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California 20252026

SB 1276

Crimes: sexual exploitation of a child.

Open original source Back to bills
Source: Open States / PluralUpdated 2026-09-12 13:12:55 UTC.

Official record

Measure details

Jurisdiction
California
Session
20252026
Chamber
upper
Classification
bill
Subjects
Crimes, sexualexploitationofachild
Introduced / first action
2026-02-20 00:00:00

Source-supplied abstracts

Under existing law, a person is guilty of sexual exploitation of a child if the person knowingly develops, duplicates, prints, or exchanges any representation of information, data, or image, including, but not limited to, any film, filmstrip, photograph, negative, slide, photocopy, videotape, video laser disc, computer hardware, computer software, computer floppy disc, data storage media, CD-ROM, or computer-generated equipment or any other computer-generated image that contains or incorporates in any manner, any film or filmstrip that depicts a person under 18 years of age engaged in an act of sexual conduct, as defined. Existing law makes a violation of this section punishable as a misdemeanor or a felony, as specified. This bill would, except as specified, make a person guilty of a misdemeanor or a felony if the person knowingly does any of the above-described actions, or downloads, streams, or accesses through electronic or digital media the above-described sexual conduct, knowing that the matter depicts a person under 18 years of age engaged in an act of sexual conduct. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. Existing law, the Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act, requires a mandated reporter, as defined, to make a report to a specified agency whenever the mandated reporter, in their professional capacity or within the scope of their employment, has knowledge of or observes a child whom the mandated reporter knows or reasonably suspects has been the victim of child abuse or neglect. For the purposes of this act, existing law includes sexual exploitation, and defines sexual exploitation as, among other things, a person who depicts a child in, or who knowingly develops, duplicates, prints, downloads, streams, accesses through any electronic or digital media, or exchanges, a film, photograph, videotape, video recording, negative, or slide in which a child is engaged in an act of obscene sexual conduct, except as specified. This bill would broaden the above-described definition to include any digitally altered or artificial-intelligence-generated matter that depicts a person under 18 years of age engaged in an act of sexual conduct, as specified. 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.

Sponsors

Source-supplied history

Actions

  1. Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 192, Statutes of 2026.

    became-law

  2. Approved by the Governor.

    executive-signature

  3. Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 2 p.m.

    executive-receipt

  4. Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 39. Noes 0.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling.

    amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable

  5. Ordered to special consent calendar.

  6. In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.

  7. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 78. Noes 0. Page 6476.) Ordered to the Senate.

    passage, reading-1, reading-3

  8. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1, reading-2, reading-3

  9. Read second time and amended. Ordered to second reading.

    amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2

  10. From committee: Do pass as amended. (Ayes 11. Noes 0.) (August 13).

    amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable

  11. Assembly Rule 63 suspended.

  12. August 5 set for first hearing. Placed on suspense file.

  13. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (July 1). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee

  14. Coauthors revised.

  15. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on P. & C.P. (Ayes 9. Noes 0.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on P. & C.P.

    committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee

  16. Referred to Coms. on PUB. S. and P. & C.P.

    referral-committee

  17. In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk.

    reading-1

  18. Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 33. Noes 0. Page 4420.) Ordered to the Assembly.

    passage, reading-1, reading-3

  19. Ordered to special consent calendar.

  20. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

    reading-1, reading-2, reading-3

  21. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 7. Noes 0. Page 4271.) (May 14).

    committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable

  22. Set for hearing May 14.

  23. April 27 hearing: Placed on APPR. suspense file.

  24. Set for hearing April 27.

  25. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 0. Page 3872.) (April 14). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

    committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee

  26. Set for hearing April 14.

  27. Referred to Com. on PUB. S.

    referral-committee

  28. Read first time.

    reading-1

  29. From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 23.

  30. Introduced. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

    introduction, referral-committee

When supplied by the API

Related measures

No resolvable related measure is supplied.