Assembly BillIntroducedPenal
AB 2259: Prisons: mental health.
What AB 2259 does, verified May 16, 2026
The bill aims to improve mental health services for certain incarcerated persons in California prisons. A 3-year pilot program will be established at two institutions, providing access to specified mental health therapy for eligible individuals. The program will ensure confidentiality of communications between the incarcerated person and their assigned therapist. The California Correctional Health Care Services will be responsible for maintaining treatment records. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will report on the program's progress to the legislature from 2028 to 2031.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: In committee: Held under submission. (2026-05-14)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions6 total · showing 5
| May. 14, 2026 | In committee: Held under submission. |
| Apr. 22, 2026 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file. |
| Mar. 25, 2026 | From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (March 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. |
| Mar. 09, 2026 | Referred to Com. on PUB. S. |
| Feb. 20, 2026 | From printer. May be heard in committee March 22. |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, February 19, 2026 · 1,176 words
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2259
| Introduced by Assembly Member Ransom |
February 19, 2026 |
An act to add and repeal Section 2693 of the Penal Code, relating to prisons.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2259, as introduced, Ransom. Prisons: mental health.
Existing law authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to establish and maintain classes for incarcerated persons utilizing institutional personnel or entering into an agreement with the governing board of a school district or private school. Existing law requires the department to develop and implement a plan to obtain additional rehabilitation and treatment services for incarcerated persons and parolees. Existing law requires that plan to include, among other things, filling vacant state staff positions that provide direct and indirect rehabilitation services, or obtaining services from local governments and contractors to assist with treatment for parolees and incarcerated persons.
This bill would require the department to establish a 3-year pilot program at 2 institutions that would provide access to specified mental health therapy for certain incarcerated persons not classified by the department to receive mental health treatment from the institution. The bill would require communications during therapy sessions, as specified, between the incarcerated person and assigned therapist to be confidential. The bill would require the California Correctional Health Care Services to be the custodian of records for treatment records generated under this pilot program. The bill would require the department to report certain information to the fiscal and appropriate policy committees of the Legislature, from March 1, 2028, to March 1, 2031.
The bill would make related findings and declarations.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Rehabilitation is an essential function of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
(b) The primary function of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s Statewide Mental Health Program is to ensure patients have ready access to mental health services based on their need.
(c) Mental health therapy contributes to personal growth, reflection, and preparation for safe and successful postincarceration reentry and helps foster a safer environment for staff and people incarcerated in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
(d) Mental health therapy can be provided by an array of licensed professionals or registered mental health providers, including marriage and family therapists, psychologists, and professional clinical counselors.
(e) To that end, access to mental health therapy should be available to all people incarcerated in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, regardless of their security level or length of sentence, without requiring a pre-existing mental health diagnosis.
(f) The department has implemented a successful telepsychiatry program that has improved access to mental health care services and reduced staffing shortages. The utilization of telehealth technologies for a broader population will provide for a greater variety of options for incarcerated people to meet with mental health providers and receive care.
(g) This pilot intends to support continuity of care for justice-involved individuals connecting them to community-based providers prior to release and supporting individuals’ ability to remain under the care of that connected provider. The pilot would be consistent with the goals of the State of California’s Medi-Cal justice-involved initiatives to the extent permitted by federal law.
SEC. 2.
Section 2693 is added to the Penal Code, to read:2693.
(a) In order to foster incarcerated peoples’ growth, mental and emotional wellness, and rehabilitation, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall establish a three-year pilot program at two institutions. The pilot program shall include one institution housing people of each gender. The pilot program at each institution shall provide access to mental health therapy to an incarcerated person in either of the following settings:(1) Virtual therapy opportunities, including telehealth and telepsychiatry, in a confidential setting.
(2) Contracted licensed or registered mental health providers who can provide counseling in a confidential setting.
(b) For each incarcerated person, virtual therapy opportunities or in-person sessions, pursuant to subdivision (a), shall be offered at least twice per month, for a minimum of 50 minutes, or as determined by the provider. Services provided through the pilot program shall be delivered using a short-term, evidence-based, therapeutic model appropriate for pre-release transitioning planning, including, but not limited to, brief cognitive behavioral therapy or similar structured interventions focused on the development of coping skills, reentry planning, and stabilization.
(c) Access to services during an incarcerated person’s enrollment in the pilot program shall be limited to persons who are not currently determined by the department as having the following classification statuses:
(1) Correctional Clinical Case Management System.
(2) Enhanced Outpatient Program.
(3) Acute levels of care, including the Psychiatric Inpatient Programs or Mental Health Crisis Bed.
(d) (1) Participating incarcerated persons shall be within 90 days of their release from custody, or within 90 days of the person’s minimum eligible parole date or earliest possible release date.
(2) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, in coordination with the Department of Health Care Services, shall facilitate enrollment support for participating incarcerated persons to ensure that eligible persons are informed of Medi-Cal benefits no later than 90 days prior to their release date.
(3) Services provided through the pilot program may be covered through Medi-Cal or other allowable funding sources to support continuity of care prior to release and upon reentry.
(e) Enrollment shall not result in an incarcerated person being classified as having a serious mental health disorder unless the provider has made a formal recommendation and the incarcerated person offers express, written permission.
(f) Communications between an incarcerated person and the assigned mental health provider shall be confidential pursuant to the privacy protections of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) (Public Law 104-191). The California Correctional Health Care Services shall act as the custodian of records for all treatment documents generated under this pilot program.
(g) Upon the incarcerated person’s release from custody, the department shall provide them with information about community-based treatment programs.
(h) (1) The department shall report to the fiscal and appropriate policy committees of the Legislature on March 1, 2028, and each March 1 thereafter until March 1, 2031. The report shall include all of the following:
(A) The planned capacity of the program at each participating facility.
(B) The number of incarcerated persons enrolled in the program at each participating facility.
(C) The percentage of participants with positive posttreatment outcomes.
(D) The number of persons who are successfully linked to postrelease community-based treatment programs.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
(i) For the purposes of this section, “virtual therapy opportunities” means services provided by tablet, video conference, or other technologies.
(j) For the purposes of this section, “positive outcomes” means an inmate exhibiting any of the following:
(1) Reduced disciplinary action or writeups from staff.
(2) Self-acceptance.
(3) Self-understanding.
(4) Improved interpersonal safety and functioning.
(k) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2031, and, as of January 1, 2032, is repealed.
Text of AB 2259 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions