AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 25, 2026
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 9, 2026
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
97
Introduced by Assembly Member Carrillo
February 18, 2026
An act to add Section 6600.2 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to judicial commitments.
Vote: majority Appropriation: no Fiscal committee: yes Local program: no
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST
Existing law provides for the civil commitment of a person who is determined to be a sexually violent predator. Existing law establishes a procedure by which a person committed as a sexually violent predator may petition for conditional release and requires the court, if it makes a specified determination, to place the person on conditional release.
This bill would require a court presiding over any proceeding held pursuant to the above-described provisions that is open to the public to provide the public with a remote access option that allows members of the public to remotely observe the proceeding. The bill would require a court to make the audio of a proceeding accessible to the public if a court is unable to provide a remote access option that includes video due to technological limitations, as defined, that are not reasonably within the control of the court. On and after January 1, 2028, the bill would require a court to provide a remote access option with a visual feed.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 6600.2 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
6600.2.
(a) (1) A court presiding over any proceeding held pursuant to this article that is open to the public shall provide the public with a remote access option that allows members of the public to remotely observe the proceeding.
(2) If a court is unable to provide a remote access option that includes video due to technological limitations that are not reasonably within the control of the court, the court shall make the audio of the proceeding accessible to the public, until January 1, 2028, at which time all courts shall provide a remote access option with a visual feed.
(b) This section does not make a hearing open to the public that would not otherwise be open to the public. This section does not interfere with a court’s ability to determine whether or when a proceeding is public.
(c) For the purposes of this section, “technological limitations” means a lack of video cameras, microphones, or streaming capability.