Inmates: visitation

The law creates enforceable statewide visitor protections at state prisons, including minimum visiting days, safeguards against arbitrary denials, and limits on intrusive searches.

What the law does ​

• Requires each California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facility to offer visitation at least three days weekly and promptly notify affected people of closures.
• Limits denial or restriction of contact visits to specified misconduct, safety, medical, legal, or documented individualized security reasons, with review when circumstances change.
• Requires staff to let visitors fix same-day correctable problems, such as dress-code, paperwork, minor-accompaniment, or permitted-item issues, and resume visiting if resolved.
• Requires same-day written reasons, duration, and appeal information for denials based on noncorrectable issues.
• Protects a visitor who traveled more than 170 miles and has not visited in 30 days from a denied visit unless there is a credible, documented security threat.
• Allows routine screening but generally requires voluntary, informed written consent for visitor searches beyond it, absent a warrant or lawful detention.
• Bars forced searches of nonconsenting visitors and limits the consequence of refusal to denial of contact visitation that day, with a same-day noncontact visit if space is available.
• Sets standards for minimally intrusive searches, warrants for physical body-cavity searches, documentation of enhanced searches, language access, disability-related screening, and protections against harassment or retaliation.

Who it affects ​

• Incarcerated people in institutions operated by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
• Family members and other visitors to California state prisons, including visitors with disabilities and visitors under age 18.
• California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation facilities and staff conducting visitation and visitor screening.

Context ​

The measure is called the Visitor Protections and Safety Act.