Juvenile facilities: visitation.

Section 224.75(a) standard changed from 'nonsexual and appropriate under the circumstances' to just 'appropriate under the circumstances.' The explicit 'nonsexual' qualifier was removed, leaving the determination of permissible contact entirely to the reasonable-person appropriateness test.

The bill's short name was changed from 'Hugs Hug Act' (a drafting error producing a doubled name) to 'Hug Act.'

The legislative digest was restructured to eliminate two competing descriptions of the bill's purpose. The old version contained both a description using 'nonsexual physical contact' and a separate one using 'consensual physical contact'; the new version consolidates to a single description using 'consensual physical contact.'

Section numbering was corrected. The old version had a duplicate 'SEC. 2' placeholder and inconsistent numbering; the new version uses clean sequential numbering (Sections 1 through 5).

A cross-reference in Section 224.75(a) was corrected from 'subdivision (g) (s)' to 'subdivision (s) (g)' of Section 224.71, fixing the order of the cited subdivisions.

The bill now amends Section 224.71 (the Youth Bill of Rights) by adding a new subdivision (s) that explicitly lists the right to engage in consensual physical contact with visitors during in-person visits as a fundamental right of confined youth, alongside existing rights like safety, medical care, and education.

The list of examples of permissible physical contact was changed from 'including hugging at the beginning and end of the visit and holding hands' to 'including, but not limited to, hugging at the beginning and end of the visit and holding hands,' making clear the list is non-exhaustive.

A new Section 2 adds legislative findings and declarations stating that research shows physical touch is essential to youth health and development, and that maintaining physical connection with family supports trauma-responsive rehabilitative goals of the juvenile justice system.

A new provision states that physical contact described in Section 224.75(a) shall not be restricted as a disciplinary measure, explicitly prohibiting facilities from using denial of hugs or hand-holding as punishment.

The term 'physical contact' was changed to 'consensual physical contact' throughout the operative provisions, emphasizing that the right applies only to mutually agreed-upon touch.

Documentation of significant safety and security concerns and contact limitations must now be made available to the Division of the Ombudsperson of the Office of Youth and Community Restoration upon request, creating a new oversight mechanism.

The bill's short title was corrected from 'Hug Hugs Act' to 'Hugs Hug Act,' and two additional coauthors (Assembly Members Bonta and Kalra) were added.

The bill was renamed from the Hug Act to the Hug Hugs Act.

A new subdivision (b)(1) limits when physical contact can be restricted: only when a significant safety and security concern is present, including court-ordered visitation restrictions or temporary and specific health concerns. Any restriction must be temporary and specific to a particular youth or visitor.

A new subdivision (b)(2) requires that all significant safety and security concerns and subsequent contact limitations be documented in detail, including the duration of the limitation and any accommodations or security measures implemented to facilitate a return to physical contact visits.

The original requirement for facilities to establish regulations and procedures (formerly subdivision (b)) was renumbered to subdivision (c) to accommodate the new provisions.