Senate Bill 356, authored by Senate Minority Leader Brian W. Jones (R-San Diego) has passed out of the Assembly Public Safety Committee in a unanimous 9-0 vote. The legislation seeks to raise the elderly parole eligibility standard for individuals convicted of California's most serious sexual offenses.
"Most Californians would not consider a 50-year-old to be elderly, and they certainly would not consider someone convicted of these crimes ready for early release after just 20 years," said Jones. "This bill restores common sense to a program that has drifted far from its original purpose and keeps California’s most depraved sexual offenders from being released prematurely."
In 2020, state law expanded California's elderly parole program by lowering the eligibility age from 60 to 50 and reducing minimum time served from 25 to 20 years. That change opened the door for offenders convicted under the One Strike Sex Offense law, as habitual sex offenders, for aggravated sexual assault of a child, and for sex offenses against children 10 years of age or younger, to seek parole decades earlier than the program originally intended.
SB 356 fights back against that loophole. The bill raises the eligibility age for these specific offenders to 65 and requires at least 25 years of continuous incarceration before they can receive a parole suitability hearing.
The bill is supported by Crime Victims United, the California District Attorneys Association, the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office, the Riverside Sheriffs' Association and more than a dozen police officer associations across the state, among other organizations.
"These offenders are some of the most dangerous in our prison system, and the law should reflect that," said Jones. "We are not waiting around for the next tragedy to happen. We are closing the loophole now."
Senate Bill 356 now moves to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.