Pending Issues
Pending (and New) Legislation
September 10, 2021: Last day for Legislature to pass bills before adjournment of 2021 legislative session.
October 10, 2021: Last day for Governor to sign or veto bills passed by Legislature.
January 3, 2022: Legislature reconvenes for 2022 legislative session.
January 31, 2022: Last day for each house to pass bills introduced in that house during 2021 legislative session.
| Bill / Status | Summary (Enacted Bills Only) | Retroactivity (Enacted Ameliorative Criminal and Delinquency Bills Only) |
| Assembly Bill 124 – Criminal procedure Enacted October 8, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Expands coercion defense for human trafficking victims and extends it to victims of intimate partner violence and sexual violence. Extends petitioning process for human trafficking victims to victims of intimate partner violence and sexual violence. Requires prosecutors to consider certain mitigating factors in plea bargaining. In conjunction with AB 1540 and SB 567, makes additional changes to PC 1170 and PC 1170.03. | No decisions on retroactivity yet. |
| Assembly Bill 177 – Public safety Enacted September 23, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Eliminates 17 fees/costs, makes associated outstanding debt unenforceable, and requires that any portion of a judgment imposing such fees/costs be vacated. Analysis of AB 177 | Expressly retroactive to both nonfinal and final cases. (See PC 1465.9(b); VC 42240; People v. Greeley (2021) 70 Cal.App.5th 609 [construing similarly-worded statutory amendments made by AB 1869]; People v. Lopez-Vinck (2021) 68 Cal.App.5th 945 [same]; People v. Clark (2021) 67 Cal.App.5th 248 [same].) |
| Assembly Bill 256 – Criminal procedure: discrimination Pending in Legislature. | ||
| Assembly Bill 333 – Participation in a criminal street gang: enhanced sentence Enacted October 8, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Amends PC 186.22 to redefine key terms in a defense-friendly manner and to eliminate the use of certain prior offenses, as well as the currently charged offense, to establish a pattern of gang activity. Adds PC 1109 to require, upon defense request, bifurcation of trial on a charged gang enhancement. | No decisions on retroactivity yet. In at least one appeal the AG has conceded that AB 333’s amendments to PC 186.22 apply retroactively to nonfinal cases. |
| Assembly Bill 518 – Criminal law: violations punishable in multiple ways Enacted October 1, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Amends PC 654 to allow criminal conduct punishable in different ways by different provisions of law to be punished under any of those provisions, rather than only the provision providing for the longest potential term of imprisonment. | No decisions on retroactivity yet. In at least one appeal the AG has conceded that AB 518’s amendments to PC 654 apply retroactively to nonfinal cases. |
| Assembly Bill 624 – Juveniles: transfer to court of criminal jurisdiction: appeals Enacted September 22, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Makes an order transferring a minor from juvenile court to adult criminal court an appealable order subject to immediate review through an interlocutory appeal filed within 30 days of the transfer order. | |
| Assembly Bill 764 – Contempt of court: victim intimidation Enacted October 8, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Amends PC 166(a)(4) and 166(b)(1), regarding misdemeanor contempt for persons previously convicted of stalking. | No decisions on retroactivity yet. |
| Assembly Bill 788 – Juveniles: reunification Enacted September 22, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Clarifies that, as used in WIC 361.5(b)(13), “resisted” means that the parent or guardian refused to participate meaningfully in a prior court-ordered treatment program, and does not include “passive resistance” as described in In re B.E. (2020) 46 Cal.App.5th 932. | |
| Assembly Bill 939 – Sex offenses: evidence Enacted October 5, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Amends EC 1103 to prohibit, under any circumstances, evidence of the manner in which a survivor was dressed to prove consent in a sexual assault case. | |
| Assembly Bill 1171 – Rape of a spouse Enacted October 7, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Includes spousal rape in the broader definition of rape and makes a person convicted of spousal rape subject to mandatory imprisonment and the sex offender registry list. | |
| Assembly Bill 1228 – Supervised persons: release Enacted October 5, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Restricts trial courts’ ability to detain probationers alleged to have violated their conditions of probation pending a formal hearing on the alleged violation. | |
| Assembly Bill 1259 – Criminal procedure: motion to vacate Enacted September 30, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Amends PC 1473.7 to allow persons convicted either by plea or at trial to file a motion to vacate their conviction based on inadequate advice regarding immigration consequences. | |
| Assembly Bill 1509 – Enhancements: firearms Pending in Legislature. | ||
| Assembly Bill 1540 – Criminal procedure: resentencing Enacted October 8, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | In conjunction with AB 124, adds procedural requirements to the recall and resentencing mechanism currently set out at PC 1170(d)(1) and moves the mechanism to a new statute, PC 1170.03. | No decisions on retroactivity yet. In at least one appeal the AG has declined to oppose that AB 1540’s amendments to PC 1170(d)(1) and PC 1170.03 apply retroactively to nonfinal cases. |
| Senate Bill 73 – Probation: eligibility: crimes relating to controlled substances Enacted October 5, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Expands trial courts’ discretion to grant probation in a range of felony drug cases. | No decisions on retroactivity yet. |
| Senate Bill 81 – Sentencing: dismissal of enhancements Enacted October 8, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Amends PC 1385 to encourage trial courts to dismiss enhancements where doing so is in furtherance of justice. | Expressly not retroactive. (See PC 1385(c)(7).) |
| Senate Bill 82 – Petty theft Pending in Legislature. | ||
| Senate Bill 243 – Trial testimony: expert witnesses: habeas corpus Pending in Legislature. | ||
| Senate Bill 300 – Crimes: murder: punishment Pending in Legislature. | ||
| Senate Bill 317 – Competence to stand trial Enacted October 6, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Amends PC 4019 to ensure that a person receives day-for-day presentence conduct credits for time spent confined in a mental health treatment facility while criminal proceedings were suspended on competency grounds. | No decisions on retroactivity yet. |
| Senate Bill 383 – Juveniles: informal supervision: deferred entry of judgment Enacted October 6, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Authorizes a juvenile court receiving a delinquency case transferred from another county to determine whether an eligible minor is suitable for deferred entry of judgment if the transferring court did not do so. Expands the circumstances under which a minor is eligible for informal supervision. | No decisions on retroactivity yet. |
| Senate Bill 481 – Sentencing: special circumstances Pending in Legislature. | ||
| Senate Bill 483 – Sentencing: resentencing to remove sentencing enhancements Enacted October 8, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Requires CDCR and county correctional administrators to identify any person in their custody serving a sentence based on an enhancement repealed by SB 180 (2017) or SB 136 (2019), including any person whose sentence is final, and to notify the sentencing court, which must then resentence the person to remove the repealed enhancement. | Expressly retroactive to nonfinal and final cases. (See PC 1171, 1171.1.) |
| Senate Bill 567 – Criminal procedure: sentencing Enacted October 8, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | In conjunction with AB 124, amends PC 1170(b) and PC 1170.1(d) to overhaul the determinate sentencing framework by allowing imposition of upper-term sentences only where aggravating circumstances justifying such a sentence are proven beyond a reasonable doubt at trial, and by requiring imposition of lower-term sentences in certain cases. | No decisions on retroactivity yet. In at least one appeal the AG has conceded that SB 567’s amendments to PC 1170(b) apply retroactively to nonfinal cases. |
| Senate Bill 775 – Felony murder: resentencing Enacted October 5, 2021. Effective January 1, 2022. | Amends PC 1170.95 to, among other things, clarify that persons convicted of attempted murder and manslaughter are eligible for resentencing under the statute. OSPD Memo on SB 775 OSPD SB 775 Pro Per Packet SB 775 Preliminary Cheat Sheet and Advice | No decisions on retroactivity yet. In at least one appeal the AG has conceded that SB 775’s amendments to PC 1170.95 apply retroactively to nonfinal cases. |
Note: You can register to receive status updates on pending bills through the California Legislative Information website. At the the top of the webpage for the bill on which you want to receive updates, select “Track Bill” and follow the prompts. This glossary of legislative terms may be helpful in interpreting updates.