Bill Commons

CA SB 1278

Status unknown

Elderly Parole Program.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · upper

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Quick answers

Did CA SB 1278 pass?

The current status of CA SB 1278 is not known from the official record. Latest recorded action (2026-04-22): April 21 set for first hearing. Failed passage in committee. (Ayes 3. Noes 2. Page 3984.) Reconsideration granted.

What is CA SB 1278 about?

Existing law establishes the Elderly Parole Program for the purpose of reviewing the parole suitability of inmates who are 50 years of age or older and who have served a minimum of 20 years of continuous incarceration on their sentence. Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings, when considering the release of qualifying inmates, to give special consideration to whether certain criteria have reduced the elderly inmate's risk for future violence. Existing law excludes various persons from these provisions, including, among others, persons convicted of serious felonies, persons convicted of first-degree murder of a peace officer, or persons sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This bill would additionally exclude, among others, persons receiving an enhancement to their sentence for committing certain sexual offenses including, among others, rape, sodomy, or lewd and lascivious acts, and habitual sex offenders. The bill would specify that these exclusions apply to all persons incarcerated as of January 1, 2027, regardless of the person's previous eligibility for parole or the status of any parole petition filed prior to that date.

Who sponsors CA SB 1278?

Niello is the primary sponsor of CA SB 1278, joined by 6 cosponsors.

Description

Existing law establishes the Elderly Parole Program for the purpose of reviewing the parole suitability of inmates who are 50 years of age or older and who have served a minimum of 20 years of continuous incarceration on their sentence. Existing law requires the Board of Parole Hearings, when considering the release of qualifying inmates, to give special consideration to whether certain criteria have reduced the elderly inmate's risk for future violence. Existing law excludes various persons from these provisions, including, among others, persons convicted of serious felonies, persons convicted of first-degree murder of a peace officer, or persons sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This bill would additionally exclude, among others, persons receiving an enhancement to their sentence for committing certain sexual offenses including, among others, rape, sodomy, or lewd and lascivious acts, and habitual sex offenders. The bill would specify that these exclusions apply to all persons incarcerated as of January 1, 2027, regardless of the person's previous eligibility for parole or the status of any parole petition filed prior to that date.

Introduced
2026-02-20
Latest action
2026-04-22 — April 21 set for first hearing. Failed passage in committee. (Ayes 3. Noes 2. Page 3984.) Reconsideration granted.
Bill type
bill
Last updated
—

Subjects

Sponsors

  • Nielloauthor
  • Jonesauthor
  • Hooverprincipal coauthor
  • Ochoa Boghcoauthor
  • Valladarescoauthor
  • Krellcoauthor
  • Lackeycoauthor

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

Newest first

  1. 2026-04-22

    April 21 set for first hearing. Failed passage in committee. (Ayes 3. Noes 2. Page 3984.) Reconsideration granted.

    committee-failure,committee-passage-unfavorable

  2. 2026-04-10

    Set for hearing April 21.

  3. 2026-04-08

    Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

    referral-committee

  4. 2026-03-23

    From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

    amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee

  5. 2026-03-04

    Referred to Com. on RLS.

    referral-committee

  6. 2026-02-23

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 23.

  7. 2026-02-23

    Read first time.

    reading-1

  8. 2026-02-20

    Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

    introduction,referral-committee

Versions

Documents

Votes

  • [First] hearing set for [04-22-2026]: Failed passage in Committee. Reconsideration granted

    2026-04-21 · pass · 6-0

    Member-level votes (6)
    • Arreguín: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Wiener: yes
    • Cortese: yes
    • Pérez: yes

  • Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]

    2026-04-21 · fail · 3-2

    Member-level votes (6)
    • Seyarto: yes
    • Caballero: yes
    • Pérez: yes
    • Cortese: no
    • Wiener: no
    • Arreguín: other

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB1278

Attribution

Data from openstates_api_sync, retrieved 2026-10-27T23:27:10.366265Z

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