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Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 10 into legislation Tuesday, eliminating California's current bail system and replacing it with a risk-assessment algorithm.
The bill has come under scrutiny for those in the bail business.
“Thanks to the governor, anyone that is arrested has only two paths; either stay in jail due to a judges’ order or be released on taxpayer funded pre-trial probation,” said Topo Padilla, who represents California’s bail industry and is President of the Golden State Bail Agents Association.
Padilla co-owns Greg Padilla Bail Bonds with his father Greg Padilla, who has been in the bail business for four decades.
"It's a family business," said Padilla. "I put my heart and soul into it."
Padilla's wife, son and grandson are three generations of bail bondsmen. Despite arguments that the current bail system only favors the wealthy, Padilla believes she does help people of all backgrounds.
"We've bailed people out with hardly any money down," said Padilla. "[And] what we try to do is make sure we can work within your limits. We do not want to obligate you to have to pay us if it looks like it might not be needed."
Padilla said he currently has 14 employees.
"They're going to have to go find a job," he said.
Padilla, along with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), believes that the legislation will actually lead to more Californians in jail and might hurt the very people it is supposed to help: Minorities and those with lower incomes.
The legislation doesn't go into effect until October 2019.
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