California lawmakers are considering making parole more difficult for some inmates

In a rare display of bipartisanship, Republicans on the Assembly Public Safety Committee are backing a tough-on-crime bill authored by a Democrat.

On Tuesday, the committee offered a measure from an Elk Grove assemblyman Stephanie Nguyen it would raise parole eligibility requirements for some elderly inmates. Currently incarcerated people age 50 and older who have served at least 20 years of their sentence may be considered for the Elderly Parole Program. But for people convicted of sex crimes against children, Nguyen’s bill would raising this standard to 65 yearswith at least 25 years of service.

Criminal justice groups, including the California Coalition for Women Prisoners and Uncommon Law, oppose the bill, citing low recidivism rates among older inmates and the high financial cost of keeping people in prison.

Nguyen’s defense of the bill included tearful testimony from a woman who was sexually victimized by a man named David Funston when she was a child. Funston was later convicted of kidnapping and child abuse in 1999 and was serving three life sentences when the California parole board ruled last year that Funston eligible for parole at age 64. Despite public outcry, including from Republican Party legislatorsand a request by Gov. Gavin Newsom to review the case, the board upheld its decision in February.

• Nguyen: “When you’re hurting children as young as four repeatedly … then no, I don’t believe these people deserve the opportunity to come here without railings.”

This is Nguyen’s second attempt to introduce this bill. In their support for the measure, the members of the Republican Assembly Juan Alanis and Tom Lackey expressed their desire to sign as co-authors of the bill.

The joint documentary by CalMatters, Evident Media and Bellingcat, “Operation Return to Sender” is nominated for the 2026 News and Documentary Emmy Awards.

Our investigation exposed the tactics and disinformation behind what would become the blueprint for mass deportation campaigns across America. We focused on the claims of Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino, who will continue to lead the actions in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis and beyond.

The investigation debunked claims of Bovino’s first “proof of concept” raid in Kern County. He claimed the operation was “heavily targeted” against immigrants with criminal records. But the Department of Homeland Security’s own data obtained for this report revealed that the Border Patrol had no prior knowledge of any criminal or immigration history for 77 of the 78 people detained during the three-day raid.

Read more about the investigation behind CalMatters’ first Emmy nomination.

State lawmakers on Thursday will consider a proposal by Gov. Newsom that would subsidize a type of jet fuel that burns cleaner than traditional jet fuel. But environmentalists and the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office are urged lawmakers to reject the ideawrites Alejandro Lazo of CalMatters.

Included in the governor’s budget plan is a tax credit proposal that would allow oil producers to pay less in the diesel tax if they produce more jet fuel from cleaner burning materials such as cooking oil and animal fat. Currently, Phillips 66 — which operates a refinery in Rodeo that produces such biofuel — is one of two companies in California that makes state-certified jet biofuel and pays an excise tax on diesel fuel.

The president of United Steelworkers Local 326, which represents workers at the Rodeo plant, says the tax credit could help workers stay on the job.

However, environmentalists are concerned that biofuels can still pollute the air. The Legislative Analyst’s Office also cautions that the effort is not cost-effective: The office projects the proposal would cost more than the $300 million the state estimates. The subsidy would also take away diesel tax revenue that goes toward maintaining California’s roads.

Read more.