Bill > SB672

This bill, known as the Youth Rehabilitation and Opportunity Act, expands parole eligibility for individuals who committed crimes when they were 25 years old or younger and were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. Under the new provisions, such individuals would become eligible for a youth offender parole hearing during their 25th year of incarceration, with some important exceptions. The bill adds several specific circumstances where this expanded parole eligibility would not apply, including murders involving special circumstances such as killing a peace officer, firefighter, witness, prosecutor, judge, or government official, murders motivated by hate, murders involving torture, first-degree murders with multiple victims, murders of children 12 years or younger, and murders classified as domestic violence. The Board of Parole Hearings is required to complete all hearings for individuals eligible under these provisions by January 1, 2028, and must conduct these hearings with consideration of the individual's age at the time of the crime, psychological development, and potential for rehabilitation. The bill aims to provide a meaningful opportunity for release for individuals who committed serious crimes at a young age, while still excluding those who committed the most egregious offenses.

Budget and Finance, Justice

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB672