This bill is part of the 2022 Cannabis Bills section of our ongoing update on California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update which includes information on cannabis bills from other years.
AB 1706 (Mia Bonta D) Cannabis crimes: resentencing.
Existing law, the Control, Regulate and Tax Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), enacted by the voters at the November 8, 2016, statewide general election, regulates the cultivation, distribution, and use of cannabis for nonmedical purposes by individuals 21 years of age and older. Under AUMA, a person 21 years of age or older may, among other things, possess, process, transport, purchase, obtain, or give away, as specified, up to 28.5 grams of cannabis and up to 8 grams of concentrated cannabis. Existing law authorizes a person to petition for the recall or dismissal of a sentence, dismissal and sealing of a conviction, or redesignation of a conviction of an offense for which a lesser offense or no offense would be imposed under AUMA.
Existing law, on or before July 1, 2019, requires the Department of Justice to review the records in the state summary criminal history information database to identify past convictions that are potentially eligible for recall or dismissal of sentence, dismissal and sealing, or redesignation. Existing law gives the prosecution until July 1, 2020, to review all cases and determine whether to challenge the recall, dismissal, or sealing. Existing law requires the court to reduce or dismiss a sentence that has not been challenged by July 1, 2020.
This bill would, if a sentence was not challenged by July 1, 2020, require the court to issue an order recalling or dismissing the sentence, dismissing and sealing, or redesignating the conviction no later than March 1, 2023, and would require the court to update its records accordingly and to notify the Department of Justice. The bill would require the Department of Justice, on or before July 1, 2023, to complete the update of the state summary criminal history information database, and ensure that inaccurate state summary criminal history is not reported, as specified. The bill would require the department to conduct an awareness campaign so that individuals that may be impacted by this process become aware of methods to verify updates to their criminal history. The bill would make a conviction, arrest, or other proceeding that has been sealed pursuant to these provisions deemed never to have occurred, as specified. The bill would, until June 1, 2024, require the department, in consultation with the Judicial Council, to produce a quarterly joint progress report to the Legislature, as specified.
Read more about California Cannabis Legislation – see the full California Cannabis Law Legislative Update.
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