The Youth Rehabilitation and Opportunity Act.

Plain English Breakdown

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Youth Rehabilitation and Opportunity Act

This act changes the rules for when young people who committed certain serious crimes can be considered for release from prison.

What This Bill Does

• Makes people under 25 years old, who were sentenced to life without parole for certain crimes, eligible for a parole hearing after serving 25 years in prison.
• Requires the Board of Parole Hearings to finish all hearings for these young offenders by January 1, 2028.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who were under 25 years old when they committed certain serious crimes and are currently serving life sentences without parole in state prisons.

Terms To Know

youth offender

A person who was younger than 25 years old when they committed a crime that led to a long prison sentence.

parole hearing

A meeting where the Board of Parole Hearings decides if someone can be released from prison early based on their behavior and rehabilitation efforts.

Limits and Unknowns

• The act does not change how people are sentenced for first-degree murder, as this is controlled by a voter-approved law called Proposition 7.
• It's unclear what will happen if the Board of Parole Hearings cannot complete all hearings by January 1, 2028.

Official Summary Text

SB 672, as amended, Rubio.
The Youth Rehabilitation and Opportunity Act.
Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings to conduct a youth offender parole hearing for offenders sentenced to state prison who committed specified crimes when they were under 25 years of age. Existing law makes a person who was convicted of a controlling offense that was committed when the person was under 18 years of age and for which the sentence is life without the possibility of parole eligible for release on parole at a youth offender hearing by the board during the person’s 25th year of incarceration. Existing law specifies that these provisions do not alter the rights of a victim at a parole hearing.
Under existing law, a murder perpetrated by specified means or under certain circumstances is defined as murder of the first degree. Existing law, as added by Proposition 7, an initiative measure approved by the voters at the
November 7, 1978, statewide general election, requires that a person convicted of first-degree murder be subject to death or confinement in prison for a term of life without the possibility of parole in any case in which specified special circumstances are charged and found to be true. Proposition 7 does not provide for amendment by the Legislature.
This bill, the Youth Rehabilitation and Opportunity Act, would instead make a person who was convicted of a controlling offense that was committed when the person was 25 years of age or younger and for which they were sentenced to life without the possibility of parole eligible for parole after their 25th year of incarceration, except as specified. The bill would require the board to complete, by January 1, 2028, all hearings for individuals who are or will be entitled to have their parole suitability considered at a youth offender parole hearing by these provisions, as specified.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF