California AB 701

Existing law provides the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation with jurisdiction over the state prison, as specified. Existing law states that it is unlawful to use any cruel, corporal, or unusual punishment or to inflict any treatment or allow any lack of care that would injure or impair the health of a prisoner, inmate, or person confined. This bill would, upon appropriation by the Legislature, require the Department of Justice, in collaboration with the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Board of State and Community Corrections, to conduct a one-time comprehensive study on the use of solitary confinement in all detention facilities in California. The bill would require the study to include specified data about each instance of solitary confinement during the first 9 months of the year of 2026, including, among other data, the time and date solitary confinement began and ended, the facility in which it occurred, and the stated basis for the solitary confinement. The bill would require detention facilities to report the required data to the department. By increasing duties on local detention facilities, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the Department of Justice to provide monthly data to the Legislature, and a final report to the Legislature and the Governor, by November 1, 2026, as specified. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.