WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

AB 47

Revises provisions relating to the Education Stabilization Account. (BDR 34-461)

2025 Regular Session

AB 47 narrows elderly parole eligibility by excluding sex-offender registrants and certain sexual-offense convictions, delaying parole consideration until age 60 with 25 years serv

(No further action taken.)
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · AB 47

AB 47 — Elderly Parole Program (Nguyen) — Summary

Status: In committee; held under submission (Assembly Appropriations, last action 2025-05-23). Introduced: December 2, 2024. Current text: amends Penal Code §3055.

Purpose / intent

AB 47 clarifies and narrows eligibility for California’s Elderly Parole Program by adding specific exclusions for people convicted of certain sexual offenses and for people required to register as sex offenders. The stated intent is to delay elderly-parole suitability consideration for those offenders until they are older and have served more time.

Background (existing law)

Under current law the Elderly Parole Program allows the Board of Parole Hearings to review parole suitability of inmates who are at least 50 years old and who have served at least 20 continuous years on their current sentence. The board must give special consideration to whether age, time served, and diminished physical condition reduce the inmate’s risk of future violence. A number of categories (e.g., certain three-strikes cases, life-without-parole) are already excluded.

Key provisions of AB 47

  • Amends Penal Code §3055 to expressly address cases involving specified sexual offenses and sex-offender registration.
  • Adds language that the section “does not apply” to cases sentenced under Sections 667.61 or 667.71 or to persons required to register under subdivision (c) of §290.
  • Provides that, notwithstanding the basic 50/20 rule, a person sentenced under §667.61 or §667.71 (and, per the digest, persons required to register as sexual offenders or habitual sexual offenders and those convicted of enumerated sexual crimes) is not suitable for parole under the Elderly Parole Program until the person is at least 60 years old and has served at least 25 years of continuous incarceration on the current sentence.
  • Preserves existing exclusions for specified murder of peace officers and preserves victims’ rights at parole hearings.
  • Fiscal: bill states “Fiscal Committee: YES” (no general appropriation).

Who is affected

  • Directly affects incarcerated persons convicted of the sexual offenses covered by §667.61, §667.71, and persons required to register under §290(c) (sex-offender registration), by delaying eligibility under the Elderly Parole Program from age 50/20 years to age 60/25 years (as specified).
  • Indirectly affects the Board of Parole Hearings, victim survivors and advocacy groups, and county/state corrections administration (administrative workload, hearings scheduling).

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Introduced Dec 2, 2024; amended and read a second time Apr 28, 2025.
  • Referred to Assembly Public Safety (hearings April 2025), then to Assembly Appropriations (placed on suspense file; held under submission May 23, 2025).
  • No effective date specified in the provided text.

Practical impact

If enacted, AB 47 would reduce the population eligible for earlier elderly-parole hearings by excluding a defined subset of sexual-offense convictions and registrants, delaying parole consideration for those individuals by roughly a decade in age and by an additional 5 years of custody compared with current Elderly Parole Program thresholds.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.