AP18:115
For Immediate Release
July 9, 2018
Contact:
Sam Mahood
(916) 653-6575
New Measure Eligible for California's November 2020 Ballot
Restricts Parole For Non-Violent Offenders. Authorizes Felony Sentences For Certain Offenses Currently Treated Only As Misdemeanors. Initiative Statute.
SACRAMENTO - Secretary of State Alex Padilla today announced that an initiative is eligible for the November 3, 2020, General Election ballot.
In order to become eligible for the ballot, the initiative needed 365,880 valid petition signatures, which is equal to five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2014 General Election.
An initiative can qualify via random sampling of petition signatures if the sampling projects a number of valid signatures greater than 110 percent of the required number. The initiative needed at least 402,468 projected valid signatures to qualify by random sampling, and it exceeded that threshold today.
The Attorney General's official title and summary of the initiative is as follows:
RESTRICTS PAROLE FOR NON-VIOLENT OFFENDERS. AUTHORIZES FELONY SENTENCES FOR CERTAIN OFFENSES CURRENTLY TREATED ONLY AS MISDEMEANORS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Imposes restrictions on parole program for non-violent offenders who have completed the full term for their primary offense. Expands list of offenses that disqualify an inmate from this parole program. Changes standards and requirements governing parole decisions under this program. Authorizes felony charges for specified theft crimes currently chargeable only as misdemeanors, including some theft crimes where the value is between $250 and $950. Requires persons convicted of specified misdemeanors to submit to collection of DNA samples for state database. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Increased state and local correctional costs likely in the tens of millions of dollars annually, primarily related to increases in penalties for certain theft-related crimes and the changes to the nonviolent offender release consideration process. Increased state and local court-related costs of around a few million dollars annually related to processing probation revocations and additional felony theft filings. Increased state and local law enforcement costs not likely to exceed a couple million dollars annually related to collecting and processing DNA samples from additional offenders. (17-0044.)
The proponent of this initiative is Nina Salarno Besselman. The proponent can be reached c/o Charles H. Bell, Jr. at cbell@bmhlaw.com or (916) 442-7757.
For more information about how an initiative qualifies for the ballot in California, visit http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/how-qualify-initiative/
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