Ballot Initiative Aimed at Reversing Bail Reform Legislation (SB10) in California
The American Bail Coalition announced its support of a ballot initiative launched today to reverse the passage of Senate Bill 10, the last-minute unvetted legislation that completely and totally upended California’s bail system.
ABC’s Jeff Clayton made the announcement this afternoon:
“Today, I am announcing ABC’s support for the ballot initiative to reverse Senate Bill 10. This misguided legislation is opposed by scores of various interest groups on all sides of the aisle. When this legislation was hijacked at the eleventh hour, we knew that we would not let this stand. We are building a substantial wall that will hopefully prevent this reckless legislation from ever becoming law.”
The ballot initiative is being brought by a wide-coalition of industry partners. It is believed to be the largest effort to stop reckless legislation that has been put together in a generation.
William Carmichael, Chairman of the American Bail Coalition, has taken the lead in getting this effort off the ground. Said Carmichael:
“Our industry has been a significant part of this grand experiment called the United States of America for most of its history. We are not going to allow it to go away, especially at the expense of the trammeling of constitutional rights and the dehumanization of all of those who will be processed by the new justice-by-algorithm system.”
The initiative will be titled by the Attorney General’s office within 10 days, at which time the campaign will begin gathering signatures. While the effort certainly will need volunteers and additional funding, the short-term goal is to make sure that the effort does indeed get on the ballot so that the voters can weigh in on the measure in the general election in November, 2020.
The filing of the initiative and the gathering of the signatures will prevent Senate Bill 10 from becoming law until after the voters weigh in, meaning that the status quo will be preserved for up to two more years. Based on the heavy opposition to SB10 and faulty process, the chances of repealing Senate Bill 10 stands on solid ground.
“While we are confident the voters will repeal this misguided legislation, that is not our only missile in the arsenal. We are also planning a litany of legal challenges, in cooperation with various civil rights groups, that we believe will also prevent this legislation from becoming law. The legislature and the Governor forgot one key thing—the California Constitution has, since before statehood, guaranteed the right to bail. It is the epitome of hubris to assume that an act of the legislature can undo the State Constitution.” said ABC Executive Director Jeff Clayton
The signatures are due 90 days after the Governor signed the legislation, which means the signatures will have to be in by November 26.
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