The Youth Rehabilitation and Opportunity Act.

Senator Rubio's Youth Rehabilitation and Opportunity Act modifies California's parole eligibility criteria for individuals who committed their controlling offense at age 25 or younger. The legislation expands parole consideration to include those sentenced to life without possibility of parole, making them eligible for a youth offender parole hearing after 25 years of incarceration, except in cases of special circumstance murder committed at age 18 or older.

The bill establishes a tiered system of parole hearing eligibility based on sentence length. Those serving determinate sentences become eligible after 15 years, while individuals with life terms under 25 years qualify at 20 years. Persons with terms of 25 years to life or life without parole may receive hearings after 25 years. The Board of Parole Hearings must evaluate candidates using age-appropriate psychological assessments and may consider input from family members, school personnel, faith leaders, and community representatives familiar with the individual's pre-offense character or post-conviction development.

The measure requires the Board to complete all applicable youth offender parole hearings by January 2028. It maintains existing victim rights during proceedings and preserves current exclusions for certain serious offenses, including cases sentenced under California's "Three Strikes" law. Individuals who commit specified violent crimes after age 26 remain ineligible for youth offender parole consideration.