§ 1320.35 (a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to understand and reduce biases based on gender, income level, race, or ethnicity in …

(a)  It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to understand and reduce biases based on gender, income level, race, or ethnicity in pretrial release decisionmaking.

(b)  For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

(1)  “Pretrial risk assessment tool” means an instrument used to determine the risks associated with individuals in the pretrial context.

(2)  “Pretrial services agency” means a local public agency that elects to perform pretrial risk assessments on individuals and provides the assessment information to a court.

(3)  “Release conditions framework” means the guidelines used by the pretrial services agency and the court to categorize varying degrees of risk for purposes of recommending whether to release or detain a person, whether to impose pretrial release conditions on a person, and guidance regarding those conditions.

(4)  “Validate” means using scientifically accepted methods to measure both of the following:

(c)  (1) Any pretrial risk assessment tool used by a pretrial services agency shall be validated by July 1, 2021, and on a regular basis thereafter, but no less frequently than once every three years. A pretrial services agency may coordinate with the Judicial Council to validate a pretrial risk assessment tool.

(2)  A pretrial risk assessment tool shall be validated using the most recent data collected by the pretrial services agency within its jurisdiction, or, if that data is unavailable, using the most recent data collected by a pretrial services agency in a similar jurisdiction within California.

(d)  (1) In order to increase transparency, a pretrial services agency shall, with regard to a pretrial risk assessment tool that it utilizes, make the following information publicly available:

(2)  A pretrial services agency shall, when selecting which pretrial risk assessment tool to utilize, ensure that the agency would be able to comply with paragraph (1) if that tool was selected.

(e)  The Judicial Council shall maintain a list of pretrial services agencies that have satisfied the validation requirement described in subdivision (c) and complied with the transparency requirements described in subdivision (d).

(f)  Beginning on or before June 30, 2021, and on or before June 30 of each year thereafter, the Judicial Council shall publish on its internet website a report with data related to outcomes and potential biases in pretrial release. The report shall, at a minimum, include:

(1)  The following information on each county pretrial release program:

(2)  The following information by superior court in large and medium courts and otherwise aggregated by superior court size:

(3)  The following information on each risk assessment tool:

(4)  If feasible, the Judicial Council shall provide information on any disparate effect in the tools based on income level.

(g)  (1) Pretrial services agencies and courts shall provide the Judicial Council the requisite data, as determined by the Judicial Council, to meet the requirements of this section.

(2)  The Department of Justice shall work with the Judicial Council to provide the data necessary to fulfill the requirements of this section.

(3)  The Judicial Council shall not share any individual-level data with any outside entity unless it has entered into a contract for research purposes with the entity and privacy protections are established to anonymize the data.

(h)  The requirements of subdivisions (f) and (g) shall apply to pretrial services agencies that perform risk assessments pursuant to a contractual agreement with the courts, including all of the following:

(1)  Agencies funded pursuant to the Budget Act of 2019 as pretrial pilot projects.

(2)  Agencies otherwise funded by the state to perform risk assessments.

(3)  Other agencies that perform risk assessments as long as sufficient funding is provided to the Judicial Council, the superior courts, and pretrial services agencies to ensure their ability to meet the data reporting requirements and standards set by the Judicial Council.

(i)  (1) By January 1, 2023, the Judicial Council shall provide a report to the courts and the Legislature containing recommendations to mitigate bias and disparate effect in pretrial decisionmaking.

(2)  A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.