Overview

We advocate for policies, budgets and administrative practices to reduce wasteful spending on incarceration and prioritize investments in communities that make us safer.

Since our founding, we co-authored and co-led the successful Yes on Proposition 47 ballot initiative campaign in 2014 (c4), Yes on Proposition 57 ballot initiative campaign in 2016 (c4) and dozens of legislative and budget campaigns. These efforts have reduced incarceration and increased rehabilitation and investments into community prevention and treatment. We have also advocated for trauma recovery centers — growing them from just 1 to 15 across California.

We focus our statewide advocacy to advance smart safety priorities that reduce wasteful spending on prisons, expand rehabilitation, remove barriers to recovery for crime survivors, and build pathways to successful re-entry for people living with past convictions.

B731 (Durazo): Sunsetting Convictions

ead usage of background checks in today's society, the permanence of these records present thousands of barriers resulting in widespread constraints on civic participation, with disastrous impacts on individuals, communities and economies across California. Learn More

SB299 (Leyva): Equal Access for Victims of Police Violence

This bill will remove barriers faced by victims of police violence and other violent crimes in accessing California’s Victim Compensation program. Learn More

AB1308 (Ting): Fair Arrest & Conviction Relief

Individuals with criminal records face barriers in gaining employment, making them more likely to reoffend. This bill would open doors to those facing employment and housing barriers by automating the process of clearing an arrest or criminal record for eligible individuals. Learn More

AB95 (Low): Bereavement Leave

This bill protects workers’ right to take unpaid bereavement leave upon the death of a spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, or domestic partner. Currently, workers in California have no right to bereavement leave, paid or unpaid, when a close family member dies. Learn More

AB329 (Bonta): The Pretrial Justice Reform Act of 2021

This bill creates a more fair pretrial justice system in California by: 1) setting bail at $0 for most misdemeanors and low-level felonies; 2) ensuring people accused do not remain in custody simply because they cannot afford to pay bail and do not assume any costs of court-imposed release conditions; and, 3) requiring bail companies to refund the premiums they receive from defendants who aren’t charged; have their case dismissed or make all of their required court appearances. Learn More

SB262 (Hertzberg): The Pretrial Justice Reform Act of 2021

SB81 (Skinner): Judicial Guidance on Sentence Enhancements

This bill establishes a presumption that judges would only apply sentence enhancements when there is clear and convincing evidence that not using the enhancement would endanger the public. ntence enhancements are not elements of the crime, they are additional circumstances that increase the penalty, or time served, of the underlying crime. While the application of an enhancement may appear straightforward, research reviewed last year by the Committee on the Revision of the Penal Code revealed inconsistency in their use. Learn More

SB82 (Skinner): Theft Is Not Armed Robbery

This bill reforms California’s 150-year-old statute to ensure that petty theft is no longer treated like armed robbery. It sets to establish a clear distinction between theft and robbery by creating a second category of petty theft for cases where no weapon was used and no one was seriously injured, but where there may have been an inadvertent use of force or perceived fear. Learn More