SACRAMENTO – In a joint op-ed published recently in the Orange County Register, Senator Janet Nguyen (R-Garden Grove) and Senate Republican Leader Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) highlighted how proponents of Proposition 57 deceived voters in 2016 in the push to pass the measure. Senate Republicans will continue to advocate for legislation to close a loophole in Proposition 57, including Senate Bill 976 (Bates) which would ensure that all “serious” felons and persons are required to register as sex offenders and would not be eligible for early release from state prison. Senator Bates will present SB 976 tomorrow in the Senate Public Safety Committee at the State Capitol in Room 3191.
Excerpted:
Thanks to Proposition 57, hundreds of sex offenders could be released into our communities through an early parole program. As strong advocates for public safety and most importantly as mothers to our respective families, the prospect of having sexual predators leaving prison early is, to say the least, stomach churning. … Proposition 57 was passed by California’s voters in 2016 with the intent to provide “nonviolent” felons the opportunity for early parole. … the politicians behind this initiative simply did not do their homework and as a result, misled the public. Proponents of Proposition 57 led the voters to believe that early release would ultimately not be considered for those convicted of sexual crimes. … this is a flawed law that could potentially allow for the early release of hundreds, maybe thousands, of sex criminals. … After Proposition 57 passed in 2016, legislators, on both sides of the aisle, introduced half a dozen bills to fix this problem. In spite of these bipartisan efforts, Democrat leadership rejected all the proposed bills. Nonetheless, Senate Republicans will continue to fight to remedy this grave problem. To do so, we will again be trying to pass legislation to add sex offenses and other disturbing acts on the list of violent crimes. …
Click here to read the joint op-ed as published in the Orange County Register.