California 2021-2022 Regular Session Status: Enacted

AB 2657 — Incarcerated person's competence.

Last action — Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 795, Statutes of 2022.

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed Assembly
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 18, 2022. Enacted.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 70% · moderate confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 1 sponsor

    1 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 6 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Existing law authorizes the warden of a state prison to whom an incarcerated person is delivered for execution to suspend the execution of a judgment of death in specified circumstances. Under existing law, if the court sets a date for execution, the warden is required to report that to the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, who is required to appoint 3 "alienists" (psychiatrists) from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation staff, at least 20 days prior to the date appointed for execution, to examine the defendant and investigate the defendant's sanity. This bill would require the secretary to select and appoint 3 psychiatrists or licensed psychologists to examine the incarcerated person and investigate and report whether the incarcerated person is competent to be executed. The bill would require that a copy of the report be provided to the incarcerated person, the Attorney General, the district attorney of the county in which the incarcerated person was sentenced, and to the Governor. Existing law requires the warden to notify the district attorney of the county in which the prison is situated if there is good reason to believe that an incarcerated person, under judgment of death, has become incompetent to be executed. Existing law requires the district attorney to immediately file a petition in the superior court of the county stating the conviction and judgment, the fact that the incarcerated person is believed to be incompetent to be executed, and inquiring into the incarcerated person's competence. Existing law also requires the court to summon and impanel a jury of 12 persons to inquire into the incarcerated person's sanity. This bill would require the warden to notify the district attorney of the county in which the incarcerated person was sentenced, the Attorney General, and the incarcerated person's counsel, if there is good reason to believe that an incarcerated person has become incompetent to be executed. If the warden issues that notice, the bill would require the Attorney General to file a petition, identifying that there is reason to believe that the incarcerated person is incompetent to be executed, with the court if the incarcerated person's counsel fails to file the petition or the incarcerated person does not have counsel. The bill would also remove the right to a jury trial on the subject of incompetence for execution. Existing law requires the judge to hold a hearing if the superintendent of the medical facility certifies to the judge that the incarcerated person has recovered their sanity, and if at the hearing it is determined that the incarcerated person has in fact recovered their sanity, existing law requires the judge to certify that to the Governor, who is required to then issue to the warden a warrant appointing a day for the execution of the judgment. Existing law requires the court to appoint counsel to represent the incarcerated person at the hearing if the defendant appears without counsel. Existing law also requires the district attorney to attend the hearing. This bill would require the court to hold a hearing if there is reason to believe the incarcerated person is presently incompetent to be executed, as specified, or if there is reason to believe the incarcerated person is permanently incompetent to be executed, as specified. The bill would require the court to vacate the sentence or sentences of death if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the incarcerated person is permanently incompetent to be executed, and would require the court to resentence the incarcerated person to life without the possibility of parole. The bill would not require the district attorney to attend the hearing.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 795, Statutes of 2022.

  2. Approved by the Governor.

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 9:30 p.m.

  4. Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 56. Noes 17.).

  5. Assembly Rule 77(a) suspended.

  6. In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending. May be considered on or after August 25 pursuant to Assembly Rule 77.

  7. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 30. Noes 10. Page 5012.).

  8. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  9. From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8.

  10. In committee: Hearing postponed by committee.

  11. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 4. Noes 0.) (June 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  12. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

  13. Referred to Com. on PUB. S.

  14. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  15. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 56. Noes 18. Page 4913.)

  16. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  17. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 12. Noes 4.) (May 11).

  18. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  19. Read second time and amended.

  20. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 2.) (April 5).

  21. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

  22. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended.

  23. Referred to Com. on PUB. S.

  24. From printer. May be heard in committee March 21.

  25. Introduced. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

Export CSV (upgrade) →

1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on · 16 voted No

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

AB 2657 Stone Concurrence in Senate Amendments

Passed 56 Yea · 17 Nay · 7 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 30101
Unaffiliated 26706
Republican 0900
Total 561707
% of votes cast 70%21%0%9%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Bloom — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Holden — Yea
Villapudua — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Wood — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Ting — Yea
Low — Yea
O'Donnell — Yea
Levine — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Daly — Yea
Medina — Yea
Smith — Nay
Voepel — Nay
Cunningham — Nay
Mathis — Nay
Salas — Nay
Gray — Not Voting
Kiley — Not Voting
Mayes — Not Voting
Cooper — Not Voting
Bigelow — Not Voting
McCarty — Not Voting
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Nay
Luz Rivas — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Vince Fong — Nay
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Alvarez, David Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Bennett, Steve Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Haney, Matt Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Not Voting
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Lee, Alex Democratic Yea
McKinnor, Tina Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Nay
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Ward, Christopher M. Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Wilson, Lori D. Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Nay
Choi, Steven S. Republican Nay
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Davies, Laurie Republican Nay
Flora, Heath Republican Nay
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Lackey, Tom Republican Nay
Seyarto, Kelly Republican Nay
Valladares, Suzette Martinez Republican Nay

Official roll call →

3rd Reading AB2657 Stone By Skinner

Passed 30 Yea · 10 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 12100
Unaffiliated 18500
Republican 0400
Total 301000
% of votes cast 75%25%0%0%
How each member voted (40)
Member Party Vote
Leyva — Yea
Pan — Yea
Atkins — Yea
Dodd — Yea
Gonzalez — Yea
Rubio — Yea
Skinner — Yea
Portantino — Yea
Kamlager — Yea
Newman — Yea
Bradford — Yea
Glazer — Yea
Eggman — Yea
Hertzberg — Yea
Min — Yea
Roth — Yea
Wieckowski — Yea
Hueso — Yea
Wilk — Nay
Melendez — Nay
Borgeas — Nay
Nielsen — Nay
Bates — Nay
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
Archuleta, Bob Democratic Yea
Becker, Josh Democratic Yea
Caballero, Anna M. Democratic Yea
Cortese, Dave Democratic Yea
Durazo, Maria Elena Democratic Yea
Hurtado, Melissa Democratic Nay
Laird, John Democratic Yea
Limón, Monique Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Stern, Henry I. Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea
Wiener, Scott D. Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Grove, Shannon Republican Nay
Jones, Brian W. Republican Nay
Ochoa Bogh, Rosilicie Republican Nay

Official roll call →

AB 2657 Stone Assembly Third Reading

Passed 56 Yea · 18 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 28101
Unaffiliated 28803
Republican 0900
Total 561804
% of votes cast 72%23%0%5%
How each member voted (78)
Member Party Vote
Bloom — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Cooley — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Mullin — Yea
Holden — Yea
Villapudua — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Wood — Yea
Mayes — Yea
Nazarian — Yea
Ting — Yea
Low — Yea
Levine — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Daly — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Medina — Yea
Gray — Yea
Smith — Nay
Voepel — Nay
Cunningham — Nay
Mathis — Nay
Bigelow — Nay
Salas — Nay
O'Donnell — Not Voting
Cooper — Not Voting
Kiley — Not Voting
Cristina Garcia — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Nay
Luz Rivas — Yea
Mark Stone — Yea
Vince Fong — Nay
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Bennett, Steve Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Not Voting
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Haney, Matt Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Lee, Alex Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Nay
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Ward, Christopher M. Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Wilson, Lori D. Democratic Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Nay
Choi, Steven S. Republican Nay
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Davies, Laurie Republican Nay
Flora, Heath Republican Nay
Gallagher, James Republican Nay
Lackey, Tom Republican Nay
Seyarto, Kelly Republican Nay
Valladares, Suzette Martinez Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 12 Yea · 4 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 5200
Democratic 7000
Republican 0200
Total 12400
% of votes cast 75%25%0%0%
How each member voted (16)
Member Party Vote
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Holden — Yea
Quirk — Yea
Bigelow — Nay
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Vince Fong — Nay
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Wilson, Lori D. Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Nay
Davies, Laurie Republican Nay

Official roll call →

Subjects

public-safety civil-rights
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Frequently asked questions

What does AB 2657 do?
Existing law authorizes the warden of a state prison to whom an incarcerated person is delivered for execution to suspend the execution of a judgment of death in specified circumstances. Under existing law, if the court sets a date for execution, the warden is required to report that to the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, who is required to appoint 3 "alienists" (psychiatrists) from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation staff, at least 20 days prior to the date appointed for execution, to examine the defendant and investigate the defendant's sanity. This bill would require the secretary to select and appoint 3 psychiatrists or licensed psychologists to examine the incarcerated person and investigate and report whether the incarcerated person is competent to be executed. The bill would require that a copy of the report be provided to the incarcerated person, the Attorney General, the district attorney of the county in which the incarcerated person was sentenced, and to the Governor. Existing law requires the warden to notify the district attorney of the county in which the prison is situated if there is good reason to believe that an incarcerated person, under judgment of death, has become incompetent to be executed. Existing law requires the district attorney to immediately file a petition in the superior court of the county stating the conviction and judgment, the fact that the incarcerated person is believed to be incompetent to be executed, and inquiring into the incarcerated person's competence. Existing law also requires the court to summon and impanel a jury of 12 persons to inquire into the incarcerated person's sanity. This bill would require the warden to notify the district attorney of the county in which the incarcerated person was sentenced, the Attorney General, and the incarcerated person's counsel, if there is good reason to believe that an incarcerated person has become incompetent to be executed. If the warden issues that notice, the bill would require the Attorney General to file a petition, identifying that there is reason to believe that the incarcerated person is incompetent to be executed, with the court if the incarcerated person's counsel fails to file the petition or the incarcerated person does not have counsel. The bill would also remove the right to a jury trial on the subject of incompetence for execution. Existing law requires the judge to hold a hearing if the superintendent of the medical facility certifies to the judge that the incarcerated person has recovered their sanity, and if at the hearing it is determined that the incarcerated person has in fact recovered their sanity, existing law requires the judge to certify that to the Governor, who is required to then issue to the warden a warrant appointing a day for the execution of the judgment. Existing law requires the court to appoint counsel to represent the incarcerated person at the hearing if the defendant appears without counsel. Existing law also requires the district attorney to attend the hearing. This bill would require the court to hold a hearing if there is reason to believe the incarcerated person is presently incompetent to be executed, as specified, or if there is reason to believe the incarcerated person is permanently incompetent to be executed, as specified. The bill would require the court to vacate the sentence or sentences of death if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the incarcerated person is permanently incompetent to be executed, and would require the court to resentence the incarcerated person to life without the possibility of parole. The bill would not require the district attorney to attend the hearing.
Who sponsors AB 2657?
AB 2657 is sponsored by Mark Stone.
What is the current status of AB 2657?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced February 18, 2022. Enacted.
Where can I track AB 2657?
Track AB 2657 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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