SB957 - Civil detention facilities.

Amended IN Assembly August 25, 2026 Amended IN Assembly August 21, 2026 Amended IN Assembly August 13, 2026 Amended IN Assembly June 18, 2026 Amended IN Senate April 27, 2026 Amended IN Senate March 26, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Bill No. 957 Introduced by Senator Pérez February 02, 2026 An act to add Division 123 (commencing with Section 153000) to the Health and Safety Code, relating to civil detention facilities. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 957, as amended, Pérez. Civil detention facilities. Existing law requires the operator of a private detention facility, as defined, to comply with, and adhere to, the detention standards of care and confinement agreed upon in the facility’s contract for operations, as specified. Existing law requires a private detention facility operator to comply with, and adhere to, all local and state public health orders and occupational safety and health regulations. This bill, the Protecting Vulnerable Immigrant Detainees Model Act, would require the Attorney General, on or before December 31, 2027, to submit to the Legislature a report including a proposed oversight plan for private civil detention facilities that protects the health, safety, and welfare of persons detained in those facilities, as specified. The bill would require the Governor to direct the appropriate state entity to cooperate with the Attorney General for the purposes of developing the oversight plan, as specified. The bill would make related findings and declarations. Existing constitutional provisions require that a statute that limits the right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies be adopted with findings demonstrating the interest protected by the limitation and the need for protecting that interest. This bill would make legislative findings to that effect. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NO Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Division 123 (commencing with Section 153000) is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read: DIVISION 123. Protecting Vulnerable Immigrant Detainees Model Act 153000. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) California has a compelling interest in protecting the health, safety, and welfare of individuals residing in civil detention facility environments. (b) Existing law provides that civil detainees have the same legal rights and responsibilities guaranteed to all other individuals by the United States Constitution and laws and the Constitution and laws of the State of California. (c) In 2017, pursuant to Assembly Bill 103, the Legislature directed the Attorney General, or their designee, to review and report on the conditions of confinement, how those conditions affect due process, and the standards of care offered to individuals held in civil immigration detention facilities across the state. The Attorney General’s reports shed light on the conditions to which individuals held in privately operated detention facilities are subjected, including recurring substandard conditions and limited access to critical health care. (d) Multiple state agencies and departments, including the State Department of Public Health, currently oversee, inspect, and fine civil facilities if violations of regulations promulgated by that agency or department are found. (e) While other most civil and correctional facilities across the state have oversight mechanisms to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of individuals held within them, no such oversight currently exists over all privately operated civil detention facilities in the state. As the Ninth Circuit recognized in United States v. California, 921 F.3d 865, 886 (9th Cir. 2019), “California possesses the general authority to ensure the health and welfare of inmates and detainees in facilities within its borders.” Therefore, California needs a comprehensive oversight mechanism to protect the health, safety, and welfare of those held in all privately operated civil detention facilities across the state that aligns with the oversight mechanisms of similarly situated entities. 153001. (a) (1) The Attorney General, on or before December 31, 2027, shall submit to the Legislature a report including a proposed oversight plan for private civil detention facilities that protects the health, safety, and welfare of persons detained in those facilities. (2) The Attorney General shall consider applicable federal and state laws and, at a minimum, consider the provision of health care and the conditions of detention in those facilities in developing the oversight plan. (3) The oversight plan shall propose requirements for private civil detention facilities that are comparable to facilities that are currently under the oversight of state agencies and departments and shall give consideration to how detention facilities operate and the populations they hold in developing those requirements. (4) The Attorney General may make other recommendations necessary to implement the oversight plan. (b) The Governor, or the Governor’s designee, shall direct the appropriate state agency, department, board, or commission to cooperate with the Attorney General for the purposes of developing the oversight plan described in subdivision (a) by doing all of the following: (1) Designate a senior representative for the state entity described in this subdivision to facilitate the provision of information requested by the Attorney General in the discharge of their duties pursuant to this subdivision. (2) Provide information requested by the Attorney General within 30 days or a timeframe otherwise agreed upon by the parties. (3) Review and provide input on the oversight plan described in subdivision (a). (c) The Attorney General shall keep confidential any information received from a state agency that the state agency considers confidential. The Attorney General shall also withhold from public disclosure information that is otherwise exempt from disclosure under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code). (d) (1) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under subdivision (a) is inoperative on January 1, 2031, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code. (2) A report to be submitted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code. SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares that Section 1 of this act, which adds Section 153001 of the Health and Safety Code, imposes a limitation on the public’s right of access to the meetings of public bodies or the writings of public officials and agencies within the meaning of Section 3 of Article I of the California Constitution. Pursuant to that constitutional provision, the Legislature makes the following findings to demonstrate the interest protected by this limitation and the need for protecting that interest: In order to develop a robust oversight plan for private civil detention facilities to ensure the health, safety, and welfare of individuals residing in private civil detention facility environments and protect the health, safety, and welfare of individuals residing in such facilities, it is necessary to allow state agencies freely exchange information and analysis and limit the public’s right of access to records exchanged in furtherance of the goals of this act.