Bail overhaul plan would limit release of sex crime suspects

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - People arrested on suspicion of crimes that would require them to register as sex offenders would need a judge’s approval to leave jail while awaiting trial under a change to the state’s new landmark law ending bail.

State senators voted Wednesday to send the bill to Gov. Jerry Brown, just a day after Brown signed the law that will make California the first state to end bail in October 2019. In the place of bail, judges and county officials will determine whether to release suspects before trial based on the likelihood they’ll return to court and the degree of danger they pose to the public.

The update approved Wednesday would make anyone arrested for crimes under the Sex Offender Registration Act, including non-violent misdemeanors, ineligible for release until they see a judge at arraignment. Crimes requiring a person to register as a sex offender can range from indecent exposure to rape.

The law ending bail already applies that prohibition to people charged with serious or violent offenses that would require sex offender registration for over 20 years.

The expansion to more crimes was a result of negotiations to push the somewhat controversial bill through, said Katie Hanzlik, a spokeswoman for Sen. Bob Hertzberg, a Van Nuys Democrat who sponsored the bill. Some lawmakers were concerned about suspected sex offenders being released.

Supporters have lauded the new law as a progressive criminal justice reform that will no longer keep people locked up simply because they cannot afford bail while letting dangerous suspects who can put up money go free.

But some opponents still worry it will free dangerous people. And a number of reform groups who support ending bail argue it gives judges too much power to keep people jailed.

A bail industry-backed group on Wednesday said it will try to place a referendum on the November 2020 ballot to repeal the new law. If it can collect roughly 365,000 signatures within 90 days of Brown’s signature on Tuesday, the law would be blocked from taking effect until voters weigh in.

Jeff Flint, a spokesman for Californians Against the Reckless Bail Scheme, said he’s confident the group has the resources to take the issue to voters.