Saxton

DISCUSSION

A.B. 1950 amended Penal Code1 sections 1203a and 1203.1 to restrict the length of most probation terms. (Stats. 2020, ch. 328, §§ 1 & 2.) Effective January 1, 2021, misdemeanor probation terms are generally limited to one year (§ 1203a, subd. (a)), and felony probation terms are generally limited to two years (§ 1203.1, subd. (a)). Exempt from these limits are offenses that “include[] specific probation lengths within [their] provisions.” (§§ 1203a, subd. (b), 1203.1, subd. (m)(1).) Whether Saxton’s case falls within one of these exemptions presents an issue of statutory interpretation for our independent review. (In re R.G. (2019) 35 Cal.App.5th 141, 146.) As with any issue of statutory interpretation, “[o]ur fundamental task is to ascertain the Legislature’s intent when it

1 Unlabeled statutory references are to the Penal Code.

2 enacted” A.B. 1950. (In re R.G., supra, 35 Cal.App.5th at p. 146.) “We begin with [A.B. 1950’s] words, giving them their plain, commonsense meanings.” (Ibid.) “We construe the words in context of related statutes, harmonizing them whenever possible.” (Ibid.) “We presume the Legislature ‘was aware of existing related laws’ when it enacted…