Although California has made significant strides over the years to address mass incarceration and racial bias and disparities in the criminal justice system, more needs to be done to move California forward and invest in communities. Addressing failed, ineffective, and draconian sentencing enhancements is a big part of the solution. SB 136 will advance racial justice and fairness and help keep families together. This bill restricts a mandatory one-year sentence enhancement that is added to an individual’s base sentence for each prior prison or felony jail term served. Research shows that sentence enhancements like the one addressed by SB 136 do not make our communities safer or deter crime. Instead, these enhancements tear families apart. It’s time California move forward toward real justice.

Author(s):
Senator Wiener
Coauthors: Assemblymembers Kalra, Carrillo, Quirk, Weber; Senator Bradford

Sponsors:
ACLU of California, California Coalition for Women Prisoners, Californians United for a Responsible Budget, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, the Drug Policy Alliance, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, the Friends Committee on Legislation of California, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, Pillars of the Community, and Tides Advocacy.

Bill Status [SIGNED]

Updates
Signed - Governor (10.08.2019)
Passed - Assembly Floor (09.12.2019)
Approved - Assembly Appropriations (08.30.2019)
Approved - Assembly Public Safety (06.25.19)
Passed - Senate Floor (05.28.19)
Approved - Senate Public Safety (03.26.19)
Introduced (01.17.19)