Civil detainees.

Section 2(c) changed from stating the Legislature's intent to 'clarify that individuals civilly detained in California have the same rights as individuals involuntarily detained under state law' to 'extend rights otherwise conferred to individuals involuntarily detained under state law to all individuals civilly detained in California.' This shifts the framing from confirming existing rights to actively extending them.

Section 4(a) broadens the enforcement provision. Previously it only referenced Section 53.9 of the Civil Code. Now it explicitly includes Sections 4502, 4503, 5325, and 5325.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and Sections 883 and 884 of Title 9 of the California Code of Regulations, meaning facility operators must protect both civil immigration detainee rights AND mental health detainee rights under a single enforcement mechanism.

Section 3(b)(1) through (3) restructured: the old single right to 'dignity, privacy, and humane care, including prompt mental health, medical, and dental care' is split into three separate rights. The word 'prompt' is removed from the care requirements, and mental health treatment is now a standalone right rather than being bundled under dignity/humane care.

Sections 3(b)(6), (7), and (8) remove specific citations to Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations (Sections 71665, 71631, and 77077). The rights to clean water/toilets, clean facilities, and adequate food are now stated without reference to those specific regulatory sections, making the statutory language self-contained.

Section 4(c) changes from requiring 'an operator of a facility shall provide' the Attorney General access (active obligation on the operator) to stating 'the Attorney General, or the Attorney General's designee, shall be provided all necessary access' (framed as an entitlement of the AG). Also changes the purpose from 'effectuate enforcement' to 'ensure compliance with this section.'

Facilities housing individuals on behalf of or pursuant to contract with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) are now explicitly covered, in addition to ICE. This expands the bill's reach to facilities holding unaccompanied migrant children and other ORR-contracted detainees.

New Section 53.9(c) reaffirms that persons protected under Welfare and Institutions Code sections 4502, 4503, 5325, and 5325.1 (LPS Act and developmental disability provisions) have rights to mental health and dental care, clean water and functioning facilities, clean living quarters, and adequate food.

New right (9) grants civil immigration detainees reasonable access to a telephone (including confidential calls), letter writing materials, and the ability to send and receive correspondence. Mail from attorneys, courts, or government officials cannot be read by anyone other than the addressee.

The rights list for civil immigration detainees was restructured: mental health treatment in the least restrictive manner is now a separate right (item 2), medical and dental care is separated out as its own right (item 3), and the right to be free from harm now explicitly includes 'abuse or neglect' alongside restraint, isolation, and medication.

Government Code Section 12532.1(a) now requires facility operators to protect rights from Civil Code 53.9 AND Welfare and Institutions Code sections 4502, 4503, 5325, 5325.1 AND Title 9 sections 883 and 884, rather than only Civil Code 53.9.

The Attorney General's civil action authority now extends to protecting rights described in Civil Code 53.9, Welfare and Institutions Code 4502, 4503, 5325, or 5325.1, or Title 9 sections 883 or 884. The $2,500 per-violation civil penalty applies to all of these.

Assembly Member Calderon added as a coauthor.

Civil Code Section 53.8 was removed from the bill. This section previously existed as a separate addition relating to civil detainees, likely containing a general declaration or finding that was deemed redundant with the content of Section 53.9.

A new Section 5 declares the act an urgency statute under Article IV of the California Constitution, meaning it takes effect immediately upon the governor's signature rather than after the standard 90-day waiting period. The stated justification is maintaining the health and safety of civil detainees.

The legislative vote requirement changed from a simple majority to two-thirds in each house, which is constitutionally required for urgency statutes.

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now carries fiscal implications requiring fiscal committee review.

Assembly Member Kalra was added as a coauthor of the bill.

The entire Health and Safety Code Division 123 (Sections 153000-153009), known as the Private Detention and Civil Confinement Facility Oversight and Standards Act of 2026, is removed. This eliminated annual facility registration with CDPH, mandatory inspections by enforcing agencies, 4-year record retention requirements, 24-hour incident reporting, corrective action plan requirements, anti-retaliation provisions, and a broad enforcement framework including cease and desist orders and registration suspension.

The bill's scope narrows from regulating facility conditions, standards of care, sanitation, food service, medical care, and related health and safety matters across all covered civil confinement facilities (including mental health treatment facilities) to simply ensuring that the enumerated rights in Civil Code Section 53.9 are protected for persons detained for civil immigration proceedings.

Fiscal committee determination changes from 'yes' to 'no' and state-mandated local program changes from 'yes' to 'no,' reflecting the removal of obligations imposed on local enforcing agencies.

Civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation per day (imposable by CDPH or enforcing agencies) are removed from the bill.

New Government Code Section 12532.1 authorizes the Attorney General to bring civil actions for injunctive and declaratory relief to protect civil detainee rights, with a civil penalty not to exceed $2,500 per violation. Operators must provide the AG full access to detainees, facilities, personnel, and records.

All definitions from the removed division (covered civil confinement facility, enforcing agency, operator, private detention facility, standards of care and confinement) are eliminated. The new Government Code section uses the simpler term 'operator of a facility' without a formal definition.

A new legislative findings and declarations section (Section 2) is added, stating California's interest in protecting civil detainee rights and declaring that individuals civilly detained in California have the same rights as those involuntarily detained under state law.

The Civil Code structure changes: Section 53.8 is added (appears to be a placeholder or reserved section), and the substantive rights provisions previously in 53.8 are moved to new Section 53.9. The bill goes from approximately 11 pages to 4 pages.

Added new Civil Code Section 53.8 establishing that all persons detained for civil immigration proceedings in California at any state, county, local, or private locked detention facility (including those housing people on behalf of ICE) have the full legal rights guaranteed by the US Constitution, federal law, California Constitution, and state law.

The bill was retitled from the 'Private Detention and Civil Confinement Facility Oversight and Standards Act of 2026' to the 'Civil Detainees' Bill of Rights Act of 2026,' reframing the legislation around detainee rights rather than facility oversight.

Enumerated six specific rights for civil immigration detainees: (1) dignity, privacy, and humane care including prompt medical/dental/mental health services; (2) freedom from harm including excessive restraint, isolation, medication, abuse, or neglect; (3) religious freedom, physical exercise, and recreation; (4) clean drinking water and functioning toilet/shower facilities; (5) clean and well-maintained facility and living quarters; (6) good quality food prepared and served safely.

The Health and Safety Code division (Sections 153000-153009) was renumbered from Section 1 to Section 2 of the act to accommodate the new Civil Code section as Section 1.

Section 153003(f) was broadened from 'This section does not authorize duplicative state licensing requirements or oversight' to 'This division does not authorize duplicative, different, or additional state licensing requirements or oversight,' making the anti-duplication provision more explicit.

Section 153001(j) was corrected from 'It is not the intent of the Legislation to impose additional oversight' to 'It is not the intent of the Legislature to impose duplicative, different, or additional oversight,' fixing a typo and aligning language with Section 153003(f).

Fiscal committee review designation changed from 'yes' to 'no' and state-mandated local program designation changed from 'yes' to 'no' in the fiscal notes.

The requirement that private detention facilities obtain and maintain a 'Private Detention Facility License' from the State Department of Public Health was eliminated, along with the department's authority to deny, suspend, or revoke such licenses based on specified criteria.

The department's authority to conduct annual unannounced inspections of licensed private detention facilities and to issue civil penalties (up to $25,000 per violation per day), suspend or revoke licenses, and mandate corrective action plans was removed.

The anti-retaliation provision was expanded from protecting 'any employee, detainee, contractor, or volunteer who reports' to protecting 'any employee, detainee, contractor, patient, resident, detainee, family member, attorney, advocate, volunteer, or other person who reports, or participates in an investigation or proceeding concerning' a violation.

The bill's title and scope language changed from 'detention civil confinement facilities' to 'civil confinement facilities,' removing the word 'detention' to signal a broader framing that treats private detention facilities as one category among several covered civil confinement facilities rather than a uniquely regulated class.

Section 153003(f) was strengthened from 'does not authorize duplicative state licensing or oversight' to 'does not authorize duplicative, different, or additional state licensing requirements or oversight,' adding the word 'different' and clarifying that even non-duplicative but different requirements are barred for already-regulated facilities.

Section 153001(j) was expanded from 'impose additional oversight on facilities that already have state or local regulatory oversight authority in place' to 'impose duplicative, different, or additional oversight or requirements,' adding 'different' and 'or requirements' to further limit the bill's reach over already-regulated facilities.

The fiscal note changed the state-mandated local program designation from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now imposes costs on local agencies that require state reimbursement under the California Constitution.

The bill's scope was expanded from 'private detention facilities' only to 'covered civil confinement facilities,' a new category that includes private detention facilities, facilities designated under Welfare and Institutions Code Section 5404, psychiatric health facilities, mental health rehabilitation centers, and psychiatric residential treatment facilities.

A new equal-treatment provision (Section 153005) requires that private detention facilities be subject to the same standards as similarly situated covered civil confinement facilities and prohibits imposing additional requirements on private detention facilities unless an analogous requirement applies to other covered facilities.

A new section (153008) explicitly states the division does not authorize regulation of apprehension, charging, detention placement, transfer, release, removal, sentencing, or contractor responsibility determinations made by federal, state, or local government.

An explicit exemption was added for state prisons, county jails, city jails, juvenile halls, and facilities operated directly by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or a local correctional authority.

New definitions added for 'covered civil confinement facility' (a nonpenal 24-hour facility where persons may be detained, committed, held for evaluation, treatment, stabilization, restoration, or civil immigration custody), 'enforcing agency,' and 'standards of care and confinement.'

The definition of 'operator' was expanded to include 'contractor, subcontractor, or other nongovernmental entity' and to cover those who 'staffs, or provides direct custodial, medical, mental health, food, sanitation, transportation, or other direct services' in a covered facility.

A two-tier regulatory structure was created: facilities already licensed, certified, designated, or approved under state law or local ordinance remain under their existing regime but must comply with the new standards; facilities not otherwise regulated must file an annual registration with CDPH identifying the operator, location, contracting entity, maximum capacity, and standards of care.

Operators must now preserve records for at least four years and report unusual occurrences (deaths, serious injuries, serious medical events, uses of force, restraint, or seclusion) to the enforcing agency within 24 hours of the incident.

For facilities only registered with CDPH (not already licensed), the department may issue cease and desist orders, impose civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation per day, require corrective action plans, and suspend registration for repeated, material, or uncured violations. For already-licensed facilities, existing enforcement authority applies.

The anti-retaliation provision was expanded from protecting 'employee, detainee, contractor or volunteer who reports a violation' to protecting 'contractor, patient, resident, detainee, family member, attorney, advocate, volunteer, or other person who reports, or participates in an investigation or proceeding concerning' a violation.

The bill's fiscal designation changed: 'State-mandated local program' changed from 'no' to 'yes,' and 'Fiscal committee' changed from 'no' to 'yes.' A new Section 2 was added providing for reimbursement of state-mandated local costs pursuant to the Government Code.

Added Section 153002 defining 'Operator' (any private person, corporation, partnership, or entity that owns, manages, or provides services in a private detention facility under a contract) and 'Private detention facility' (cross-referencing Government Code Section 7320).

Added Section 153003 requiring every private detention facility to obtain and maintain a license from the State Department of Public Health before operating in California. The department may deny, suspend, or revoke a license based on failure to comply with the act, failure to meet health and safety requirements, or the operator's history of violations. A separate license is required for each distinct facility location.

Added Section 153004 making compliance with all applicable standards of care in the facility's contract a condition of licensure.

Added Section 153006 prohibiting operators from retaliating against any employee, detainee, contractor, or volunteer who reports a violation of the act or any health or safety standard.

Added Section 153005(a) requiring the Department of Public Health to conduct annual unannounced inspections of each licensed facility, plus additional inspections as necessary based on complaints or risk indicators.

Added Section 153005(b) authorizing penalties including civil penalties up to $25,000 per violation per day, license suspension, license revocation, and mandatory corrective action plans.

Added Section 153007 making all provisions of the act severable, so that if any provision is held invalid, the remaining provisions continue in effect.

The fiscal committee answer changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the amended bill now has a fiscal impact requiring fiscal committee review, consistent with the new inspection and enforcement obligations placed on the Department of Public Health.