The Assembly Public Safety Committee moved SB 562 forward Monday, advancing the bill as amended to the Appropriations Committee after a hearing that drew support from justice-reform advocates and opposition from bail-bonds representatives and the California District Attorney's Association.
According to the committee hearing transcript, Sen. Ashby presented SB 562 as a measure intended to create “a pathway to financial relief for individuals who are arrested.” Supporters from Smart Justice California, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, the California Public Defenders Association, ACLU California Action, San Quentin’s Gone Quirks, the California Alliance for Youth and Community Justice, the Greater Sacramento Urban League, Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office, California Civil Liberties and Initiate Justice spoke in favor of the bill.
Opponents included speakers from Lexington National Insurance Corporation, the Golden State Bail Agents Association, the California Bail Agents Association and other bail-bonds interests. Ryan Wagner, speaking for the California District Attorney’s Association, said the group opposed SB 562 as written. One crime-victims advocate also raised concerns about the bill’s potential effects in domestic violence cases and on family members who post bail.
The committee later recorded a motion to move SB 562 as amended to Appropriations. The transcript did not include a clear public vote tally in the portion reviewed, but it did show the bill was still moving after the hearing and was later announced as out.
