Hahn Applauds Passage of Hug Act, Pushes for Implementation

Hahn hugs Lawrence, who was previously incarcerated at Los Padrinos and helped draft the Hug Act.

LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn Sept. 30 applauded the passage of the Hug Act and has introduced a motion to direct its implementation in LA County juvenile facilities. The state legislation, which Hahn championed, will give incarcerated youth in California the right to hug their loved ones during visits.

“Every time I visit Los Padrinos I am reminded just how young the youth in our custody are” said Supervisor Janice Hahn. “We have a long way to go to fix our juvenile system, but establishing the right of these young people to hug their loved ones is one small way we can bring some humanity back in. Safety has to be our priority, but there should be room for kids to be able to hug their moms. I am beyond proud of the young people who inspired this legislation and poured themselves into getting it passed and signed into law. Now we need to make sure this law is implemented at our LA County juvenile camps and halls and implemented right.”

Assembly Bill 1646, authored by Assemblymember Bryan and known as the “Hug Act,” was signed into law by Gov. Newsom this past weekend. The bill requires juvenile detention facilities statewide to allow youth in custody to have physical contact with their visitors, including hugs, subject to reasonable safety requirements.

The legislation grew out of a simple request made by young people at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall in Downey. In 2024, youth created a poster with a list of requests they wanted to see at the facility and advocates brought it to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. At the bottom of their list was a request to hug their moms.

Supervisor Hahn and her co-author Supervisor Holly Mitchell have introduced a motion to be considered at the Tuesday, Oct. 6 Board of Supervisors meeting to ensure that the LA County Probation Department is prepared to implement the Hug Act by Jan. 1, 2027, when it will become law. The motion directs Probation to revise their visitation policies, report back with a plan to host in-person contact visits by Jan. 1, and ramp up contact visits throughout the remainder of this calendar year. The Probation Department and probation oversight commission will also have to report to the Board on compliance with the law and outcomes from the first six months and first year of Hug Act implementation.

Kim Kardashian Draws Attention to Hug Act

The Hug Act received more attention after Kim Kardashian shared a KTLA story about the legislation’s passage with the comment, “Why do we even incarcerate kids at all????”