Involuntary residential facilities: health and safety inspections.

Existing law requires the operator of a private detention facility, as defined, to comply with, and adhere to, the detention standards of care and confinement agreed upon in the facility's contract for operations, as specified. Existing law requires a private detention facility operator to comply with, and adhere to, all local and state public health orders and occupational safety and health regulations. This bill, the Involuntary Residential Facilities Health and Safety Act of 2026, would authorize the Office of the State Fire Marshal, the State Department of Public Health, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the Department of Industrial Relations, including the Division of Occupational Safety and Health ("inspecting agencies") , to conduct periodic inspections of an involuntary residential facility, defined as a facility that houses more than 50 individuals overnight, restricts residents' ability to enter or leave, as specified, and provides specified onsite services, in order to evaluate compliance with applicable health, safety, building, environmental, and labor standards, as specified. The bill would authorize unnoticed inspections under specified conditions. The bill would authorize an inspection to include specified areas of the facility, including heating, ventilation, air, water, and electrical systems, and any physical space necessary to evaluate compliance with the standards described above. The bill would prohibit an inspecting agency from accessing residents for interviews, resident records, or areas used exclusively for security operations. The bill would require an inspecting agency, within 30 days of completing an inspection, to submit a report to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Health. The bill would require the operator of a facility to provide reasonable access to an inspecting agency for an inspection described above, to maintain all records necessary to demonstrate compliance with the above-described standards, to, on or before January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, submit reports documenting compliance with those standards to the State Department of Public Health and the inspecting agencies, and to correct any violation identified by an inspecting agency, as specified. The bill would make a violation of the above described requirements by an operator of a facility subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $25,000 per violation per day, as specified. The bill would authorize an inspecting agency to, consistent with existing statutory authority, suspend or revoke any state-issued permit or certification of the operator relating to the standards described above, and would authorize an inspecting agency to provide information to the operator regarding any city or county permits or approvals required for the operation of the facility, as specified. The bill would authorize an inspecting agency to promulgate regulations for the implementation of the above-described provisions. The bill would declare that its provisions are severable. The bill would make related findings and declarations.