Bill Text: CA AB1986 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: State prisons: banned books.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-0)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-13 - Ordered to third reading. [AB1986 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB1986-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Senate
June 04, 2024 |
|
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 07, 2024 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1986
| Introduced by Assembly (Principal coauthors: Senators Bradford and Smallwood-Cuevas) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Berman and Gabriel) |
January 30, 2024 |
An act to add Section 6150 to the Penal Code, relating to prisons.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1986, as amended, Bryan.
State prisons: banned books.
Existing law grants a person sentenced to imprisonment the right to purchase, receive, and read any and all newspapers, periodicals, and books, as specified, subject to restrictions reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. Existing law authorizes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to prescribe and amend rules and regulations for the administration of state prisons, including determining which materials are a threat to legitimate penological interests. Existing law creates the Office of the Inspector General and grants the Inspector General responsibility for oversight of the department, as specified.
This bill would require the Inspector General to post the Centralized List of Disapproved Publications maintained by the department on the office’s internet website. The bill would authorize the Inspector General, upon
request, to review publications on the list to determine whether there is a legitimate penological interest for the publication being on the list and, if not, would require the department to remove that material from the department’s list of disapproved publications.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 6150 is added to the Penal Code, to read:6150.
(a) (1) The Office of the Inspector General shall post the Centralized List of Disapproved Publications maintained by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation on its internet website.(2) The Centralized List of Disapproved Publications shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following information about each prohibited publication on the list:
(A) The title.
(B) The author.
(C) The publisher.
(D) The
year of publication.
(E) The stated legitimate penological interest for banning the
publication.
(b) (1) Upon a request by an incarcerated person, publisher, or other affected person, the Inspector General may review a any publication on the Centralized List of Disapproved Publications to determine if the reason for prohibiting the publication is reasonably related to a legitimate penological interest.
(2) If the Inspector General determines that the department’s reason for including a publication on the Centralized List of Disapproved Publications is not reasonably related to a legitimate penological interest, the department shall remove the publication from
the Centralized List of Disapproved Publications.
(c) For purposes of this section, “publication” means any newspaper, periodical, magazine, or book that can be mailed through the United States Postal Service.
