Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Newsom Has Mixed Verdict on California Criminal Justice Laws
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 years ago on
October 3, 2022

Share

 

Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered a mixed verdict on more than three dozen criminal justice laws before his bill-signing deadline Friday, approving measures to seal criminal records and free dying inmates but denying bids to restrict solitary confinement and boost inmates’ wages.

Starting in July, one new law will give California what proponents call the nation’s most sweeping law to seal criminal records, though it excludes sex offenders. It will seal conviction and arrest records for most ex-offenders who are not convicted of another felony for four years, as well as records of arrests that don’t bring convictions, while former prison inmates convicted of serious felonies will be able to ask a judge to seal their records.

Backers estimate that 70 million Americans and 8 million Californians are hindered by old criminal convictions or records. They estimated the law could give more than a million Californians better access to jobs, housing and education.

Newsom also approved related measures, one allowing record sealing and expungement even if former offenders still owe restitution and other court debt, and another making it easier to apply for certificates of rehabilitation.

“Old records that no longer reflect the reality of who someone is and what they have accomplished should not be a barrier to opportunity,” said Tinisch Hollins, executive director of Californians for Safety and Justice, which was among reform groups seeking the legislation.

The bills were opposed by law enforcement organizations that said they could imperil public safety and rehabilitation efforts.

Newsom also relaxed standards to allow more ill and dying inmates to be released from state prisons. The new law will allow inmates to be freed if they are permanently medically incapacitated or have a serious and advanced illness “with an end-of-life trajectory,” the standard used by the federal prison system.

“It reduces incarceration costs, but more importantly, ensures there is a more humane and effective relief process for all people in California’s state prisons,” said Claudia Gonzalez of Root & Rebound, one of the reform groups that sought the measure.

Law enforcement opponents said the existing standards were adequate.

Newsom said California is the first state to limit the use of rap lyrics and other artistic expression in criminal prosecutions. The law drew praise from Recording Industry Association of America Chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier, who said it will “allow all creators to express themselves and follow their artistic vision without barriers of prejudice.”

Among other new laws, Newsom approved requiring police agencies to screen prospective officers and fire current officers for participation in hate groups and allowed noncitizens to become police officers.

He also expanded a 2020 law allowing suspects to allege they were harmed by racial bias in their criminal charges, convictions or sentences. The earlier law was limited to cases after Jan. 1, 2021. But this measure extends the safeguards to prior convictions.

Newsom, a Democrat who says he supports second chances and reducing incarceration, has had a mixed record on criminal justice bills. He has backed many reform efforts but in years past also vetoed other legislation he felt went too far or duplicated existing efforts.

This year, he blocked a bill that would have made California the latest state to restrict segregated confinement in prisons and jails, as well as for the first time adding immigration detention facilities.

Newsom said he supports the concept, but the bill would have set standards “that are overly broad and exclusions that could risk the safety” of detainees and staff. He directed state prison officials to develop their own regulations to restrict isolation “except in limited situations, such as … violence in the prison.”

“Solitary confinement is torture and there must be limitations and oversight on the practice,” Democratic Assembly member Chris Holden, the bill’s author, responded.

Newsom also vetoed one bill that would have given the state prison system five years to marginally boost the wages of inmates who usually earn just dollars a day, and a second bill that would have increased the “gate money” inmates are given upon their release from the current $200 to $1,300. The bills had survived even as lawmakers this year rejected a constitutional change that might have required much more compensation for inmate workers.

In both rejections, Newsom cited the unbudgeted cost of the bills as state revenues are slumping — a theme in many of his vetoes this year.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

DON'T MISS

Is It Bad to Chew Gum All Day?

DON'T MISS

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

DON'T MISS

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

DON'T MISS

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

DON'T MISS

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

DON'T MISS

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

DON'T MISS

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

DON'T MISS

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

UP NEXT

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

UP NEXT

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

UP NEXT

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

UP NEXT

California Proposes Allowing Testing of Self-Driving Heavy-Duty Trucks

UP NEXT

Higher Taxes on Millionaires? Trump Says He’s Open, but Many in His Party Are Not

UP NEXT

Ex-US Rep. George Santos Sentenced to Over 7 Years in Prison for Fraud and Identity Theft

UP NEXT

California’s Economy Ranks Fourth Worldwide, Surpasses Japan

UP NEXT

China Exempts Some Goods From US Tariffs

UP NEXT

Trump’s Immigration Approval Ratings Decline as Enforcement Tactics Lose Support

UP NEXT

Why Texas Is Ahead of California on Bilingual Education

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

2 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

2 hours ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

5 hours ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

5 hours ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

5 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders Is Still Waiting for a Call as the NFL Draft Enters the Final Day

5 hours ago

Israel’s AI Experiments in the War in Gaza Raise Ethical Concerns

6 hours ago

Paul Skenes Strikes Out 9, Wins Duel With Yamamoto in Pirates’ Victory Over Dodgers

6 hours ago

Eovaldi Outlasts Verlander as Rangers Beat Giants

6 hours ago

Rams Take Oregon Tight End Terrance Ferguson in Second Round After Trading Out of First

6 hours ago

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

President Donald Trump said Saturday that Russia’s escalating bombardment of Ukraine had left him concerned that Russia did not want to end ...

41 minutes ago

41 minutes ago

Trump Says Putin May Not Want Peace and May Need to Be ‘Dealt With Differently’

46 minutes ago

Is It Bad to Chew Gum All Day?

52 minutes ago

Dollar Doubts Dominate Gathering of Global Economic Leaders

2 hours ago

US Judge Temporarily Stops West Texas Immigrant Deportations Under Alien Enemies Act

2 hours ago

Shedeur Sanders’ Long Wait Ends When Browns Take Him in the 5th Round of the NFL Draft

5 hours ago

Only About Half of Republicans Say Trump Has Focused on the Right Priorities

5 hours ago

ICE Deports the Mother of an Infant and a 2-Year-Old Who Is a US Citizen

5 hours ago

Israeli Airstrike Kills 10 People, Half of Them Children

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend