SB 438

Current law prohibits placing or keeping together prisoners of different sexes

within a prison, jail, or county house of correction. A person who violates the

prohibition must be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned for not more than six

months, or both.

Current law regulates strip searches that are performed on persons who are

being detained following an arrest for certain crimes or under certain circumstances.

One restriction on such strip searches is that the person conducting the search must

be of the same sex as the detainee.

This bill defines “sex” for the above provisions. Under the bill, “sex” means an

individual's sex at birth, as being male or female, according to distinct reproductive

roles as manifested by sex and reproductive organ anatomy, chromosomal makeup,

and endogenous hormone profiles.

The current law regulations on strip searches described above do not apply if

the person is incarcerated following a conviction, placed in a juvenile correctional

facility or a secured residential care center for children and youth, committed to a

facility for mental health reasons, or confined as a condition of probation. Under the

bill, a person conducting a strip search on such a person must be of the same sex

unless the strip search is conducted due to exigent circumstances. The bill also

applies the definition of “sex” created in this bill to this requirement.