{"id":431334,"date":"2026-08-13T02:40:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T02:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/431334\/"},"modified":"2026-08-13T02:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T02:40:08","slug":"ca-state-senate-rewrite-of-sex-offender-bill-still-allows-predators-to-run-for-office","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/431334\/","title":{"rendered":"CA State Senate rewrite of \u201csex offender\u201d bill still allows predators to run for office"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Photos by CA Family Council<\/p>\n

New language also exempts crimes against disabled victims and, in some cases, children under 14.
\nVote as early as Thursday in Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee chaired by Senator Scott Wiener
\nWARNING: Graphic content<\/p>\n

By California Family Council<\/p>\n

SACRAMENTO, CA \u2014\u00a0AB 2691<\/a>, the Public Trust Protection Act, could be voted on the Senate floor as soon as tomorrow morning, Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026. On August 4, the bill\u2019s authors quietly rewrote its central definition. They did not fix the problem California Family Council (CFC) raised in June. They made it bigger, and harder to see.<\/p>\n

Background<\/p>\n

AB 2691, authored by Assemblywoman Dawn Addis (D-Dawn Addis), passed the Assembly floor 67 to 0. It would bar people convicted of felony sexual assault or human trafficking from holding public office, a policy CFC supports. On June 24, the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee, chaired by Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), added language exempting felony sodomy, oral copulation and sexual penetration when the victim is a minor age 14 to 17.<\/p>\n

CFC Vice President Greg Burt\u00a0testified<\/a>\u00a0against that exemption on June 30 and asked the committee to restore the bill to the form the Assembly passed unanimously. The committee advanced the bill anyway,\u00a04 to 1<\/a>, with only Senator Steven Choi (R-Irvine) voting no.<\/p>\n

What Changed on August 4, and How California\u2019s Sex Offender Registry Actually Works<\/p>\n

The named exemption for ages 14 to 17 is gone from the bill text. In its place, Addis rewrote the bill to define \u201csexual assault\u201d using California\u2019s sex offender registration system, and only the most severe part of it.<\/p>\n

California sorts every registerable sex offense into one of three tiers, based on how serious the offense is:<\/p>\n

Tier 1\u00a0requires registration for 10 years. It covers misdemeanor sex offenses and the least serious felony sex offenses.
\nTier 2requires registration for 20 years. It covers felony sex offenses that state law separately classifies as \u201cserious\u201d or \u201cviolent\u201d, along with a short list of specifically named crimes.
\nTier 3\u00a0requires registration for life. It is reserved for the most serious sex crimes: forcible rape, forcible sodomy, aggravated sexual assault of a child, and similar offenses.<\/p>\n

Under the bill the Assembly passed, a felony conviction under any of six penal code sections covering rape, sodomy, oral copulation, and sexual penetration disqualified a candidate, full stop. Under the August 4 rewrite, a conviction only disqualifies a candidate if it happens to fall into Tier 3 of the sex registry list. A conviction that falls into Tier 1 or Tier 2, no matter how serious the underlying crime actually was, no longer counts.<\/p>\n

That single change does not narrow the original exemption. It widens it.<\/p>\n

Crimes against minors age 14 to 17 remain exempted. The specific carve-out is gone by name, but the conduct it covered, non-forcible sodomy, oral copulation, and sexual penetration of a 14-to-17-year-old, is a Tier 1 offense. It still falls outside the bill\u2019s new definition.
\nSex crimes against disabled victims are now exempted. Non-forcible sodomy and sexual penetration of a victim who cannot legally consent because of a mental disorder or a developmental or physical disability are Tier 2 offenses and fall below the bill\u2019s new threshold.
\nUnder certain circumstances, so do sex crimes against children under 10. A first-time, non-forcible conviction for molesting a child under 14, which includes children under 10, is a Tier 2 offense and no longer disqualifies a candidate under the bill\u2019s new language, unless the act specifically involved intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, or penetration, which remain covered under a separate, Tier 3 statute.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe asked this Assemblywoman Addis in June to send this bill back to the form the Assembly passed unanimously. Instead, she took the exemption we objected to, deleted the sentence that named it, and buried the same result inside a much bigger loophole,\u201d said CFC Vice President Burt. \u201cSex crimes against 14 to 17-year-olds are still exempted. Now sex crimes against people with disabilities are exempted too. And under the right circumstances, so is molesting a child under 14. This bill was supposed to keep sex offenders out of public office. As written, it tells some of them they\u2019re still welcome to run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Call to Action<\/p>\n

The Senate could vote on AB 2691 as early as tomorrow morning. California Family Council urges senators to vote no on the bill as currently written and urges Californians to contact their state senator today.<\/p>\n

About California Family Council<\/p>\n

California Family Council works to advance God\u2019s design for life, family, and liberty through California\u2019s Church, Capitol, and Culture. By advocating for policies that reinforce the sanctity of life, the strength of traditional marriages, and the essential freedoms of religion, CFC is dedicated to preserving California\u2019s moral and social foundation.<\/p>\n

APPENDIX: Affected Crimes, With Penal Code Citations<\/p>\n

This list is limited to items independently confirmed against the text of Penal Code section 290, subdivisions (d)(1) through (d)(3), and Penal Code section 667.5(c). Additional items appear in supplemental research from a California State Senate office; those are not included here pending independent confirmation.<\/p>\n

No Longer Disqualifying: Tier 1 Offenses (10-Year Registration)<\/p>\n

Penal Code 286(b) \u2014 sodomy, non-forcible, victim under 18<\/p>\n

Penal Code 287(b), or former 288a(b) \u2014 oral copulation, non-forcible, victim under 18<\/p>\n

Penal Code 289(h) and (i) \u2014 sexual penetration by foreign object, non-forcible, victim under 18<\/p>\n

Penal Code 289.5 \u2014 fleeing to California to avoid prosecution or custody for a registerable sex offense committed in another state (misdemeanor)<\/p>\n

No Longer Disqualifying: Tier 2 Offenses (20-Year Registration)<\/p>\n

Penal Code 285 \u2014 incest<\/p>\n

Penal Code 286(g) \u2014 sodomy of a victim who cannot legally consent due to a mental disorder or a developmental or physical disability<\/p>\n

Penal Code 286(c)(1) \u2014 sodomy of a victim under 14, where the offender is more than 10 years older, without force<\/p>\n

Penal Code 288(a) \u2014 a lewd or lascivious act on a child under 14, first offense, without force. This is California\u2019s basic child molestation statute.<\/p>\n

Penal Code 288.3 \u2014 contacting a minor with intent to commit a felony, specifically when the underlying intent was to violate 286(b), 287(b), or 289(h)\/(i)<\/p>\n

Penal Code 289(b) \u2014 sexual penetration of a victim who cannot legally consent due to a mental disorder or a developmental or physical disability<\/p>\n

Penal Code 647.6 \u2014 annoying or molesting a child, second or subsequent offense<\/p>\n

Still Disqualifying: Tier 3 Offenses (Lifetime Registration)<\/p>\n

Penal Code 236.1(c) \u2014 human trafficking of a minor for a commercial sex act<\/p>\n

Penal Code 266h(b) \u2014 aggravated pimping of a minor<\/p>\n

Penal Code 266i(b) \u2014 aggravated pandering of a minor<\/p>\n

Penal Code 266j \u2014 procuring a child under 16 for a lewd act<\/p>\n

Penal Code 269 \u2014 aggravated sexual assault of a child<\/p>\n

Penal Code 286(c)(2) and (d) \u2014 forcible sodomy of a child under 14, including in concert<\/p>\n

Penal Code 287(c) and (d), or former 288a \u2014 forcible oral copulation of a child under 14, including in concert<\/p>\n

Penal Code 288(b) \u2014 a lewd act on a child under 14 committed by force<\/p>\n

Penal Code 288(c) \u2014 a lewd act on a 14- or 15-year-old, where the offender is at least 10 years older<\/p>\n

Penal Code 288.2 \u2014 sending harmful matter to a minor with intent to seduce, felony<\/p>\n

Penal Code 288.3 \u2014 contacting a minor with intent to commit a felony, except when the intent was to violate 286(b), 287(b), or 289(h)\/(i)<\/p>\n

Penal Code 288.5 \u2014 continuous sexual abuse of a child<\/p>\n

Penal Code 288.7 \u2014 sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, or sexual penetration with a child age 10 or younger<\/p>\n

Penal Code 289(a) \u2014 forcible sexual penetration<\/p>\n

Penal Code 653f(c) \u2014 soliciting another person to commit rape, sodomy, oral copulation, or a lewd act on a child<\/p>\n

A felony sentenced to a mandatory life term under Penal Code 667.61 (\u201cOne Strike\u201d law)<\/p>\n

Designation as a habitual sex offender under Penal Code 667.71<\/p>\n

A second, separately tried conviction under Penal Code 288(a)<\/p>\n

Sources: California Penal Code section 290, subdivisions (d)(1) through (d)(3), and Penal Code section 667.5(c), both available at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photos by CA Family Council New language also exempts crimes against disabled victims and, in some cases, children…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431335,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[101,103,102,104,106,105],"class_list":["post-431334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco","tag-san-francisco-headlines","tag-san-francisco-news","tag-sf","tag-sf-headlines","tag-sf-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}