Miguel Santiago
- Democratic
- Assemblymember
- District 54
(1) Under existing law, a person sentenced to imprisonment in a state prison or in a county jail for a felony offense, as specified, may, during that period of confinement, be deprived of only those rights as is reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. Existing law enumerates certain civil rights of these prisoners, including the right to purchase, receive, and read newspapers, periodicals, and books accepted for distribution by the United States Post Office. This bill would include the right to personal visits by an intimate partner or a family member, as those terms are defined, as a civil right, as specified. The bill would provide that these civil rights may not be infringed, except as necessary and only if narrowly tailored to further a compelling security interest of the government, and would provide that any governmental action related to these civil rights may be reviewed in court for legal or factual error. (2) Existing law authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to prescribe and amend rules and regulations for the administration of prisons and requires regulations, which are adopted by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and may impact the visitation of inmates. Existing law requires these regulations to recognize and consider the value of inmate visitation as a means of increasing safety in prisons, maintaining family and community connections, and preparing inmates for successful release and rehabilitation. Existing regulations create the framework for establishing a visitation process in prisons that is conducted in as accommodating a manner as possible, subject to the need to maintain order, the safety of persons, the security of institutions and facilities, and required prison activities and operations. This bill would additionally require those regulations pertaining to inmate visits to recognize and consider the right to personal visits as a civil right. The bill would prohibit the department from denying or restricting in-person contact visits except as specified, including as a disciplinary sanction against the incarcerated person who has committed a listed offense during a personal visit. The bill would require the department to inform both the visitor and the incarcerated person of the specific reason for any denial of a visit, as specified. The bill would require the department to provide at least 3 days of in-person visiting per week, with a minimum of 7 visiting hours per day.
In committee: Held under submission.
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 4. Noes 1.) (June 27). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 52. Noes 15. Page 1923.)
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 4.) (May 18).
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (March 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended.
From printer. May be heard in committee March 17.
Read first time. To print.
Bill Text Versions | Format |
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AB958 | HTML |
02/14/23 - Introduced | |
03/14/23 - Amended Assembly | |
05/18/23 - Amended Assembly |
Document | Format |
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03/20/23- Assembly Public Safety | |
04/24/23- Assembly Appropriations | |
05/24/23- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS | |
06/24/23- Senate Public Safety | |
08/11/23- Senate Appropriations | PDF PDF |
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