SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on a bill to update California’s pretrial release policies (all times local):
5:40 p.m.
The state Senate has approved a bill to prohibit people arrested in connection with crimes that require sex offender registration from being released from jail without a judge’s approval.
Senators voted Wednesday to send the update to Gov. Jerry Brown. It revises a new law that in October 2019 will end bail for defendants awaiting trial in California. In the place of bail, judges and county officials will decide whether to free suspects based on the likelihood they’ll return to court and the degree of danger they pose to the public.
Senators passed the update the same day a bail industry-backed group announced a campaign to prevent the law from taking effect. The group hopes to put the issue on the 2020 ballot through a referendum.
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2:20 p.m.
People arrested for crimes that would require them to register as sex offenders would have to stay in jail until they see a judge under an addition to California’s new law eliminating bail.
Senators were poised to pass the update Wednesday and send it to Gov. Jerry Brown.
It would make anyone arrested for crimes under the Sex Offender Registration Act ineligible for release before they see a judge.
That expands the list of people ineligible for quick release under the bail overhaul signed by Brown earlier this week. The new law already applied that prohibition to people charged with offenses that require sex offender registration for at least 20 years.
It would need Brown’s approval to become law. California’s bail overhaul will take effect in October 2019.
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