New California Laws 2026
ment, requires DOJ to regularly identify convictions that are eligible for expungement on the basis of a person’s service as an incarcerated firefighter, and creates a court process for ordering such expunge- ments. An act to amend Section 1203.4b of the Penal Code, relating to criminal procedure. SB 258, Wahab. Crimes: rape. This bill expands the circumstances under which sexual intercourse with a spouse is rape, to include where a spouse is incapable of giving “legal consent” due to a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability. An act to amend Section 261 of the Penal Code, re- lating to crimes. SB 281, Pérez. Pleas: immigration advisement. This bill requires judges to recite the statutory immi- gration advisement verbatim before accepting a plea. An act to amend Section 1016.5 of the Penal Code, relating to criminal procedure. SB 385, Seyarto. Peace officers. Removes the re- quirement that the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) approve and adopt specified education criteria for peace officers within two years of the Office of the Chancellor of the Cali- fornia Community Colleges (OCCC) submitting a re- port to the Legislature outlining a plan to implement a modern policing degree program. An act to amend Section 13511.1 of the Penal Code, relating to peace officers, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately. SB 524, Arreguín. Law enforcement agencies: ar- tificial intelligence. This bill requires every law en- forcement agency to maintain a policy that requires an artificial intelligence (AI) – generated official re- port to identify the type of AI program used to gener- ate the report and include the signature of the officer who prepared the official report. An act to add Section 13663 to the Penal Code, re- lating to law enforcement agencies. SB 551, Cortese. Corrections and rehabilitation: state policy. This bill codifies the Legislature’s intent that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) integrate the principles of normalization and dynamic security to create safer conditions for incarcerated people and correctional staff. An act to amend Sections 1170 and 5000 of, and to add Section 5000.5 to, the Penal Code, relating to corrections and rehabilitation. SB 553, Cortese. Prisons: clearances. This bill ex- pands existing law to allow legal professionals and attorney support personnel to apply for short-term, annual, and statewide clearances in order to enter the state’s prisons; and requires the California De- partment of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to grant short-term gate clearance, upon request, to specified individuals. An act to amend Sections 7460, 7461, 7462, 7463, 7464, 7465, 7466, and 7467 of, to amend the heading of Chapter 18 (commencing with Section 7460) of Ti- tle 7 of Part 3 of, and to add Section 7468 to, the Penal Code, relating to prisons. SB 571, Archuleta. Emergencies: crimes. This bill
school, university, workplace, house of worship, or medical facility, punishable as an alternate felony- misdemeanor. An act to add Section 422.3 to the Penal Code, re- lating to crimes. SB 157, Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review. Public safety. This bill, as part of the 2025-26 Bud- get package, makes the following statutory changes: updates the methodology for performance-based grants to county probation departments; appropri- ates $103.7 million General Fund to the State Com- munity Corrections Performance Incentives Fund for a performance maintenance payment; Stream- lines specified contracting requirements for the Community Participant Mother Program at the Cal- ifornia Department of Corrections and Rehabilita- tion; exempts the Office of the State Public Defender (OSPD) from specified contracting requirements to prevent conflicts between those requirements and the best interests of OSPD’s clients, particularly for case-related contracts; allows specified Board of State and Community Corrections employees access to local detention facility records in order to review in-custody deaths, as required by SB 519 (Atkins, Chapter 306, Statutes of 2023), and makes various other clarifying changes, resolves a conflict between AB 134 (Committee on Budget, Chapter 10, Statutes of 2025), and SB 857 (Committee on Public Safety) of the 2025-26 Regular Session. An act to amend Section 12838.6 of, and to add Sec- tion 15426 to, the Government Code, and to amend Sections 1231, 1233.1, 3413, and 6034 of, to amend and renumber Sections 1233.4, 1233.5, 1233.6, and 1233.7 of, to add Section 1233.2 to, and to repeal Sections 1233.3 and 1233.61 of, the Penal Code, re- lating to public safety, and making an appropriation therefor, to take effect immediately, bill related to the budget. SB 221, Ochoa Bogh. Crimes: stalking. This bill expands the definition of “credible threats” in the crime of stalking to include threats to the safety of a victim’s pet, service animal, emotional support an- imal, or horse. An act to amend Section 646.9 of the Penal Code, relating to crimes. SB 229, Alvarado-Gil. Peace officers: deputy sher- iffs. This bill would add the counties of Amador and Nevada to a list of counties in which deputy sheriffs are considered peace officers. Specifically, this bill states that a deputy sheriff within these counties, who performs duties exclusively or initially related to custodial assignments are peace officers whose authority extends to any place in California while en- gaged in the performance of duties related to their employment, including other law enforcement duties directed by the officer’s employing state agency. An act to amend Section 830.1 of the Penal Code, relating to peace officers. SB 245, Reyes. Criminal procedure. This bill re- quires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to notify the Department of Justice (DOJ) of formerly-incarcerated fire crew members who are potentially eligible for expunge-
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