Now that Fourth of July is behind us, both the Senate and the Assembly are meeting today. Floor sessions are scheduled for noon.
Friday is the last day for policy committees to consider bills, and agendas are stacked up with proposals.
Today, the Assembly Public Safety Committee looks at a controversial measure that would allow prison inmates sentenced to life without parole to ask for shorter sentences if the offense was committed before they turned 18.
Senate Bill 9, by Democratic Sen. Leland Yee of San Francisco, would let courts review such cases after 10 years and could result in a new minimum sentence of 25 years to life.
SB 9 would require the inmate to be working toward rehabilitation in order to petition for a new sentence.
The bill squeaked through the Senate, 21-16, last month. It faces opposition from law enforcement groups, crime victims and prosecutors, including Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully.
Find the Public Safety hearing in the Capitol's Room 126 starting at 9:30 a.m. Victims rights groups plan a news conference on the Capitol's north steps before the hearing.
Click here for the Senate's full schedule, and click here for the Assembly's.
UPDATE 2:14 p.m.: The Assembly Public Safety Committee passed SB 9 today on a 5-2 vote. It now goes to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
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