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Rubicon’s 2021 Legislative Advocacy Summary

January 19, 2022
By Rubicon Programs

Rubicon’s commitment to lasting systemic change means that we go beyond our work with individuals to challenge the systems that keep people in the cycle of poverty. One way that we do this is through legislative advocacy. When a bill related to our work is introduced in the California State Legislature, Rubicon’s team of attorneys will often receive requests from the public and our partner organizations to advocate for or against the bill, depending on the content. Below is a summary of the bills that Rubicon supported and opposed in 2021 and their outcomes in the Legislature, prepared by Senior Staff Attorney Sarah Williams:

Bills supported by Rubicon that were signed into law:
- SB 73 (Wiener) – probation alternatives for drug offenses
  - Summary: This bill would allow the court to sentence people to probation for certain drug crimes for which there are currently mandatory minimums requiring jail time.
  - Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; signed by Governor 10/5/21
- SB 81 (Skinner) – judicial guidance on sentencing enhancements
  - Summary: This bill would change how judges use sentence enhancements and would establish a presumption that the sentence enhancement should only be used when there is “clear and convincing evidence” that not applying the sentence enhancement would endanger the public. This would lead to fewer sentence enhancements being applied.
  - Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; signed by Governor 10/8/21
- AB 1259 (Chiu) – expanding access to post-conviction relief of PC 1473.3
  - Summary: PC 1473.3 allowed people who were convicted by plea bargain to request that the court vacate their conviction if they were not informed of the immigration consequences of their conviction. This bill extends PC 1473.3 to all people, including those convicted by jury trial.
  - Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; signed by Governor 9/30/21
- AB 333 (Kamlager) – The STEP Forward Act
  - Summary: This bill provides reform in sentencing related to gang enhancements.
  - Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature signed by Governor 10/8/21
- SB 354 (Skinner) – family reunification
  - Summary: This bill would make it easier for people with criminal histories to foster relative children who are part of the child welfare system.
  - Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; signed by Governor 10/8/21
- AB 1540 (Ting) – Resentencing under PC 1170(d)(1)
  - Summary: California Penal Code § 1170(d)(1) allows certain law enforcement officials, including the Secretary of CDCR or any elected district attorney, to request that a person be resentenced. This bill will create procedural steps to ensure that all PC 1170(d)(1) petitions are heard by the courts by giving notifications to loved ones about their referrals, establishing court deadlines and rights to counsel, among other procedural protections.
  - Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; signed by Governor 10/8/21
- AB 118 (Kamlager) – Community Response Initiative to Support Emergency Systems (C.R.I.S.E.S. Act)
  - Summary: This bill would create a pilot program that will support community-based responses to emergency situations instead of police-based responses.
  - Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; signed by Governor 10/8/21
- SB 483 (Allen): RISE Act of 2021
  - Summary: This bill would make the repeal of sentencing enhancements from SB 180 and SB 136 (passed in 2017 and 2019, respectively) retroactive
  - Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; signed by Governor 10/8/21
Bills opposed by Rubicon that did not pass the Legislature:
- SB 358 (Jones): Increased Punishment for Package Theft – Opposition
  - Summary: This bill would increase the punishment for package theft from 6 months in jail to 1 year in jail. Rubicon has opposed this bill.
  - Outcome: Held under submission – did not pass Legislature this year
Bills supported by Rubicon that did not pass the Legislature:
- AB 15 (Chiu) – Tenant Stabilization Act of 2021 – extending eviction protections
  - Summary: Extends AB 3088’s COVID-related eviction protections, which included certain procedural requirements and limitations on evictions for nonpayment of rent due to COVID-19 rental debt.
  - Outcome: Did not pass Legislature this year
- SB 355 (Becker) – fee waiver adjustments
  - Summary: This bill would increase the number of people eligible for a fee waiver of court filing fees by expanding the eligible list of accepted public benefits and increasing the income threshold from 125% of the Federal poverty guidelines to the low level of the HUD/HCD standards.
  - Outcome: Ordered to inactive file – did not pass Legislature this year
- SB 82 (Skinner) – petty theft is not armed robbery
  - Summary: This bill would no longer allow California’s robbery law to include petty theft crimes. It would create a new category of “petty theft in the first degree,” which is more serious than simple petty theft but less serious than robbery.
  - Outcome: Held in Committee – did not pass Legislature this year
- SB 262 (Hertzberg & Skinner) – bail reform
  - Summary: This bill would create a fairer pre-trial system by 1) reducing bail to $0 for most misdemeanors and low-level felonies; 2) ensuring people accused do not remain in custody simply because they cannot afford to pay bail and do not assume any costs of court-imposed release conditions; and, 3) requiring bail companies to refund the premiums they receive from defendants who aren’t charged; have their case dismissed or make all of their required court appearances.
  - Outcome: Ordered to inactive file – did not pass Legislature this year
- AB 29 (Bonta) – bail reform
  - Summary: Assembly version of SB 262, described above
  - Outcome: Did not pass Legislature this year
- AB 717 (Stone) – CA IDs
  - Summary: This bill will expand the Cal-ID program so that all people released from the custody of CDCR have a chance to receive a photo identification card before their reentry into society.
  - Outcome: Did not pass Legislature this year
- SB 299 (Leyva) – Police Misconduct Victim Compensation
  - Summary: This bill would remove barriers faced by victims of police violence and other violent crimes in accessing California’s Victim Compensation program.
  - Outcome: Ordered to inactive file – did not pass Legislature this year
- SB 731 (Durazo) – Sunsetting Convictions
  - Summary: This bill would provide for automatic record sealing and expungement after a certain period of time has passed. A similar bill was passed in 2019 (AB 1076), but that bill was only prospective. SB 731 would be retroactive.
  - Outcome: Did not pass Legislature this year
- SB 300 (Cortese) – Sentencing Reform Act of 2021
  - Summary: This bill would reform California’s “felony murder special circumstance” law to ensure that the death penalty and life without the possibility of parole cannot be imposed on those who did not kill, nor intend that a person die, during a crime. SB 1437 from 2018 reformed the first-degree felony murder rule, but it did not change “felony murder special circumstances.”
  - Outcome: Did not pass Legislature this year
- AB 1509 (Lee) – Anti-Racism Sentencing Reform Act for Firearms
  - Summary: This bill would end the 10, 20, 25-to-life gun enhancement law and reduce it to 1, 2, or 3 years. It would apply prospectively and retroactively.
  - Outcome: Held under submission – did not pass Legislature this year
- AB 256 (Kalra) – California Racial Justice Act for All
  - Summary: The California Racial Justice Act, which was passed as AB 2542, prohibits the state from seeking or obtaining a criminal conviction or from imposing a sentence, based upon race, ethnicity or national origin. It also made it possible for a person charged or convicted of a crime to challenge racial bias in their case. However, it was only prospective and not retroactive. AB 256 would make AB 2542 retroactive.
  - Outcome: Held under submission – did not pass Legislature this year
- AB 907 (Santiago) – Reforming Driver’s License Penalties
  - Summary: This bill would make driving on a suspended license for failure to pay a fine and driving without a license infractions, rather than offenses that can be charged as misdemeanors leading to jail time. It would also limit the fine to $50 and prohibit the addition of other fees on top of the time, and reduce the DMV points to zero.
  - Outcome: Held under submission – did not pass Legislature this year
- AB 470 (Carrillo) – Eliminating the Medi-Cal Asset Test
  - Summary: This bill would eliminate the Medi-Cal asset limit for programs serving senior citizens and people with disabilities
  - Outcome: Held under submission – did not pass Legislature this year
- AB 1308 (Ting): Fair Arrest & Conviction Relief
  - Summary: This bill applies the state’s automated process of clearing an arrest or criminal record for eligible individuals to convictions that occurred between 1973 and 2022
  - Outcome: Did not pass Legislature this year
- SB 222 (Dodd): Water assistance
  - Summary: This bill establishes a Water Rate Assistance Fund that would help people who are behind on their water bills
  - Outcome: Ordered to inactive file – did not pass Legislature this year
- SB 223 (Dodd): Water assistance
  - Summary: This bill would help low-income people maintain water service if they are unable to pay their water bill
  - Outcome: Held under submission – did not pass Legislature this year
Bills supported by Rubicon that passed the Legislature but were vetoed by Governor
- SB 804 (Glazer) – CDCR Fire Training Program
  - Summary: This bill would create a forestry training center in the East Bay for formerly incarcerated people. It would also make participants eligible for entry-level forestry positions with Cal Fire.
  - Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; vetoed by Governor
- AB 990 (Santiago): Rights to Visitation While Incarcerated
  - Summary: This bill would make the right to visits for incarcerated people a civil right and make it more difficult for CDCR to limit visits
  - Outcome: Passed Legislature; sent to Governor for signature; vetoed by Governor

Updated as of 12/6/21