FAMM began working in California in 2021 to repeal the states mandatory minimums for a number of drug offenses. FAMM supported the successful passage of SB 73 by Sen. Scott Wiener which eliminated mandatory minimums for certain drug offenses while creating a safety valve for others. Read our summary of SB 73 to learn more.
FAMM is a co-sponsor of AB 960, a bill that would vastly improve California’s Compassionate Release process by streamlining the decision making process, expanding medical eligibility, and ensuring every medically eligible individual receives their day in court.
2022 Priority Bills
FAMM is a co-sponsor of AB 960. This bill passed the Assembly in 2021 as a bill to address California’s medical parole process. In 2022, with FAMM’s guidance, the bill was rewritten to address California’s compassionate release process. This bill includes several urgent reforms to ensure the compassionate release mechanism functions as intended. These reforms would:
- Remove the Secretary from the decision making process;
- Create a rebuttable presumption favoring resentencing that the court can overcome if it finds the compassionate release applicant is “an unreasonable risk of danger to public safety” based on the individual’s current physical and mental state;
- Expand medical eligibility to ensure seriously or terminally ill individuals have ample time to pursue compassionate release;
- Codify important timelines to ensure a timely process;
- Guarantee access to counsel for indigent people; and,
- Ensure robust data collection.
Read FAMM’s op-ed in support of AB 960
Read FAMM’s analysis of Compassionate Release data in California