SB1427 - Public safety omnibus.

Enrolled August 14, 2026 Passed IN Senate May 14, 2026 Passed IN Assembly August 13, 2026 Amended IN Senate May 05, 2026 Amended IN Senate April 15, 2026 Amended IN Senate April 08, 2026 CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION Senate Bill No. 1427 Introduced by Committee on Public Safety (Senators Arreguín (Chair), Caballero, Cortese, Pérez, Seyarto, and Wiener) March 02, 2026 An act to amend Sections 27491.56 and 68514 of the Government Code, to amend Sections 17, 1370, 1463.007, 1524.2, and 26202 of the Penal Code, and to amend Section 871.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to public safety. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1427, Committee on Public Safety. Public safety omnibus. (1) Existing law, beginning January 1, 2027, in any county in which the offices of sheriff and the coroner are combined, prohibits the sheriff-coroner from determining the circumstances, manner, and cause of death, as provided, for an in-custody death, as defined. Existing law instead requires the sheriff-coroner to contract with specified entities to determine the circumstances, manner, and cause of death. Existing law requires the county board of supervisors to annually enter into a service agreement or service agreements with those entities. This bill would remove the requirement that those service agreements be entered into annually. (2) Existing law, when a defendant is returned to court after specified proceedings to restore competency and it appears the defendant is gravely disabled, requires the court to initiate specified conservatorship proceedings. Existing law defines gravely disabled for these purposes as meaning a condition in which a person, as a result of specified disorders, is unable to provide for their basic personal needs for food, clothing, shelter, personal safety, or necessary medical care, or a condition in which the person has been found mentally incompetent and specified facts exist, including that the person is unable to understand the nature and purpose of the proceedings taken against them and to assist counsel in the conduct of their defense in a rational manner. This bill would clarify that gravely disabled includes meeting either or both of these definitions of gravely disabled. (3) Existing law sets forth the grounds and procedures for the issuance of a search warrant. Existing law defines a search warrant to refer to an order in writing, in the name of the people, signed by a magistrate, directed to a peace officer, commanding that peace officer to search for a person or persons, a thing or things, or personal property, and, in the case of a thing or things, or personal property, bring the thing or things, or the personal property, before the magistrate. Existing law prohibits a foreign corporation from transacting intrastate business without a certificate of qualification from the Secretary of State, and requires a statement filed for a certificate of qualification to include, among other things, an agent for service of process within the state. Existing law defines a foreign corporation for these purposes as any corporation that is qualified to do business within the state, as specified. Existing law defines “properly served” for these purposes as, among other things, a search warrant that has been delivered by hand, or by any other means specified by the recipient of the search warrant, as specified. This bill would broaden the foreign corporation definition to include a corporation that transacts intrastate business, except a California corporation. The bill would also broaden the “properly served” definition to include, for recipients not qualified to do business in this state, any means reasonably calculated to give actual notice. (4) Existing law requires the sheriff or city municipal police department, when determining whether a non-California resident is qualified for a license to carry a firearm capable of being concealed on the person, to conduct an in-person or virtual interview of the applicant, unless the application is for a renewal of that license. This bill would require that interview for all applicants, unless the application is for a renewal of that license. By increasing duties on local governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (5) Existing law makes it a crime, with exceptions, for a person to knowingly bring or send into, or to knowingly assist in bringing into, or sending into, any county juvenile hall, ranch, camp, or forestry camp, or for a person who is confined in any of those institutions to possess, a prohibited controlled substance, a firearm, weapon, or explosive of any kind, a tear gas or tear gas weapon, or an alcoholic beverage, as specified. Existing law requires the posting of a sign at the entrance of those institutions specifying the prohibited conduct and the penalties. This bill would clarify that those provisions also apply to a secure youth treatment facility within a juvenile hall. (6) Existing law authorizes any county or court to implement a “comprehensive collection program” as a separate revenue collection activity, and requires the program to meet certain criteria, one of which is that the program engages in specified activities in collecting fines or penalties accepting payment of delinquent debt by credit card. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to make an annual report to the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee regarding, among other items, the total amount of revenue collected in the prior fiscal year by each court and county from criminal fines and fees related to infractions and misdemeanors. Existing law requires the Judicial Council to separately list information regarding fines and fees assessed in a year before the current reporting year that had outstanding balances in the current reporting year. This bill would additionally require that the program be administered by a county and superior court working in cooperation, as specified, and would authorize the program to contract with one or more specified entities. The bill would authorize the program to accept electronic payment of debt by credit or debit card, electronic funds transfer, or other online payment method accepted by the program. The bill would also make conforming changes to provisions regarding the report by the Judicial Council regarding the revenue collected from criminal fines and fees. The bill would require the Judicial Council to separately list information regarding fines and fees assessed, without limitation to the year before the current reporting year, that had outstanding balances in the current reporting year. (7) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above. Digest Key Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YES Bill Text The people of the State of California do enact as follows: SECTION 1. Section 27491.56 of the Government Code is amended to read: 27491.56. (a) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Forensic Accountability, Custodial Transparency, and Safety (FACTS) Act of 2025. (b) In any county where the offices of the sheriff and the coroner are combined, the sheriff-coroner shall not determine the circumstances, manner, and cause of death pursuant to Section 27491 for any in-custody death, but shall instead do one or both of the following: (1) Contract with one or more counties that have a coroner’s office that operates independently from the office of the sheriff, or that have established an office of medical examiner pursuant to Section 24010, to determine the circumstances, manner, and cause of death. The contracted coroners or medical examiners shall operate independently from the office of the sheriff-coroner in conducting the medical examination process, including, but not limited to, exercising professional judgment to make determinations of the circumstances, manner, and cause of death. (2) Contract with one or more private third-party medical examination providers that are separate and independent from the office of the sheriff-coroner and that meet the physician qualification requirements described in Section 24010 to determine the circumstances, manner, and cause of death. A private third-party medical examination provider shall operate independently from the office of the sheriff-coroner in conducting the medical examination process, including, but not limited to, exercising professional judgment to make determinations of the circumstances, manner, and cause of death. (c) The cause and manner of death listed on the death certificate shall match the cause and manner of death determined by the coroner, medical examiner, or private third-party medical examination provider, as provided in this section. (d) (1) In any county in which the offices of the sheriff and the coroner are combined, the county board of supervisors shall select and enter into a service agreement or service agreements with medical examiners or independent coroner offices from other counties, or with one or more private third-party medical examination providers, or with any combination of those medical examiners, independent coroner offices, or private third-party medical examination providers. (2) A private third-party medical examination provider that has entered into a service agreement with a county, as provided in paragraph (1), may not, during the term of that service agreement, be contracted by the county or the sheriff-coroner of that county to provide medical examination for any cases that do not involve in-custody deaths. (e) Upon the determination of the circumstances, manner, and cause of death, the findings of the examination shall be delivered to the sheriff-coroner, district attorney, county health officer, and board of supervisors of the county in which the death occurred. The findings shall also be delivered to the decedent’s next of kin. (f) For purposes of this section, “in-custody death” means either of the following: (1) An in-custody death as defined in Section 10008 of the Penal Code. (2) A death of a person who is detained, under arrest, or is in the process of being detained or arrested, by a federal law enforcement officer, including for the purposes of immigration enforcement, or who is en route to be detained, or is detained, at a federal correctional facility or immigration detention facility, and for which the sheriff-coroner has jurisdiction or the federal government has requested an autopsy be performed by the sheriff-coroner’s office. (g) This section shall be operative January 1, 2027. SEC. 2. Section 68514 of the Government Code is amended to read: 68514. (a) Beginning October 1, 2018, and annually on or before December 31 thereafter, the Judicial Council shall report to the Department of Finance, the Legislature, and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee the total amount of revenue collected in the prior fiscal year, by each court and county, from criminal fines, fees, forfeitures, penalties, restitution fines described in subdivision (b) of Section 1202.4 of the Penal Code, and assessments related to infractions, misdemeanors, and felonies. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the following information: (1) Total nondelinquent revenue collected and the number of cases associated with those collections. (2) Total delinquent revenue collected and the number of cases associated with those collections, as reported by each superior court and county pursuant to Section 1463.010 of the Penal Code. (3) Total amount of fines and fees dismissed, discharged, or satisfied by means other than payment. (4) A description of the collection activities used by the program or its contracted entities pursuant to Section 1463.007 of the Penal Code. (5) The total amount collected per collection entity. (6) The total number of cases by collection entity and the total number of individuals associated with those cases. (7) Total operating costs per collection entity. (8) The percentage of fines or fees that are defaulted on. (9) The extent to which each court or county is meeting the collections best practices and performance metrics, developed pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1463.010 of the Penal Code, for its collection program. (10) Any changes necessary to improve the performance of collection programs statewide. (b) The Judicial Council shall separately list the information required in subdivision (a) for fines and fees assessed before the current reporting year that had outstanding balances in the current reporting year. (c) To the extent a court or county cannot provide the information listed in subdivisions (a) and (b), the Judicial Council shall notify the Department of Finance and the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and shall provide a plan for how to obtain this information in the future. The Department of Finance may approve alternate metrics if a court or county does not have this information. SEC. 3. Section 17 of the Penal Code is amended to read: 17. (a) A felony is a crime that is punishable with death, by imprisonment in the state prison, or, notwithstanding any other law, by imprisonment in a county jail under the provisions of subdivision (h) of Section 1170. Every other crime or public offense is a misdemeanor except those offenses that are classified as infractions. (b) When a crime is punishable, in the discretion of the court, either by imprisonment in the state prison or imprisonment in a county jail under the provisions of subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or by fine or imprisonment in the county jail, it is a misdemeanor for all purposes under the following circumstances: (1) After a judgment imposing a punishment other than imprisonment in the state prison or imprisonment in a county jail under the provisions of subdivision (h) of Section 1170. (2) When the court, upon committing the defendant to a secure youth treatment facility, designates the offense to be a misdemeanor. (3) When the court grants probation to a defendant and at the time of granting probation, or on application of the defendant or probation officer thereafter, the court declares the offense to be a misdemeanor. (4) When the prosecuting attorney files in a court having jurisdiction over misdemeanor offenses a complaint specifying that the offense is a misdemeanor, unless the defendant at the time of arraignment or plea objects to the offense being made a misdemeanor, in which event the complaint shall be amended to charge the felony and the case shall proceed on the felony complaint. (5) (A) When the court determines, prior to trial, either on i [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]