New Laws Recently Enacted

SB 823 | Juvenile justice realignment

Senate Bill 823 closes the California Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), the state system that currently houses and treats youth who have committed the most serious crimes. It has been replaced by a new county-based system named the Office of Youth and Community Restoration (OYCR) in the California Health and Human Services (HHS) agency, beginning July 1, 2021.

SB 384 | Sex offender tiering

Effective January 1, 2021, SB 384 established three tiers of registration for adult sex offenders, based on specified criteria, for periods of 10 years(tier one), 20 years(tier two), and life(tier three). On or after July 1, 2021, tier one and tier two registrants who meet mandatory minimum requirements as listed in SB 384 may petition the superior court or juvenile court in their county of residence for termination of their California sex offender registration requirement.

AB 2512 | Ban death penalty for persons with intellectual disability

AB 2512 amends California’s death penalty intellectual disability statute to prohibit the use of race, ethnicity, national origin, or socioeconomic status to IQ adjustments in determining a defendant’s or death-row prisoner’s eligibility for the death penalty. It changed the statutory language that requires an intellectual disability present “before age 18” to the current clinical standard of “during the developmental period.” The developmental period extends years beyond age 18.