Single-Occupancy Cell Pilot Program.

Existing law establishes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and sets forth its powers and duties regarding the administration of correctional facilities and the care and custody of inmates. Existing law vests in the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation the supervision, management, and control of the state prisons, and the responsibility for the care, custody, treatment, training, discipline, and employment of persons confined in the state prisons. This bill, the Single-Occupancy Cell Pilot Program of 2026, would require the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop and implement a pilot program to house people who are incarcerated at 4 adult prison facilities in single-occupancy cells by January 1, 2027. The bill would require the secretary to select the 4 facilities and establish criteria to determine who will be housed in single-occupancy cells. The bill would require the pilot program to apply to 10% of the population housed at each of the 4 facilities. The bill would require that participation in the program be voluntary, as specified. The bill would require the secretary, by March 15, 2028, to transmit a publicly available report to the Governor and the Legislature detailing specified information pertaining to the pilot program, including the number of incarcerated persons housed in single-cell occupancy cells under the pilot program and participating in education assignments by facility, as specified.