SB 309: Correctional facilities: religious accommodations.

Under existing law, a person sentenced to imprisonment in a state prison or in a county jail for a felony offense, as specified, may during that period of confinement be deprived of only those rights as is reasonably related to legitimate penological interests. Existing law enumerates certain civil rights of these prisoners, including the right to purchase, receive, and read newspapers, periodicals, and books accepted for distribution by the United States Post Office.

This bill would include the right to exercise religious freedom, including accommodations for religious grooming, clothing, and headwear, as specified. The bill would allow these rights to be denied only when in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest with regard to institutional security that may impact the facility, staff, the individual, or others in custody. The bill would require a facility to accommodate these rights in specified ways, including, among others, by allowing the individual to purchase or access facility-issued, or Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation-approved, religious clothing and headwear or, if unavailable, allowing the individual to retain their personal religious clothing and headwear until a facility-issued, or department-approved, clothing or headwear can be accessed or purchased. If purchased by an individual in custody, the bill would require the price of facility-issued, or department-approved, religious clothing and headwear to not exceed the purchase price and normal taxes of the items. The bill would authorize the department to promulgate regulations necessary to implement these religious rights, as specified. The bill would require the sheriff of each county or the administrator of each local detention facility to develop and implement a policy following these requirements on or before January 1, 2025. By imposing duties on local jails, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.