California Assembly Bill 788
Session 20252026
Prisons: facilities for female offenders.
Active
Passed Senate on Aug 30, 2026
Origin Chamber
Assembly
Type
Bill
Bill Number
788
State
California
Session
20252026
Gonzalez
Coauthor
Motion Text
AB 788 Quirk-Silva Concurrence in Senate Amendments
Assembly Roll Call Votes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Ávila Farías
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
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Yes
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Yes
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Other
Yes
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Summary
Existing law creates within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, under the Undersecretary for Operations, the Division of Adult Institutions, among others, and requires each division to be headed by a director, who is appointed by the Governor, as specified. Existing law also requires the Governor to appoint 4 subordinate officers to the division, as specified. Existing law requires each subordinate officer appointed to oversee an identified category of adult institutions, one of which oversees female offender facilities.
This bill would instead require the Governor to appoint 3 subordinate officers, as specified, who would oversee an identified category of male adult institutions, and one subordinate officer, as specified, who would oversee female adult institutions. The bill would create within the department, and under the Undersecretary for Operations, the Division of Female Programs and Services. The bill would require the director of this division to be responsible solely for female adult institutions and community facilities housing female offenders. The bill would require the director to report to the undersecretary and to have a minimum of 5 years of experience serving a female correctional population in a custody setting. The bill would also require this new division to manage and provide oversight of adult female programs, including prisons, conservation camps, and parole and community programs and to develop gender-responsive, trauma-informed, culturally sensitive approaches to program and policy development.
Existing law requires the department to create a Female Offender Reform Master Plan and present it to the Legislature by a specified date. Existing law requires the department to, among other things, create policies and operational practices that are designed to ensure a safe and productive institutional environment for female offenders.
This bill would require the department to establish the Gender Responsive Strategies Commission (GRSC) to develop active partnerships and to support successful implementation of gender responsive practices and rehabilitation programs for incarcerated individuals. The bill would require the department to provide a report to the Legislature on the implementation of the plan, and update statistics contained in the plan, by March 1, 2027, and every 3 years thereafter. The bill would require the department to maintain the plan, including subsequent updates and reports, in consultation with the GRSC and others, as specified. The bill would also require the department to post the plan, any reports, and any updates to the plan to the department's internet website.
This bill would require the GRSC to be composed of 19 representatives, as specified, and would require the department, by June 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, to provide a written report to the Legislature on appointments to the GRSC and the department's response and progress toward implementing the GRSC's recommendations.
Existing law also requires the department to contract with nationally recognized gender-responsive experts in prison operational practices, staffing, classification, substance abuse, trauma treatment services, mental health services, transitional services, and community corrections to, among other things, conduct a staffing analysis of all current job classifications assigned to each prison that houses only females, as specified, and develop programs and training for department staff in correctional facilities.
This bill would require the department, through this contract, no later than March 1, 2027, and every 3 years thereafter, to prepare and submit to the Legislature an updated staffing analysis and would require a comprehensive review of the office's policies and practices and other aspects of women-centered corrections developed to enhance safety and rehabilitative efforts, as specified. The bill would also require the training program to include training at the academy and, for those working in a female prison, 40 hours of initial training with a curriculum specifically focused on working with the population within female institutions and an 8-hour annual training thereafter.
Existing law requires the secretary of the department to expand the existing prison ombudsperson program to ensure the comprehensive deployment of ombudspersons throughout the state prison system with specific focus on the maximum security institutions.
This bill would instead require the Undersecretary for Operations to perform this duty and would require the undersecretary to appoint an ombudsperson solely assigned to adult female institutions.
02/18/25 - Introduced
February 18, 2025
04/03/25 - Amended Assembly
April 3, 2025
05/23/25 - Amended Assembly
May 23, 2025
08/20/26 - Amended Senate
August 20, 2026
09/03/26 - Enrolled
September 3, 2026
03/31/25- Assembly Public Safety
March 31, 2025
04/21/25- Assembly Appropriations
April 21, 2025
05/28/25- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS
May 28, 2025
07/06/25- Senate Public Safety
July 6, 2025
08/15/25- Senate Appropriations
August 15, 2025
08/14/26- Sen. Floor Analyses
August 14, 2026
08/24/26- Sen. Floor Analyses
August 24, 2026
08/30/26- ASSEMBLY FLOOR ANALYSIS
August 30, 2026
Sort by most recent
09/09/2026
California State Legislature
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 1 p.m.
08/30/2026
Assembly
Senate amendments concurred in. To Engrossing and Enrolling. (Ayes 78. Noes 0.).
08/30/2026
Assembly
In Assembly. Concurrence in Senate amendments pending.
08/30/2026
Senate
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 40. Noes 0.).
08/30/2026
Senate
Ordered to special consent calendar.
08/24/2026
Senate
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
08/20/2026
Senate
Read third time and amended. Ordered to second reading.
08/13/2026
Senate
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
08/13/2026
Senate
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (August 13).
08/29/2025
Senate
In committee: Held under submission.
08/18/2025
Senate
In committee: Referred to suspense file.
07/08/2025
Senate
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0.) (July 8). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
06/18/2025
Senate
Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
06/04/2025
Senate
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
06/03/2025
Assembly
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 77. Noes 1. Page 2008.)
05/27/2025
Assembly
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
05/23/2025
Assembly
Read second time and amended. Ordered returned to second reading.
05/23/2025
Assembly
From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (May 23).
05/23/2025
Assembly
Assembly Rule 63 suspended. (Ayes 51. Noes 16. Page 1644.)
04/23/2025
Assembly
In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to suspense file.
04/07/2025
Assembly
Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
04/03/2025
Assembly
Read second time and amended.
04/02/2025
Assembly
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 1).
03/19/2025
Assembly
In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
03/03/2025
Assembly
Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
02/19/2025
Assembly
From printer. May be heard in committee March 21.
02/18/2025
Assembly
Read first time. To print.
Sources
Record Created
Feb 19, 2025 5:53:33 AM
Record Updated
Sep 10, 2026 9:33:00 AM