6403.
(a) An in-person contact visit, including a family visit, shall not be denied or restricted by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation for any of the following reasons:(1) As a disciplinary sanction against an incarcerated person, except as discipline for commission of an offense listed in subdivision (b) during a visit.
(2) A visitor’s criminal, juvenile delinquency, or other history of involvement with law enforcement or the criminal justice system, whether it resulted in a criminal conviction, other than a conviction for an offense listed in subdivision (c).
(b).
(3) A visitor’s current status of being under supervision, including parole, postrelease community supervision, probation, or informal probation supervision.
(4) A visitor’s previous incarceration, including incarceration in the facility where the visit will take place.
(5) A visitor’s pending criminal charges, other than for an offense listed in subdivision (b).
(6) A visitor’s outstanding unpaid fines, fees, or restitution.
(7) (A) An incarcerated person’s criminal, juvenile delinquency, or other history of involvement with law enforcement
or the criminal justice system, regardless of whether it resulted in a criminal conviction, other than a conviction for an offense set forth under subdivision (b), except when required by Section 1202.05 or required or permitted by regulation in existence on or before January 1, 2024, based on convictions or arrests for sex crimes against minors.
(B) A family visit with a specific visitor may be denied or restricted because of an incarcerated person’s convictions for registrable sex offenses or violence against a family member or against a minor in the person’s care or custody if there is a substantial risk of violence or sexual abuse against that specific visitor.
(b) A visitor or incarcerated person may have their visits denied or restricted based only on the
following conduct during a visit:
(1) Bringing contraband into the visiting area.
(2) Engaging in sexual conduct with a minor.
(3) Engaging in sexual conduct with adults outside of a family visit.
(4) Committing physical violence during a visit or the visitor screening process.
(5) Escaping, aiding an escape, or attempting to escape or aid an escape.
(c) The department may require an applicant to provide sufficient information to enable it to obtain the applicant’s criminal history records from the Department of Justice but shall neither require
an applicant to itemize their own criminal history nor consider such voluntarily submitted information in determining whether to approve the application.
(d) When an incarcerated person is limited to in-person noncontact visits, the length and frequency of their in-person noncontact visits and video calls shall equal the length of in-person contact visits and video calls available to the general population, reasonable space permitting.
(e) (1) In the case of a denial of a request for a visit, both the visitor and the incarcerated person shall receive written notice of the denial within three days of the decision. The notice shall include all of the following:
(A) The date of the decision and its
effect together with the name, title, and institutional affiliation of the decisionmaking official.
(B) Except as specified in subparagraph (C), the notice shall also state the reason for the denial.
(C) When the grounds for denial include criminal record information, alleged personal conduct, or any other personal or private information about either party, only the person to whom that information pertains, or about whom the allegations are made, shall receive a detailed specification of the reasons for the denial.
(D) Written instructions on all procedures for appeals.
(2) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to restrict the legal remedies available
to an incarcerated person or to nonincarcerated visitors to dispute or redress denials of visitations.
(f) An incarcerated person shall not be required to withhold consent to a visit as a disciplinary sanction as a means of avoiding a disciplinary sanction or as a condition of participating in or enjoying any privilege or program while incarcerated.
(g) For the purposes of this section, all of the following apply:
(1) (A) A visit is “denied or restricted” if it is suspended, revoked, or terminated early and when a visitor is excluded or any other administrative action reduces a specified incarcerated person’s or visitor’s access to visiting.
(B) A visitor may be denied visiting access per reasonable uniformly enforced departmentwide regulations, communicated to the public with adequate and timely notice, related to identification, dress, intoxication, search procedures, and authorization for visits by minors that are consistent with this section, subdivision (i) of Section 2601, and Section 2601.5.
(C) A denial of, or restriction on, visits or visiting access under this section shall not exceed what was permissible under department regulations at the time this law is enacted on January 1, 2024.
(2) A “family visit” is an in-person contact visit that occurs overnight in a private, apartment-like facility on prison grounds in which only an eligible incarcerated person and eligible immediate family
members, as both are defined in department regulations, may participate.
(3) A “disciplinary sanction” is a consequence of being charged with, investigated for, or found guilty of a rule violation, including a change in privilege group, except that incarcerated people may be limited to noncontact visits when placed in administrative segregation or security housing units.
(h) To the extent that visiting rules and standards, as prescribed in Title 15 of the California Code of Regulations, conflict with this section, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall adopt regulations that conform with this section.
(i) The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall reinstate personal visits, including
in-person visits and family visits, that were restricted or prohibited contrary to the standards created in this section prior to January 1, 2024.