Bill To End Bail In California Headed To Gov. Brown

Sophia Bollag, Associated Press

UPDATED 6:10 p.m.

(AP) — A bill to end bail in California and replace it with a risk assessment system is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown.

California state senators approved the bill 26-12 Tuesday. It would make California the first state to completely end bail for suspects awaiting trial.

Democratic Sen. Bob Hertzberg, the bill’s author, opened debate by pointing to a bail schedule.

“It’s literally a price list of freedom,” Hertzberg said. “There’s no diagnostic of whether you’re a public safety risk.”

Lawmakers have spent the past two years negotiating an end to cash bail. They unveiled the bill last week, when a deal was struck that would have judges decide whether to release offenders based on their danger to the public and flight risk.

That deal assuaged concerns of the California District Attorneys Association and the California Police Chiefs Association, both of which dropped their opposition to the measure, but it did not appease most Republican lawmakers, who argued it removes the incentive for people to show up for their court dates.

“This is not a get out of jail free card,” said Republican Sen. Jim Nielsen. “It’s a stay out of jail card.”

Under the final bill, counties would adopt as-yet-undetermined risk-assessment processes. Most people arrested for misdemeanors, or labeled low-risk of flight or to public safety, would be released within 12 hours of booking. Judges and county officials would have more discretion with medium and high-risk detainees.

Courts and the state's Judicial Council would have wide latitude to determine whether to release other suspects based on the likelihood they'll return to court and the danger they pose.

Civil liberties groups who initially pushed for the measure eventually opposed it because of changes in the final version that give this power to judges and county officials. They argue it could lead to more people detained in jails than under the current system.

If Brown signs the bill, as he is likely to, the state’s current cash-bail system would end in October of next year.

In a statement after the vote, Brown called the bill’s passage “an important step forward.”

CapRadio's Ben Bradford contributed to this report.