AB 994 California Assembly · 2025-2026 Regular Session

County jails.

Summary

Existing law authorizes the sheriff to remove a prisoner to any California state prison for safekeeping when there are reasonable grounds to believe that the prisoner may be forcibly removed from a county jail, as specified. Existing law also authorizes a judge of the superior court to, on the request of the county sheriff and with the consent of the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, designate by written order the nearest state prison or correctional facility which would be able to secure confinement of a prisoner, subject to space available, when there are reasonable grounds to believe that the prisoner in a county jail is likely to be a threat to other persons in the facility or is likely to cause substantial damage to the facility. This bill would authorize a person currently committed to a state prison and who is alleged to have committed a new offense, to petition the court, after consultation with counsel, to allow any pretrial confinement pending disposition of charges for the new offense that would otherwise be served in the county jail to be served at the state prison at which the prisoner is currently confined, unless the person is otherwise eligible for and obtains pretrial release.

Bill status failed 1 of 4 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Floor Vote

Governor

Introduced Feb 20, 2025 Last action Feb 2, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

04/29/25 - Amended Assembly → AB994 · 2 edits

MINOR

The changes between these two versions of AB 994 are entirely presentational and formatting-related. The bill was reformatted from a printed legislative document style (with line numbers and page markers) into a web-based display format from the California legislature website. No substantive policy, legal, or procedural language was altered.

TECHNICAL

The document was reformatted from a numbered-line legislative print layout to a web page layout, adding navigation elements (skip to content, home, accessibility, FAQ, search, etc.) and removing line numbers and page markers.

Line numbers (line 1 through line 38) and page break markers (97, AB 994, dash-page-dash) were removed from the statutory text.

03/24/25 - Amended Assembly → 04/29/25 - Amended Assembly · 4 edits · Apr 29, 2025

MODERATE

AB 994 was significantly revised to change how pretrial confinement works for people already in state prison who are charged with new offenses. The previous version automatically required their pretrial detention to be served in state prison upon the county sheriff's request. The amended version instead gives the prisoner the right to petition the court, after consulting with counsel, to have their pretrial confinement served in state prison rather than county jail. The bill also dropped a separate section that made technical changes to county jail room separation rules (former Section 4001).

Scope change

The bill's scope narrowed by removing the technical amendments to Section 4001 (county jail room separation). The core policy regarding pretrial confinement for people already in state prison was also modified from a mandatory transfer process to a prisoner-initiated petition, shifting who has the power to trigger the transfer.

REQUIREMENT

The mechanism for transferring a person already in state prison to serve pretrial confinement for a new offense changed from an automatic process triggered by the county sheriff's request to a prisoner-initiated petition. The person must now affirmatively request, after consultation with counsel, that their pretrial confinement be served in state prison.

New subsection (f)(2) requires that any request to serve pretrial confinement in state prison must be made in court by the person or through their counsel, establishing a formal procedural requirement.

SCOPE

The entire second section of the bill, which made technical and nonsubstantive changes to Penal Code Section 4001 (county jail room separation requirements for different classes of detainees), was removed. The bill now only amends Section 4007.

FISCAL

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the amended bill now requires fiscal committee review, likely due to the cost implications of housing additional prisoners in state facilities under the new petition-based system.

02/20/25 - Introduced → 03/24/25 - Amended Assembly · 5 edits · Mar 24, 2025

MODERATE

AB 994 was substantially expanded from a minor technical cleanup of county jail room-separation rules (Section 4001) into a bill that also rewrites Section 4007 of the Penal Code. The most significant addition is a new provision requiring that people already held in state prison who are charged with new offenses be kept in state prison during pretrial detention rather than transferred to county jail, upon request of the county sheriff and unless they obtain pretrial release. The fiscal note was changed from 'no' to 'yes,' reflecting the new cost implications of housing these individuals in state facilities.

SCOPE

The bill now amends Section 4007 of the Penal Code in addition to Section 4001, dramatically expanding its scope from a technical jail-room rule to a comprehensive rewrite of how county prisoners can be transferred to state prisons.

REQUIREMENT

New subsection (f) of Section 4007 requires that when a person currently committed to a state prison is charged with a new offense, their pretrial confinement must occur at the nearest state prison able to secure them (or the prison where they are already held), rather than in county jail. This applies upon request of the county sheriff and unless the person obtains pretrial release.

New subsections (a) through (e) of Section 4007 codify and reorganize existing transfer authorities: designation of a contiguous county jail when no local jail exists, sheriff's authority to move prisoners to state prison for safekeeping, medical treatment transfers with a 48-hour hearing requirement, compensation rates charged to the requesting county, and threat-to-facility transfers also with a 48-hour hearing.

FISCAL

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now carries state fiscal impact, likely due to the new requirement to house certain pretrial detainees in state prisons at state expense or at rates established by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

TECHNICAL

Section 4001 was reorganized from a numbered list (1, 2, 3) into lettered subsections (a), (b), (c), and minor wording was cleaned up (e.g., 'Each A county jail must shall contain' became 'A county jail shall contain'). These are nonsubstantive formatting changes.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Feb 2, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.

lower

May 23, 2025

Lower · Passed

In committee: Held under submission.

lower

May 7, 2025

Committee

In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

lower

Apr 30, 2025

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Apr 29, 2025

Lower · Passed

Read second time and amended.

lower

Apr 28, 2025

Introduced

From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (April 22).

lower

Mar 25, 2025

Committee

Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

lower

Mar 24, 2025

Introduced

From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. Read second time and amended.

lower

Mar 24, 2025

Committee

Referred to Com. on PUB. S.

lower

Feb 21, 2025

Lower · Passed

From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors