Bill > SB497

This bill creates comprehensive legal protections for individuals seeking or receiving gender-affirming healthcare and mental health care, particularly in response to potential out-of-state investigations or legal actions. The bill prohibits healthcare providers, health plans, and other entities from releasing medical information related to gender-affirming care in response to out-of-state subpoenas or investigations that seek to impose civil or criminal liability for such care. Specifically, it prevents California agencies, employees, and contractors from providing data or resources that could support interstate investigations targeting gender-affirming healthcare. The bill also amends the Controlled Substance Utilization Review and Evaluation System (CURES) to restrict sharing of prescription data with out-of-state law enforcement without a proper warrant or court order. Additionally, the bill makes it a misdemeanor to access the CURES database without authorization or to share information from the database with unauthorized individuals. The legislation is designed to protect transgender and gender non-conforming individuals from potential harassment or legal persecution in states with more restrictive healthcare policies, and it includes provisions to ensure that California will not cooperate with out-of-state efforts to criminalize or penalize gender-affirming healthcare. The bill is marked as an urgency statute, meaning it will take effect immediately upon enactment.

Budget and Finance, Justice

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB497