California Code of Regulations › Title 15 - Crime Prevention and Corrections › Division 3 - Adult Institutions, Programs and Parole › Chapter 1 - Rules and Regulations of Adult Operations and Programs › Article 3.3 - Credits › Section 3043 - Credit Earning

Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 28, July 12, 2024
(a) General.
				  Inmates are expected to work or participate in rehabilitative programs and
				  activities to prepare for their eventual return to society. Inmates who comply with
				  the regulations and rules of the Department and perform the duties assigned to them
				  shall be eligible to earn Good Conduct Credit as set forth in section
				  3043.2 of this article. Unless
				  otherwise precluded by this article, all inmates who participate in approved
				  rehabilitative programs and activities, including inmates housed in restricted
				  housing units or in other restricted housing, shall be eligible to earn Milestone
				  Completion Credit, Rehabilitative Achievement Credit, and Educational Merit Credit
				  as set forth in sections
				  3043.3,
				  3043.4, and
				  3043.5 of this article. The award of
				  these credits, as well as Extraordinary Conduct Credit as set forth in section
				  3043.6 of this article, shall advance
				  an inmate's release date if sentenced to a determinate term subject to subdivision
				  (c) of this section or advance an inmate's initial parole hearing date pursuant to
				  subdivision (a)(2) of section
				  3041 of the Penal
				  Code if sentenced to an indeterminate term with the possibility of parole. Inmates
				  who do not comply with the regulations and rules of the Department or who do not
				  perform the duties assigned to them shall be subject to credit forfeiture as
				  provided in this article.
(b) Inmate
				  Participation in Credit Earning Programs and Activities. All eligible inmates shall
				  have a reasonable opportunity to earn Good Conduct Credit, Milestone Completion
				  Credit, Rehabilitative Achievement Credit, and Educational Merit Credit in a manner
				  consistent with the availability of staff, space, and resources, as well as the
				  unique safety and security considerations of each prison. No credit shall be awarded
				  for incomplete, partial, or unsatisfactory participation in the credit earning
				  programs or activities described in this article, nor shall credit be awarded for
				  diplomas, degrees, or certificates that cannot be verified after due diligence by
				  Department staff.
(c) Release Date
				  Restriction.
(1) The following Release Date
				  Restriction took effect on April 13, 2017. Under no circumstance shall a
				  determinately sentenced inmate be awarded credit or have credit restored by the
				  Department which advances their release to a date less than 60 calendar days from
				  the date the award or restoration of such credit is entered into the Department's
				  information technology system, except pursuant to a court order.
(2) The following Release Date Restriction shall
				  commence on May 1, 2019 and supersede the Release Date Restriction in subsection
				  (c)(1). Under no circumstance shall a determinately sentenced inmate be awarded
				  credit or have credit restored by the Department which advances their release to a
				  date less than 15 calendar days from the date the award or restoration of such
				  credit is entered into the Department's information technology system, except
				  pursuant to a court order. This restriction shall instead be 45 calendar days for
				  all inmates convicted of an offense identified in section
				  3058.9 of the Penal
				  Code, and 60 calendar days for all inmates serving a term for a violent felony,
				  defined in subdivision (c) of section
				  667.5 of the Penal
				  Code, as stated in section
				  3058.6 of the Penal
				  Code, except pursuant to a court order.