What happened to Senate Bill 399?

Senate Bill 399 Bill

The California Fair Sentences for Youth Act was introduced by Senator Yee, and co-authored by Senator Romero, Senate Speaker Steinberg, Assembly Members Fuentes and Hill, and Assembly Speaker J. Pérez.  Senate Bill 399 would have permitted youth who had been sentenced to life without the possibility of parole to petition for a resentencing hearing.  It passed in the Senate, and passed each committee in the State Assembly, but failed in its final vote on August 30, 2010.  39 voted yes for SB399, although when it became clear it woudl not reach th eneeded 41 votes to pass, six Assembly Members changed their votes and abstained.

The bill recognized that all young people, even those serving life sentences, have the capacity to change for the better and should have access to the rehabilitative tools to do so. This Act would have provided an opportunity for review and resentencing after 15 years or more of incarceration for youth sentenced to life without parole in prison. Recognizing that teenagers are still maturing, this Act created specific criteria and an intense, three-part review process that would result in the possibility of a lesser sentence for those offenders who have matured and proven themselves to have changed.

FINAL VOTE ON SB 399

STATE ASSEMBLY ON 8-30-10

VOTED YES

Ammiano            Bass                       Beall                   Blumenfield

Bradford              Brownley             Coto                        Davis

De La Torre         De Leon               Eng                       Evans

Feuer                    Fong                      Fuentes               Furutani

Gatto                     Hall                        Hayashi               Hernandez

Hill                         Huffman              Jones                    B. Lowenthal

Monning              Ruskin                  Saldana                Skinner

Swanson              Torlakson            Torrico                 Yamada

J. Perez

ABSTAINED OR DID NOT VOTE

(Bolded name indicates the Member first voted yes, but then abstained when the bill failed to get the 41 votes needed to pass.)

C. Calderon        Carter                   Chesbro Galgiani

Mendoza              M. Pérez               Salas

VOTED NO

Adams                  Anderson            Arambula              B. Berryhill

T. Berryhill          Block                     Buchanan            Caballero

Conway                 Cook                      DeVore                 Fletcher

Fuller                    Gaines                  Garrick                   Gilmore

Hagman               Harkey                  Huber                    Jeffries

Knight                   Lieu                       Logue                     Ma

Miller                    Nava                      Nestande               Niello

Nielsen                 Norby                   Portantino             Silva

Smyth                   Solorio                 A. Strickland         Torres

Tran                       Villines