September 8, 2026 - SACRAMENTO, CA. — Assembly Majority Leader Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) has announced that Assembly Bill (AB 
464) passed the California Legislature with a Senate Floor vote of 40-0 and an Assembly Floor vote of 78-0. The bill heads to Governor Newsom’s desk. If signed, it would establish new protections for incarcerated survivors of sexual assault and strengthen accountability for sexual misconduct by California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) staff.
“Sexual abuse in our state prisons is unacceptable. AB 464 is about holding people accountable and protecting survivors from retaliation,” said Assembly Majority Leader Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters), the bill author. “I’m grateful this bill is moving forward, and I hope Governor Newsom signs it. Our survivors deserve to be heard and protected.”
Despite CDCR’s zero-tolerance policy for sexual assault and harassment, reports of staff sexual misconduct increased by nearly 150 percent between 2021 and 2023, while reports of sexual harassment increased by more than 90 percent. AB 464 extends the statute of limitations, so survivors assaulted by CDCR staff have until the end of their sentence to file a lawsuit. The bill also provides 90 days of enhanced monitoring following a report of sexual assault or an assault to help prevent retaliation, bars the re-employment of CDCR staff terminated for confirmed sexual abuse, and strengthens reporting and anti-retaliation requirements to better protect survivors and whistleblowers.
Policy Associate Simelia Rogers, Ella Baker Center for Human Rights said, "The bipartisan passage of AB 464 affirms something we’ve known for a long time—survivors exist within carceral systems, and their positionality as being incarcerated does not absolve them of their right to human rights and their access to justice. It is long overdue that the state take action to protect survivors in its custody.”
The legislation comes amid continued allegations of sexual abuse in California prisons. In 2023, a former corrections officer was charged with 96 counts of rape and sexual assault involving more than a dozen women at the California Correctional Women’s Facility in Chowchilla.
Aguiar-Curry concluded, “Most CDCR employees are good people doing an important job, and we shouldn’t let the bad actors tarnish their reputation. But we have a responsibility to hold those who break the rules accountable and protect the integrity of the people who serve our state with honor.”
Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry represents California’s 4th Assembly District, which includes all of Lake, Colusa, Napa, and Yolo Counties, and part of Sonoma County. She serves as the Assembly Majority Leader and Chair of the California Women’s Legislative Caucus.
Source: Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry