Fact check: Did Tom Steyer help get cash bail ‘gone’ in California?

During Friday night’s Democratic presidential debate in New Hampshire, billionaire activist Tom Steyer told viewers while discussing criminal justice that he had successfully worked to eliminate cash bail in California.

“I’ve worked to end cash bail in California, and it’s gone,” Steyer said.

Steyer was referencing a bill Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law in 2018, which Steyer worked with lawmakers to push through the Legislature.

While it’s true he worked to end cash bail, Steyer inaccurately claimed the system is gone.

In August 2017, Steyer highlighted his efforts with Democratic Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Alameda, and state Sen. Bob Hertzeberg, D-Los Angeles to pass Senate Bill 10. In a tweet he called the state’s money bail system “unjust and unacceptable” and “rigged against the interests of too many Californians.”

Steyer also led a discussion with state leaders in March 2018 in which he pushed for an end to cash bail. An organization he had founded spent $70,000 on digital advertisements across the state and put up two billboards off of Interstate 5 in Sacramento that same month.

Senate Bill 10 was signed into law months later and set to take effect in October 2019. However, industry leaders have prevented the law’s implementation by getting enough signatures to place the referendum on this year’s November ballot.

A coalition called Californians Against the Reckless Bail Scheme is leading the effort to overturn the law.

This story was originally published February 7, 2020 at 7:38 PM.