Proposition 184 (1994): Three Strikes Law. Required longer prison sentences for certain people with multiple convictions and also reduced the ability of people who have committed serious or violent felonies from earning credits that reduce time in prison. (LAO Reference: A Primer: Three Strikes - The Impact After More Than a Decade.)
Chapter 6 of 1996 (SB 681, Hurtt): Increased Sliding Scale Fees. Increased the fees that counties paid the state for placement of youth in state juvenile facilities to incentivize counties to retain youth who committed lower-level crimes. (LAO Reference: “Department of the Youth Authority” in Analysis of the 1998-99 Budget Bill.)
Chapter 850 of 1997 (AB 233, Escutia and Pringle): Lockyer-Isenberg Trial Court Funding Act. Shifted funding responsibility of the trial courts from the counties to the state. (LAO Reference: Completing the Goals of Trial Court Realignment.)
Proposition 21 (2000): Juvenile Crime. Expanded the types of cases for which youths can be tried in adult court and increased penalties for gang-related crimes. (LAO Reference: Proposition 21 Ballot Analysis.)
Proposition 36 (2000): Drug Prevention and Treatment. Allowed people convicted of specific crimes designated as nonviolent drug possession offenses to be sentenced to probation and drug treatment, instead of prison or jail. (LAO Reference: Proposition 36 Ballot Analysis.)
Proposition 69 (2004): DNA Samples. Required law enforcement agencies to collect samples of DNA for inclusion in the state’s DNA data bank from all people convicted of felonies, some people convicted of other crimes, and certain people who have been arrested. (LAO Reference: Analysis of the 2007-08 Budget Bill, page D-26.)
Proposition 83 (2006): Jessica’s Law. Made several changes to the sentencing of sex offenses, including requiring global positioning system monitoring of people convicted of felony sex offenses for life and restricting where people convicted of sex offenses can live. (LAO Reference: Analysis of the 2007-08 Budget Bill, page D-134.)
Chapter 175 of 2007 (SB3X 81, Ducheny): 2007 Juvenile Justice Realignment. Limited admission to state juvenile facilities to youths who committed violent, serious, or sex offenses. (LAO Reference: The 2012-13 Budget: Completing Juvenile Justice Realignment.)
Proposition 9 (2008): Marsy’s Law. Expanded legal rights of crime victims, restricted capacity-driven early releases from prison, and changed procedures for granting and revoking parole. (LAO Reference: Proposition 9 Ballot Analysis.)
Chapter 28 of 2009 (SBX3 18, Ducheny): Various Prison Population Reduction Measures. Implemented various changes to reduce the prison population including making certain people on parole ineligible for revocation to state prison, increasing credits that reduce prison terms, and reducing penalties for property crimes. (LAO Reference: “Corrections and Rehabilitation” in The Budget Package: 2009-10 California Spending Plan.)
Chapter 608 of 2009 (SB 678, Leno): Community Corrections Incentives. Provided share of state correctional savings to counties that reduced rate at which people on felony probation fail and are sent to state prison. (LAO Reference: Achieving the Goals of the SB 678 County Probation Grant Program.)
Chapter 15 of 2011 (AB 109, Committee on Budget): 2011 Public Safety Realignment. Limited who could be sent to state prison, instead requiring that certain people convicted of lower-level felonies serve their incarceration terms in county jail. Required that counties, rather than the state, supervise certain people convicted of lower-level felonies after their release from state prison. (LAO Reference: The 2012–13 Budget: The 2011 Realignment of Adult Offenders—An Update.)
Proposition 36 (2012): Changes to Three Strikes Law. Reduced prison sentences served under the three strikes law by certain people with a third strike whose current offenses are nonserious, nonviolent felonies. Allowed resentencing of certain third strikers serving life sentences for specified nonserious, nonviolent felonies. (LAO Reference: Proposition 36 Ballot Analysis.)
Proposition 47 (2014): Sentencing for Nonserious, Nonviolent Felons. Reduced penalties for certain people convicted of nonserious and nonviolent property and drug crimes. Allowed certain people who had been previously convicted of such crimes to apply for reduced sentences. (LAO Reference: The 2015-16 Budget: Implementation of Proposition 47.)
Proposition 57 (2016): Parole Consideration, Credits, and Juveniles Charged as Adults. Expanded eligibility for parole consideration, increased the state’s authority to reduce people’s sentences through credits, and mandated that judges determine whether youths be subject to adult sentences in criminal court. (LAO Reference: The 2017-18 Budget: Implementation of Proposition 57.)
Proposition 64 (2016): Legalization of Marijuana. Legalized adult nonmedical use of marijuana, created a system for regulating nonmedical marijuana businesses, imposed taxes on marijuana, and generally reduced penalties for marijuana-related crimes. (LAO Reference: Proposition 64 Ballot Analysis.)
Proposition 66 (2016): Legal Challenges to Death Sentences. Required that legal challenges to death sentences first be heard in the trial courts; placed time limits on legal challenges to death sentences (subsequently determined by the Supreme Court to be more advisory in nature); changed the process for appointing attorneys to represent condemned people; and exempted the state’s execution procedures from various statutory requirements, such as the public review process. (LAO Reference: Proposition 66 Ballot Analysis.)
Chapter 29 of 2020 (SB 118, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review): Reductions to Parole Terms. Established an opportunity for people to earn early discharge from parole for good behavior after one year and maximum parole terms of two or three years for most people on parole. Previously, parole terms were generally set at three or more years. (LAO Reference: Overview of Selected Sentencing Changes and Avoided State Costs.)
Chapter 328 of 2020 (AB 1950, Kamlager): Reductions to Probation Terms. Reduced maximum probation terms to one year for misdemeanors and two years for felonies. Previously, misdemeanor probation terms could last up to three years and felony probation terms could last up to the greater of five years or the maximum sentence for the crime the person was on probation for. (LAO Reference: The 2021-22 Budget: Funding for County Probation Departments.)
Chapter 337 of 2020 (SB 823, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review): 2020 Juvenile Justice Realignment. Fully realigned remaining youths in state facilities to the counties resulting in the closure of all state juvenile facilities. (LAO Reference: “Division of Juvenile Justice Closure” in The 2023-24 Budget: The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.)
Proposition 36 (2024): Increased Penalties for Drug and Theft Crimes. Allows various theft and drug crimes to be charged as felonies rather than misdemeanors. Creates a treatment-focused court process for some drug possession crimes. (LAO Reference: Proposition 36 Ballot Analysis.)
Last Updated: December 2024