board set release dates pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 3041, subject to subdivision (b) of Section 3041 and Sections 3041.1 and 3041.2, as applicable. (d) The Board of Parole Hearings shall, in considering a parole for an inmate, consider all statements and recommendations which that may have been submitted by the judge, district attorney, and sheriff, and any reports filed by the probation officer, pursuant to Section 1203.01, or in response to notices given under Section 3042, and recommendations of other persons interested in the granting or denying of parole. The board shall enter on its order granting or denying parole to these inmates, the fact that the statements and recommendations have been considered by it. (e) In setting the minimum term or minimum period of confinement for a person imprisoned under one or more life sentences, as described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a), the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall apply all applicable credits promulgated pursuant to the secretary’s authority under subdivision (b) of Section 32 of Article I of the California Constitution.