AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 13, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 2, 2026

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 23, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 25, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

94

Introduced by Senator Grove

February 19, 2026

An act to add Section 7539.2 to the Business and Professions Code, to amend Section 1596.653 of, and to add Sections 1596.69, 1596.691, and 1596.692 to, the Health and Safety Code, and to amend Section 5353 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to child welfare.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: yes

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

(1) Existing law prohibits a transport escort service from accompanying or transporting a minor to any residential facility or institution located outside the state, unless the person or persons transporting or accompanying the minor are trustline-registered childcare providers. Existing law also requires every transport escort service that accompanies or transports a minor who is a resident of California to any residential facility or institution located outside the state to first provide the minor’s parents, custodial parent, or legal guardian with specified information, including, among others things, a description of the childcare provider trustline registry. Existing law makes a violation of these provisions a misdemeanor.

This bill, the Safe Passage for Youth Act, would expand those provisions relating to transport escort services to apply when accompanying or transporting a minor, without regard to whether the destination is an out-of-state residential facility or institution. The bill would revise the definition of a “transport escort service” and also make these provisions inapplicable to the transport of minors by a transportation network company, minors in the care of a community care facility, or an individual providing private childcare, casual babysitting, or domestic nanny services, if certain conditions are met. The bill would also require a transport escort service accompanying or transporting a minor to an out-of-state facility to provide the minor’s parents with specified information, including an explanation of how a parent may obtain more information about the childcare provider trustline registry. By expanding the scope of a crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The bill would also impose various additional requirements and restrictions on transport escort services, including, among other things, a requirement that they maintain written policies governing the safety and welfare of minors and a prohibition on using behavioral restraints unless it is necessary to prevent imminent, serious physical harm and less restrictive alternatives are not available. The bill would authorize the Attorney General to bring an action in superior court to enforce these provisions if a transport escort service engages in repeated or egregious violations of any of the above provisions. The bill would require a transport escort service that does not operate as a charter-party carrier of passengers to comply with certain requirements applicable to transportation services incidental to the operation of a youth camp, and would authorize the Public Utilities Commission to enforce a violation of this provision and the above-described requirements and restrictions, as specified.

(2) Existing law, the Private Investigator Act, provides for the license and regulation of private investigators, as provided. The act defines private investigator to mean a person who engages in business or accepts employment to furnish any person to protect persons or investigation for the purposes of obtaining information, as specified.

Under this bill, a private investigator license issued under the act would not constitute or confer a permit to operate as a transport escort service or a charter-party carrier of passengers and would not be construed as exempting a transport escort service from certain requirements applicable to transportation services incidental to the operation of a youth camp. service. Under the bill, a transport escort service would not be required to hold a private investigator license under the act solely by reason of transporting or accompanying a minor.

(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Safe Passage for Youth Act.

SEC. 2.

Section 7539.2 is added to the Business and Professions Code, to read:

7539.2.

(a) A private investigator license or registration issued pursuant to this chapter does not constitute or confer a permit to operate as a transport escort service or as a charter-party carrier of passengers, as defined in Section 5360 of the Public Utilities Code, and shall not be construed as exempting a transport escort service from complying with the requirements of subdivision (n) of Section 5353 of the Public Utilities Code. service.

(b) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require a transport escort service, as defined in Section 1596.653 of the Health and Safety Code, to hold a private investigator license or registration under this chapter solely by reason of transporting or accompanying a minor. A transport escort service that performs investigative functions subject to licensure under this chapter shall obtain a private investigator license or registration as required by this chapter for those functions.

SEC. 3.

Section 1596.653 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:

1596.653.

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature to protect the well-being of California children by regulating private individuals and companies that transport or accompany minors.

(b) As used in this section:

(1) “Minor” means any person under 18 years of age.

(2) “Transport escort service” means any person, partnership, association, corporation, or private entity that engages in, advertises for, or holds itself out as providing, the transportation of minor passengers for compensation, where the prearranged transit includes or results in an overnight stay away from the minor’s primary residence. compensation to a residential facility or institution or a youth residential program located in this state.

(c) Every transport escort service that accompanies or transports a minor who is a resident of California to a residential facility, youth residential program, or institution located outside the state shall first provide the minor’s parents, custodial parent, or legal guardian with all of the following:

(1) A description of the childcare provider trustline registry established pursuant to this chapter that provides criminal history checks on childcare providers.

(2) An explanation of how a parent may obtain more information about the childcare provider trustline registry.

(3) A statement that a transport escort service is prohibited by law from transporting or accompanying a minor unless the person or persons transporting the minor are trustline registered childcare providers.

(4) An explanation of how the parent may verify the trustline registration of a person employed or contracted by the transport escort service.

(d) A transport escort service shall not transport or accompany a minor without obtaining the written permission of the minor’s parents, custodial parent, or legal guardian.

(e) The If the minor is transported to a facility located outside the state, the transport escort service shall verify in writing that the minor’s parents, custodial parent, or legal guardian has received the information required under subdivision (c).

(f) A transport escort service shall not accompany or transport a minor unless every person employed or contracted by the transport escort service to accompany or transport the minor is a trustline-registered childcare provider.

(g) A minor, parent, or legal guardian claiming to be aggrieved by a violation of this section by a transport escort service may bring a civil action for injunctive relief or damages, or both.

(h) In addition to the remedy provided in subdivision (g), a violation of this section may be prosecuted as a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than five hundred dollars ($500) or more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) as to each person with respect to whom a violation occurs, or imprisonment in a county jail for not more than six months. The department may refer violations of this section to the Attorney General for civil enforcement pursuant to Section 1596.692.

(i) This section does not apply to the following:

(1) The transport of minors by any governmental agency or employee.

(2) The transport of minors under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court.

(3) The transport of minors by family members or relatives.

(6) The transport of minors by an individual providing private childcare, casual babysitting, or domestic nanny services, if all of the following criteria are satisfied:

(A) The childcare arrangement is limited to the care of the children of one family in addition to the provider’s own children.

(B) The services are irregular, intermittent, or casual in nature, or are performed by an individual whose primary commercial vocation is not the specialized transit or custodial escort of minors.

(C) Any transportation provided to the minor is occasional and strictly incidental to general caregiving responsibilities.

(D) The transit is executed with the prior written or verbal consent of the parent or legal guardian, and does not utilize physical restraints, mechanical restraints, or any security personnel or third-party contractors operating for compensation.

(j) Nothing in this section shall limit any claim for damages or the issuance of any injunction that a parent or child may assert against a transport escort service pursuant to any other state or federal law or regulation.

SEC. 4.

Section 1596.69 is added to the Health and Safety Code, immediately following Section 1596.68, to read:

1596.69.

A transport escort service, as defined in Section 1596.653, shall do all of the following:

(b) Ensure that all individuals involved in transporting minors complete training that addresses, at a minimum, all of the following:

(1) First aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training and certification.

(2) Duties imposed under the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act (Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 11164) of Chapter 2 of Title 1 of Part 4 of the Penal Code).

(3) Behavioral deescalation techniques.

(4) Safe transportation practices.

(c) Prior to transporting a minor, obtain written consent from the parent or legal guardian of the child and maintain documentation that written consent was obtained, including a signed acknowledgment that all provider safety, supervision, and program protections apply exclusively within the state of California. The documentation shall include authorization for transportation, identification of the destination, and contact information for the transport escort service.

(d) Maintain written policies governing the safety and welfare of minors during transport. The policies shall address, at a minimum, access to food and water, access to restroom facilities, lodging when overnight transport occurs, and procedures for delays or itinerary changes.

SEC. 5.

Section 1596.691 is added to the Health and Safety Code, immediately following Section 1596.69, to read:

1596.691.

A transport escort service, as defined in Section 1596.653, shall not do either of the following:

(a) Use any of the following during transport:

(1) Blindfolds.

(2) Hoods.

(3) A device to obstruct a minor’s vision.

(4) (A) Except as described in subparagraph (B), behavioral restraints, as defined in Section 1180.1.

(B) Behavioral restraints may be used while transporting a minor if it is necessary to prevent imminent, serious physical harm and less restrictive alternatives are not available. Restraints shall not be used pursuant to this subparagraph as a punishment, for staff convenience, or as a substitute for supervision of minors, and shall comply with the human rights and safety criteria established under Section 1180.4.

(b) Pick up a minor for transport between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m.

SEC. 6.

Section 1596.692 is added to the Health and Safety Code, immediately following Section 1596.691, to read:

1596.692.

The Attorney General may bring an action in superior court to enforce Sections 1596.653, 1596.69, and 1596.691 if a transport escort service engages in repeated or egregious violations of the conduct standards in Sections 1596.69 and 1596.691. The Attorney General may seek the recovery of civil penalties, and shall be entitled to specific performance, injunctive relief, and other equitable remedies a court deems appropriate for enforcement of this chapter, including, but not limited to, an order prohibiting the company from operating within the state. The Attorney General shall be entitled to recover attorney’s fees and costs incurred in remedying each violation.

SEC. 7.

Section 5353 of the Public Utilities Code is amended to read:

5353.

This chapter does not apply to any of the following:

(a) Transportation service rendered wholly within the corporate limits of a single city or city and county and licensed or regulated by ordinance.

(b) Transportation of school pupils conducted by or under contract with the governing board of any school district entered into pursuant to the Education Code.

(c) Common carrier transportation services between fixed termini or over a regular route that are subject to authorization pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 1031) of Chapter 5 of Part 1 of Division 1.

(d) Transportation services occasionally afforded for farm employees moving to and from farms on which employed when the transportation is performed by the employer in an owned or leased vehicle, or by a nonprofit agricultural cooperative association organized and acting within the scope of its powers under Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 54001) of Division 20 of the Food and Agricultural Code, and without any requirement for the payment of compensation for those transportation services by the employees.

(e) Transportation service rendered by a publicly owned transit system.

(f) Passenger vehicles carrying passengers on a noncommercial enterprise basis.

(g) Taxicab transportation service licensed and regulated by a city or county, by ordinance or resolution, rendered in vehicles designed for carrying not more than eight persons excluding the driver.

(h) Transportation of persons between home and work locations or of persons having a common work-related trip purpose in a vehicle having a seating capacity of 15 passengers or less, including the driver, which are used for the purpose of ridesharing, as defined in Section 522 of the Vehicle Code, when the ridesharing is incidental to another purpose of the driver. This exemption also applies to a vehicle having a seating capacity of more than 15 passengers if the driver files with the commission evidence of liability insurance protection in the same amount and in the same manner as required for a passenger stage corporation, and the vehicle undergoes and passes an annual safety inspection by the Department of the California Highway Patrol. The insurance filing shall be accompanied by a one-time filing fee of seventy-five dollars ($75). This exemption does not apply if the primary purpose for the transportation of those persons is to make a profit. “Profit,” as used in this subdivision, does not include the recovery of the actual costs incurred in owning and operating a vanpool vehicle, as defined in Section 668 of the Vehicle Code.

(i) Vehicles used exclusively to provide medical transportation, including vehicles employed to transport developmentally disabled persons for regional centers established pursuant to Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 4620) of Division 4.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(j) Transportation services rendered solely within the Lake Tahoe Basin, comprising that area included within the Tahoe Regional Planning Compact as set forth in Section 66801 of the Government Code, when the operator of the services has obtained any permit required from the Tahoe Basin Transportation Authority or the City of South Lake Tahoe, or both.

(k) Subject to Section 34507.6 of the Vehicle Code, transportation service provided by the operator of an automobile rental business in vehicles owned or leased by that operator, without charge other than as may be included in the automobile rental charges, to carry its customers to or from its office or facility where rental vehicles are furnished or returned after the rental period.

(l) Subject to Section 34507.6 of the Vehicle Code, transportation service provided by the operator of a hotel, motel, or other place of temporary lodging in vehicles owned or leased by that operator, without charge other than as may be included in the charges for lodging, between the lodging facility and an air, rail, water, or bus passenger terminal or between the lodging facility and any place of entertainment or commercial attraction, including, but not limited to, facilities providing snow skiing. Nothing in this subdivision authorizes the operator of a hotel, motel, or other place of temporary lodging to provide any round trip sightseeing service without a permit, as required by subdivision (c) of Section 5384.

(m) (1) Transportation of hot air balloon ride passengers in a balloon chase vehicle from the balloon landing site back to the original takeoff site, provided that the balloon ride was conducted by a balloonist who meets all of the following conditions:

(A) Does not fly more than a total of 30 passenger rides for compensation annually.

(B) Does not provide any preflight ground transportation services in their vehicles.

(C) In providing return transportation to the launch site from landing does not drive more than 300 miles annually.

(D) Files with the commission an exemption declaration and proof of vehicle insurance, as prescribed by the commission, certifying that the operator qualifies for the exemption and will maintain minimum insurance on each vehicle of one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for injury or death of one person, three hundred thousand dollars ($300,000) for injury or death of two or more persons and one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) for damage to property.

(2) Nothing in this subdivision authorizes the operator of a commercial balloon operation to provide any round trip sightseeing service without a permit, as required by subdivision (c) of Section 5384.

(n) (1) Transportation services incidental to operation of a youth camp that are provided by either a nonprofit organization that qualifies for tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or an organization that operates an organized camp, as defined in Section 18897 of the Health and Safety Code, serving youth 18 years of age or younger.

(2) A transportation service described in paragraph (1) shall comply with all of the following requirements:

(A) Register as a private carrier with the commission pursuant to Section 4005. Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to Division 14.86 (commencing with Section 34680) of the Vehicle Code.

(B) Participate in a pull notice system for employers of drivers as prescribed in Section 1808.1 of the Vehicle Code.

(C) Ensure compliance with the annual bus terminal inspection required by subdivision (c) of Section 34501 of the Vehicle Code.

(D) Obtain the following minimum amounts of general liability insurance coverage for vehicles that are used to transport youth:

(i) A minimum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) general liability insurance coverage for passenger vehicles designed to carry up to eight passengers. For organized camps, as defined in Section 18897 of the Health and Safety Code, an additional two hundred fifty thousand dollars ($250,000) general umbrella policy that covers vehicles.

(ii) A minimum of one million dollars ($1,000,000) general liability insurance coverage for vehicles designed to carry up to 15 passengers. For organized camps, as defined in Section 18897 of the Health and Safety Code, an additional five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) general umbrella policy that covers vehicles.

(iii) A minimum of one million five hundred thousand dollars ($1,500,000) general liability insurance coverage for vehicles designed to carry more than 15 passengers, and an additional three million five hundred thousand dollars ($3,500,000) general umbrella liability insurance policy that covers vehicles.

SEC. 8.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.