1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Please vote YES on SB 995, the Masuma Khan Justice Act, for Health & Safety in Detention Facilities. This act is designed to strengthen state oversight, institute fines and revoke licenses of private detention facilities when they fail to meet health and safety standards. Detention facilities across the state and country are denying oversight visits, and when they do have them, for-profit operators are on their best behavior. When oversight is not being conducted, stories are getting out through communication with detainees how inhumane their conditions, treatment and provisions are. Private detention centers have earned millions in profits and continued to secure contracts with government agencies, despite well documented cases of health and safety violations. It is time for the State of California to use its legal and moral authority to inspect private detention facilities, hold bad actors accountable and close facilities with consistent, documented cases of human rights abuses Under SB 995, California would use its state authority to hold private detention centers accountable to comply with state health and safety standards just as it does with every other involuntary residential facility through inspections of the physical space to evaluate compliance. This is a no-brainer piece of legislation. Please support its passage.