SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of public safety legislation strengthening accountability, protecting sexual assault victims and survivors, increasing safety on college campuses and giving law enforcement and prosecutors additional tools to address emerging threats.
Among the measures signed is Senate Bill 1056 by Senator Tim Grayson (D-Concord), which establishes new privacy protections for adult victims who are the subject of sexually explicit images or recordings introduced as evidence in specified criminal cases.
The Governor spoke directly with the couple whose experience helped inspire the legislation. The conversation underscored what public safety legislation is ultimately about: protecting real people when they are most vulnerable, giving victims meaningful tools to seek protection, and making sure the justice system can respond when someone poses a threat to others.
SB 1056 was inspired in part by the experience of Denise Huskins Quinn, who was kidnapped and sexually assaulted in 2015. Evidence documenting the assaults was subsequently made available during the criminal proceedings. Huskins Quinn has advocated for stronger safeguards to ensure that survivors do not experience additional trauma through the unnecessary copying, dissemination or retention of sexually explicit evidence.
Protecting survivors and strengthening safety on college campuses
And as disturbing allegations of sexual violence on college campuses draw renewed national attention, Gov. Newsom also signed legislation further strengthening protections for California students and survivors — helping colleges identify and respond to human trafficking and sexual exploitation, strengthening protections for victims, and holding offenders accountable.
The new laws strengthen protections for survivors of domestic violence, stalking and sexual assault by strengthening enforcement against perpetrators who willfully violate criminal protective and stay-away orders. AB 1845 by Assemblymember Maggy Krell (D-Sacramento) strengthens protections on college campuses by requiring postsecondary institutions to adopt policies and training addressing human trafficking and improve procedures for identifying and reporting sexual crimes. The law will help campus employees recognize potential trafficking and exploitation and strengthen institutions’ ability to respond when students may be at risk.
California is also strengthening the systems that identify trafficking, protect victims and hold traffickers accountable.
Strengthening protections on college campuses and ensuring higher education institutions to adopt policies and training addressing human trafficking and reporting incidents.
Giving prosecutors additional flexibility in trafficking cases when determining whether good cause exists to continue a human trafficking case.
Training body-art facilities to recognize trafficking and reporting potential trafficking.
Closing the “Epstein loophole” and prohibiting prosecutors from offering immunity or leniency in cases of human trafficking, pimping or pandering involving minors.
Protecting victims of domestic violence
Several of the new laws focus directly on giving survivors greater protection and making it harder for abuse to continue.
Strengthening enforcement of protective orders for serious or repeated violations of criminal protective and stay-away orders.
Helping survivors reclaim their lives from litigious abusers who attempt to harass, intimidate or maintain control through abuse of the legal process.
Expanding access to workplace protection by allowing parties and witnesses in workplace violence restraining-order proceedings to participate remotely.
Protecting children from the consequences of sexual violence, specifically about rules governing custody and parentage when a child was conceived through sexual assault.
Strengthening military-family protections and requiring the courts to acknowledge military protective orders when imposing a restraining order under California law.
Improving access to restitution for victims when criminal defendants enter into diversion proceedings.
Holding serious offenders accountable
The package also strengthens tools available to courts, probation departments and prosecutors in serious cases.
Keeping supervision in place when rehabilitation is incomplete, allowing courts to extend probation for registered sex offenders who have not completed required programming.
Strengthening safeguards around serious juvenile offenses, authorizing extended confinement for dangerous offenders in secure youth treatment facilities. Addressing organized metal theft, creating new crimes targeting coordinated theft of utility and infrastructure metals.