SB 498 California Senate · 2025-2026 Regular Session

Incarcerated persons: communications.

Summary

Under existing law, a person sentenced to imprisonment in state prison or in a county jail for a felony offense, as specified, may, during that period of confinement, be deprived only of those rights as are reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. Existing law requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide inmates with accessible, functional voice communication services free of charge to the person initiating and the person receiving the communication. This bill would additionally require the department to provide inmates electronic messaging services as described above. The bill would prohibit staff at a department facility, if an incarcerated individual is authorized to possess and use a tablet or other device for voice communications, from disconnecting any communications conducted by the individual on the device based solely on the duration of the call.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2025

Committee Review

Aug 2026

Senate Passage

Jun 2025

Assembly Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 19, 2025 Last action Aug 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

02/19/25 - Introduced → 05/23/25 - Amended Senate · 3 edits · May 23, 2025

MINOR

The amendment to SB 498 is primarily structural and technical. The bill's digest was updated to explicitly reference 'juvenile facilities' alongside commissary, clarifying that the bill applies to both adult county jails and juvenile detention settings. A section appears to have been removed or renumbered between the Penal Code and Welfare and Institutions Code provisions, but the substantive policy content (hygiene product definitions, indigency threshold of $25 over seven days, debt discharge by January 1, 2026) remains unchanged.

SCOPE

The legislative digest title was changed from 'County detention: commissary' to 'County detention: juvenile facilities: commissary,' making explicit that the bill covers both adult county jails and juvenile facilities.

TECHNICAL

A section between the Penal Code provision (Section 4025.3) and the Welfare and Institutions Code provision (Section 874) appears to have been removed, resulting in renumbering of subsequent sections.

Minor wording clarification in the digest: 'and juvenile detainees' was changed to 'wards and juvenile detainees' for precision in describing who is covered under existing law.

05/23/25 - Amended Senate → 04/06/26 - Amended Assembly · 5 edits · Apr 6, 2026

MODERATE

The Assembly amendment made two major changes to SB 498: it removed the provision requiring free hygiene products for indigent inmates in county jails (former Penal Code Section 4025.3) and added a new requirement that state prisons provide free voice communication and electronic messaging services to inmates, with a prohibition on disconnecting calls based solely on duration. The bill now covers state prison communications and juvenile facility hygiene products, rather than its original focus on county jail and juvenile facility hygiene.

Scope change

The bill's scope narrowed on hygiene products (removed county jails, kept only juvenile facilities) and expanded into a new area entirely: state prison communications. It now amends Penal Code Section 2084.5 (state prison communications) and adds Welfare and Institutions Code Section 874 (juvenile facility hygiene), replacing the prior combination of Penal Code Section 4025.3 (county jail hygiene) and W&I Code Section 874.

SCOPE

Penal Code Section 4025.3 was entirely removed. This section had required that indigent incarcerated persons in county jails (those with $25 or less in their trust account over the last seven days) receive basic hygiene products free of charge, could not be denied access as discipline, and would have prior debt discharged.

The bill's scope shifted from covering both county jails and juvenile facilities (hygiene) to covering state prisons (communications) and juvenile facilities (hygiene). The digest now references only probation officers rather than both sheriffs and probation officers for the hygiene mandate.

REQUIREMENT

A new Section 1 was added amending Penal Code Section 2084.5 to require state prisons and youth residential placement or detention centers operated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to provide free voice communication AND electronic messaging services (previously only voice communication was required). The department retains operational discretion so services do not interfere with necessary programming.

New subsection (c) of Penal Code Section 2084.5 prohibits facility staff from disconnecting communications conducted on a tablet or other device based solely on the duration of the call, if the individual is authorized to possess and use such a device.

FISCAL

The state-mandated local program designation changed from 'yes' to 'yes no,' likely reflecting uncertainty about whether the remaining juvenile facility hygiene provision alone constitutes a state-mandated local program now that the county jail (sheriff) obligation was removed.

Floor votes · Senate Jun 4, 2025

How they voted

39–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 40

Jun 4, 2025

D Democratic30

29 Yea 1

96% Yea

R Republican10

10 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Aug 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

August 13 hearing: Held in committee and under submission.

lower

Jun 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 9). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

lower

Apr 6, 2026

Lower · Passed

From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

lower

Jun 16, 2025

Committee

Referred to Com. on PUB. S.

lower

Jun 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 39. Noes 0. Page 1504.) Ordered to the Assembly.

upper

May 23, 2025

Upper · Passed

Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

upper

May 23, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 1202.) (May 23).

upper

Mar 25, 2025

Upper · Passed

From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 5. Noes 0. Page 533.) (March 25). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

upper

Feb 26, 2025

Committee

Referred to Com. on PUB. S.

upper

Feb 19, 2025

Introduced

Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

upper

1 primary · 4 co-sponsors