AB 1437: Juveniles: registration.

Current Status:

Failed

(2026-02-02: From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.)

Introduced

In Committee

Awaiting First Chamber Vote

Passed First Chamber

In Committee

Awaiting Second Chamber Vote

Passed Second Chamber

Enacted

What does this bill do?

The bill requires people discharged or paroled from a secure youth treatment facility who were found by a juvenile court to have committed certain sex offenses to register on California’s sex offender registry. It applies the same tiered registration periods (minimum five or ten years depending on how serious the offense was) and lets those individuals petition the juvenile court to end registration after the required minimum time.

Version:

Existing law, the Sex Offender Registration Act, requires a person convicted of specified sex offenses, including a person who is discharged or paroled from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation after having been adjudicated a ward of the juvenile court because of the commission of specified sex offenses, to register with local law enforcement agencies while residing in the state or while attending school or working in the state. Existing law makes it a crime for a person required to register as a sex offender under the act to willfully violate any requirement of the act.

This bill would additionally require a person who is discharged or paroled from a secure youth treatment facility to register. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Version:

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:SECTION 1.Section 290.008 of the Penal Code is amended to read:290.008.

(a)Any A person who, on or after January 1, 1986, is discharged or paroled from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or a secure youth treatment facility to the custody of which they were committed after having been adjudicated a ward of the juvenile court pursuant to Section 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code because of the commission or attempted commission of any an offense described in subdivision (c) shall register in accordance with the Act unless the duty to register is terminated pursuant to Section 290.5 or as otherwise provided by law.

(b)Any A person who is discharged or paroled from a facility in another state that is equivalent to the Division of Juvenile Justice, to the custody of which they were committed because of an offense which, if committed or attempted in this state, would have been punishable as one or more of the offenses described in subdivision (c) shall register in accordance with the Act.

(c)Any A person described in this section who committed an offense in violation of any of the following provisions shall be required to register pursuant to the Act:

(1)Assault with intent to commit rape, sodomy, oral copulation, or any a violation of Section 264.1, 288, or 289 under Section 220.

(2)Any An offense defined in paragraph (1), (2), (3), (4), or (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 261, Section 264.1, 266c, or 267, paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of, or subdivision (c) or (d) of, Section 286, paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of, or subdivision (c) or (d) of, Section 287, Section 288 or 288.5, paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of, or subdivision (c) or (d) of, former Section 288a, subdivision (a) of Section 289, or Section 647.6.

(3)A violation of Section 207 or 209 committed with the intent to violate Section 261, 286, 287, 288, or 289, or former Section 288a.

(d)(1)A tier one juvenile offender is subject to registration for a minimum of five years. A person is a tier one juvenile offender if the person is required to register after being adjudicated as a ward of the court and discharged or paroled from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or a secure youth treatment facility for an offense listed in subdivision (c) that is not a serious or violent felony as described in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 or subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7.

(2)A tier two juvenile offender is subject to registration for a minimum of 10 years. A person is a tier two juvenile offender if the person is required to register after being adjudicated as a ward of the court and discharged or paroled from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation or a secure youth treatment facility for an offense listed in subdivision (c) that is a serious or violent felony as described in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 or subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7.

(3)A person who is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to this section may file a petition for termination from the sex offender registry in the juvenile court in the county in which they are registered at the expiration of their mandated minimum registration period, pursuant to Section 290.5.

(e)Prior to discharge or parole from the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, any Rehabilitation or a secure youth treatment facility, a person who is subject to registration under this section shall be informed of the duty to register under the procedures set forth in the Act. Department officials shall transmit the required forms and information to the Department of Justice.

(f)All records specifically relating to the registration in the custody of the Department of Justice, law enforcement agencies, and other agencies or public officials shall be destroyed when the person who is required to register has their records sealed under the procedures set forth in Section 781 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. This section shall not be construed as requiring the destruction of other criminal offender or juvenile records relating to the case that are maintained by the Department of Justice, law enforcement agencies, the juvenile court, or other agencies and public officials unless ordered by a court under Section 781 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(g)This section shall become operative on January 1, 2021.(h)

(g)For purposes of this section, a discharged person shall include all of the following:

(1)A ward in the custody of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice on or after July 1, 2022, who, prior to discharge, is returned by the division or the chief probation officer of the county to the court of jurisdiction for alternative disposition, specifically due to the statutorily required closure of the division. The division shall inform the ward of the duty to register prior to the ward being returned to the court.

(2)A patient described in Section 1732.10 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The division shall inform the patient of the duty to register immediately prior to closure of the division.

(3)A person described in Section 1732.9 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall inform the person of the duty to register immediately prior to the person being returned to the court of jurisdiction.

(i)

(h)The court of jurisdiction shall establish the point at which the ward described in subdivision (h) (g) is required to register and notify the Department of Justice of its decision.

SEC. 2.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.

Date	Status
Feb 2, 2026	From committee: Filed with the Chief Clerk pursuant to Joint Rule 56.
Jan 31, 2026	Died pursuant to Art. IV, Sec. 10(c) of the Constitution.
Apr 22, 2025	In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
Mar 13, 2025	Referred to Com. on PUB. S.
Feb 24, 2025	Read first time.
Feb 22, 2025	From printer. May be heard in committee March 24.
Feb 21, 2025	Introduced. To print.

Authors shown for version:
Introduced (2/21/2025)