Aclu Insights: Sb 136 Law And Implications

The ACLU of Northern California (ACLU-NC) and the ACLU of Southern California (ACLU-SC) have information on SB 136, a bill that addresses failed, ineffective, and draconian sentencing enhancements in California. SB 136 restricts a mandatory one-year sentence enhancement that is added to an individual's base sentence for each prior prison or felony jail term served. The bill was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 8, 2019, and went into effect on January 1, 2020. Additionally, the ACLU of Pennsylvania (ACLU-PA) has taken a position opposing SB 136, a bill that adds three sex trafficking offenses to the Megan's Law Registry.

The SB 136 bill restricts a mandatory one-year sentence enhancement

The SB 136 bill, also known as The RISE Act, restricts a mandatory one-year sentence enhancement that is added to an individual's base sentence for each prior prison or felony jail term served. This means that if an individual is convicted of a felony and has previously served time in jail or prison for a prior felony, a one-year enhancement can be added to their current sentence. This enhancement is often stacked on top of long base sentences and other enhancements.

The bill was authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and sponsored by the RISE Coalition, which includes the ACLU of California, the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, and several other organizations. The SB 136 bill was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 8, 2019, and went into effect on January 1, 2020.

The bill addresses failed, ineffective, and draconian sentencing enhancements that contribute to mass incarceration and racial bias in California's criminal justice system. Research has shown that sentence enhancements like the one addressed by SB 136 do not make communities safer, deter crime, or reduce recidivism. Instead, they fuel mass incarceration, prolong family separations, and impose a significant financial burden on taxpayers and families.

It is important to note that the SB 136 bill does not alter an individual's base sentence for their current felony charge or change any of the longer enhancements. It specifically targets the one-year enhancement that has been found to have negative consequences without improving public safety.

SB 136 advances racial justice and fairness

California has made significant progress in addressing mass incarceration and racial bias and disparities in the criminal justice system. However, more needs to be done to advance racial justice and fairness and move California forward. SB 136, authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), is a crucial step in this direction. This legislation dismantles a cruel, expensive, and ineffective sentence enhancement that adds an extra year to an individual's base sentence for each prior prison or felony jail term they have served.

The current system disproportionately impacts individuals, communities, and families of colour, contributing to mass incarceration and placing a significant financial burden on taxpayers and families. SB 136 addresses this issue by restricting the mandatory one-year sentence enhancement, curbing prison spending, and keeping families together. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), there were over 15,000 counts of the one-year sentence enhancement added to incarcerated individuals' base sentences as of December 2018. This number is likely an underestimate as it does not include felony jail terms served in local county jails.

Research has shown that sentence enhancements do not deter individuals from committing crimes, reduce recidivism, or increase community safety. On the contrary, they fuel mass incarceration and cause emotional and economic hardship for incarcerated individuals and their loved ones. Emily Harris, Interim Policy Manager of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, stated, "We know that this one-year sentence enhancement does not make our communities safer or deter crime, but tears families apart. Reining in this enhancement will help ease the emotional and economic toll that this has taken on incarcerated Californians and their loved ones."

SB 136 is a significant step towards ending racially discriminatory sentencing and advancing racial justice and fairness in California. It is sponsored by the RISE Coalition, which includes the ACLU of California, the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, Californians United for a Responsible Budget, and other organisations working towards a more just and equitable future. The bill was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on October 8, 2019, and went into effect on January 1, 2020.

The bill was authored by Senator Scott Wiener

The bill SB 136 was authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). It repeals the most common sentence enhancement, which lets a judge increase a sentence beyond the prescribed range based on prior convictions. This enhancement has been a driver of mass incarceration, and its repeal will reduce California’s rates of incarceration and give people a chance to get out of jail and back on their feet.

Senator Wiener has been a consistent advocate for reimagining the criminal justice system and has fought time and again for progressive criminal justice reforms. He has taken bold stances on tough issues and helped usher in change. Some of the bills authored by him include:

• SB 97: Righting Wrongful Convictions Act, which smooths the process by which the wrongfully convicted can prove their innocence and overturn wrongful convictions.
• SB 513: Reducing Recidivism Through Therapy Act, which rehabilitates California’s incarcerated population and reduces California’s high recidivism rate by providing access to therapy to all incarcerated Californians.
• SB 467: End Wrongful Convictions Act, which ensures expert testimony used as admissible evidence in court has sound logic and methodology, and provides the opportunity to challenge wrongful convictions.
• SB 1106: Fresh Start Act, which helps people clear their record and reenter society—such as getting a job and housing—even if they can’t pay restitution fines.
• SB 73: Repeals certain mandatory minimum jail/prison sentences for drug offenses and provides judges with more discretion to order probation and other alternatives to incarceration.
• SB 592: The Fair Juries Act widened the jury pool to any tax filer (as opposed to just registered voters and drivers’ license/identity cardholders). This legislation ensures a more racially and socioeconomically diverse jury pool, and thus leads to fairer juries.
• AB 3070: Addressed unlawful discrimination in the selection of juries by using an objective test to determine whether discrimination—through implicit or explicit bias—has occurred. This was signed into law in 2020 by Governor Newsom.
• SB 855: Requires private insurance companies to cover non-emergency mental health and substance use disorder treatment, including medication-assisted treatment (MAT) like methadone.
• ACA 1: Placed Proposition 17 on the ballot. Proposition 17, which passed in November 2020, restored the right to vote for people who are on parole.
• SB 58: This bill decriminalizes personal possession and use of small amounts of a few plant-based psychedelics—all of which are non-addictive and proven to be safe—and creates a path for facilitated group use. Psychedelics have shown great promise in treating mental health and substance abuse.
• AB 2542: California Racial Justice Act, which was signed into law in 2020. This law will ensure that California doesn’t convict or give a sentence to a defendant based on race, ethnicity, or national origin.
• SB 923 and SB 938: SB 923 helped bring California into the 21st century by adopting modern eyewitness identification standards so that innocent people aren’t misidentified and convicted, often on the basis of racial bias.
• SB 233: Protecting the health and safety of sex workers. SB 233 bans the use of condoms as evidence of sex work (for arrest or at trial) and bans law enforcement from arresting sex workers for sex work or drug possession if the sex worker is reporting a violent crime.

SB 136 helps to keep families together

SB 136, also known as The RISE Act, is a bill that dismantles California's expensive and racially discriminatory one-year sentence enhancement, which adds an extra year to an individual's base sentence for each prior prison or felony jail term they have served. This bill is significant because it helps to advance racial justice and fairness and keep families together.

The bill's proponents argue that the sentence enhancement does not make communities safer or deter crime but instead fuels mass incarceration and puts a financial burden on taxpayers and families. The enhancement has also been found to disproportionately affect individuals, communities, and families of color, contributing to racial disparities in the criminal legal system.

By repealing this enhancement, California will curb its prison spending by millions of dollars each year and increase the opportunity for funds to be redirected towards community-based care that supports families. This is especially important as research has shown that every year a parent spends incarcerated can cause significant trauma to their child, leading to issues such as depression, anxiety, poor academic performance, and poverty.

SB 136 is a step towards addressing failed, ineffective, and draconian sentencing enhancements and promoting real justice in California. It is sponsored by the RISE Coalition, which includes organizations such as the ACLU of California, the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, among others. The bill was authored by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and went into effect on January 1, 2020.

The ACLU of California sponsored SB 136

The bill's author, Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), and its sponsors, including the ACLU of California, recognised the ineffectiveness of California's sentencing policies in addressing mass incarceration and racial bias and disparities in the criminal justice system. The mandatory one-year sentence enhancement had been a key factor in filling California's 33 prisons, wasting resources, and tearing families apart, particularly in communities of colour.

Research has shown that these sentence enhancements do not deter individuals from committing crimes, reduce recidivism, or increase community safety. Instead, they contribute to mass incarceration, placing a significant financial burden on taxpayers and families. The financial cost of these enhancements is high, with California spending over $80,000 each year to imprison an individual.

The successful passing of SB 136 marked an important step towards ending racially discriminatory sentencing and mass incarceration in California, and a move towards greater justice for incarcerated individuals and their families. The bill took effect on January 1, 2020, and was celebrated by advocates as a victory for reducing mass incarceration and keeping California families together.

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