California law abolishing bail is put on hold until at least November 2020

California’s new law abolishing the requirement to post bail for release after arrest, scheduled to take effect in October, was put on hold Wednesday when bail bond companies qualified a referendum to put the issue before voters in November 2020.

Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced that random sampling of petitions submitted by sponsors of the ballot measure showed they had collected more than the 402,468 valid signatures they needed to make the ballot. Qualification of a referendum on a newly enacted law bars its enforcement until voters decide whether to approve it.

The legislation, SB10, cosponsored by state Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, and Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Alameda, was signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in August.