AB 353: Incarcerated persons: access to showers.

Existing law authorizes the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to prescribe and amend rules and regulations for the administration of prisons. Existing law requires each incarcerated person to be provided with a bed, garments, and sufficient plain and wholesome food, as specified.

This bill would require incarcerated persons to be permitted to shower at least every other day. The bill would require, whenever a request for a shower is denied, the facility manager, or their designee, to approve the decision to prohibit an incarcerated person from showering, and would require the reasons for prohibiting the incarcerated person to shower to be documented. The bill would require staff to provide written or electronic notice to incarcerated persons in the affected housing unit if the showers are temporarily unavailable or limited in frequency. The notice shall include the reason the showers are unavailable or limited and shall be conspicuously posted in the affected housing unit.