Pen. Code, § 3046 · Article 3. Paroles
Pen. Code, § 3046
Text — As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
(a) An inmate imprisoned under a life sentence shall not be paroled until he or she has served the greater of the following:
(1) A term of at least seven calendar years.
(2) A term as established pursuant to any other law that establishes a minimum term or minimum period of confinement under a life sentence before eligibility for parole.
(b) If two or more life sentences are ordered to run consecutively to each other pursuant to Section 669, an inmate so imprisoned shall not be paroled until he or she has served the term specified in subdivision (a) on each of the life sentences that are ordered to run consecutively.
(c) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) and (b), an inmate found suitable for parole pursuant to a youth offender parole hearing as described in Section 3051 or an elderly parole hearing as described in Section 3055 shall be paroled regardless of the manner in which the board set release dates pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 3041, subject to subdivision (b) of Section 3041 and Sections 3041.1 and 3041.2, as applicable.
(d) The Board of Parole Hearings shall, in considering a parole for an inmate, consider all statements and recommendations which may have been submitted by the judge, district attorney, and sheriff, pursuant to Section 1203.01, or in response to notices given under Section 3042, and recommendations of other persons interested in the granting or denying of parole. The board shall enter on its order granting or denying parole to these inmates, the fact that the statements and recommendations have been considered by it.
Notes and commentary — not statutory text
History
Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 676, Sec. 2. (AB 1448) Effective January 1, 2018.
Source of truth
- Edition
- As published in the Legislative Counsel's database, tables dated October 18, 2026 (pubinfo_2025.zip)
- Official file
- https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=3046.
- Text hash
- sha256 7cc5a315f774842333b4400300bead11a629198b07a715cf6bdc9a8f7a063611
- Composed by
- compose_ca.py 2026-10-22: the Legislative Counsel's CAML content files read by a tokenizer (caml_readers.reader_a); an independent xml.etree reading (caml_readers.reader_b) agrees on every section
This section cites
Provisions in this library that the text above cites, as it prints each citation. A range cited as “ss. 61.13-61.16” links its first and last provisions.
Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 669Printed as Section 669
- Pen. Code, § 1203.01Printed as Section 1203.01
- Pen. Code, § 3041Printed as Section 3041
- Pen. Code, § 3041.1Printed as Sections 3041.1 and 3041.2
- Pen. Code, § 3041.2Printed as Sections 3041.1 and 3041.2
- Pen. Code, § 3042Printed as Section 3042
- Pen. Code, § 3051Printed as Section 3051
- Pen. Code, § 3055Printed as Section 3055
Cited by 7 provisions
Provisions in this library whose text cites Pen. Code, § 3046. Each shows the citation as that text prints it.
Penal Code
- Pen. Code, § 186.22Printed as Section 3046
- Pen. Code, § 206.1Printed as Section 3046
- Pen. Code, § 667Printed as Section 190 or 3046
- Pen. Code, § 667.7Printed as Section 190 or 3046
- Pen. Code, § 669Printed as Section 3046
- Pen. Code, § 1170.12Printed as Section 190 or 3046
- Pen. Code, § 3041Printed as Section 3046
Procedural information only. Not legal advice and not a substitute for the advice of an attorney. Confirm the current text with the official publisher before relying on it.