Families who drive hours to see loved ones in California prisons will get new protections under a law by Oakland Assemblymember Mia Bonta. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2434, the Visitor Protections and Safety Act, on Sept. 30.

What the law does

According to the bill's legislative summary, the law:

  • Requires each facility to offer visiting at least three days a week, and to notify people as soon as possible when it will be closed to visitors.
  • Lets prisons deny contact visits only for listed reasons, such as contraband in the visiting area or serious rules violations that lead to restricted housing.
  • Gives visitors a reasonable chance to fix "correctable issues" like dress-code problems or missing paperwork and still return to the visit up to an hour before visiting ends.
  • Bars denying a visit to someone who has traveled more than 170 miles and has not visited in 30 days, unless there is a documented, credible security threat.
  • Prohibits searches of visitors without voluntary, informed, written consent. A visitor who refuses can lose a contact visit that day, and the facility may offer a noncontact visit if space allows.

Unclothed searches require same-gender staff, with exceptions when there is a warrant or an arrest.

Why families pushed for it

The bill was co-sponsored by Oakland-based Essie Justice Group, along with Restoring Hope and Bridges of Hope, groups led by families of incarcerated people. Bolts reported that Essie co-founder Anita Wills, 80, was once turned away from seeing her son at the state prison in Lancaster after a five-hour drive because of a tiny underwire in her bra.

Earlier efforts failed. Newsom vetoed a 2021 visiting bill, AB 990, citing the risk of costly lawsuits, and later versions stalled in the Senate Appropriations Committee. AB 2434 was narrowed during the session; amendments raised the travel threshold from 100 to 170 miles and dropped a requirement to publish annual search data. It passed the Senate 30-9 and the Assembly 58-16.

In a statement, Bonta said visitation "reduces recidivism, improves behavior behind bars, and helps people successfully return to their communities." Newsom also signed two related bills in September: AB 1645, which defines what counts as excessive physical contact during visits, and AB 1646, which lets youth in juvenile detention hug family members during visits. Advocates say they will watch how the corrections department carries out the new rules.