California 20252026 Regular Session Status: Introduced 1 R cosponsors

AB 1998 — Discrimination: sex and gender: intimate spaces.

Last action — From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.

  1. 1
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Assembly
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been introduced in the Assembly. Introduced February 17, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee referral and hearing.

Odds of enactment

Low chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a low chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Not enough signal yet

Not enough signal yet to read this bill's trajectory — we surface a likelihood only once there's real movement (stage, sponsorship, committee, or votes) to point to.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

Existing law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, provides that all persons within the jurisdiction of this state are entitled to full and equal accommodations in all business establishments regardless of their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status. Existing law, for purposes of this provision, defines "sex" to include, but does not limit it to, a person's gender. Existing law further defines "gender" to mean sex, and includes a person's gender identity and gender expression, as the latter is defined. Existing law prohibits the act from being construed to require any construction, alteration, repair, structural or otherwise, or modification of any sort whatsoever, beyond that construction, alteration, repair, or modification that is otherwise required by other provisions of law, to any new or existing establishment, facility, building, improvement, or any other structure, or to augment, restrict, or alter in any way the authority of the State Architect to require construction, alteration, repair, or modifications that the State Architect otherwise possesses pursuant to other laws. This bill would include in the provision regarding full and equal business accommodations the characteristics of gender identity and gender expression, as defined, and make corresponding changes in existing law. The bill would delete the above definitions of "sex" and "gender" and, instead, define "sex" to mean an individual's immutable biological sex, including either female or male, as further defined. The bill would require that accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments related to intimate spaces be separated on the basis on sex, irrespective of gender identity or gender expression. The bill would define "intimate spaces" to include bathrooms, showers, changing rooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms, and any other area in which an individual would have a reasonable expectation of privacy from the opposite sex. The bill would authorize single-occupancy intimate bathrooms to be gender neutral. The bill would make related legislative findings and declarations.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

1 added · 1 removed

Plain-language change summary

The redline for Bill AB 1998 shows that one line was added while another was removed. Specifically, new language may have been included to clarify or update the bill's provisions, while an existing line was taken out, possibly because it was redundant or outdated. These changes are important as they help ensure the bill is clear and effectively addresses the intended issues. Changes like this can impact how the bill is implemented and understood by the public and lawmakers alike.

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Action History

  1. From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.

  2. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 121 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

civil-rights
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does AB 1998 do?
Existing law, the Unruh Civil Rights Act, provides that all persons within the jurisdiction of this state are entitled to full and equal accommodations in all business establishments regardless of their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, citizenship, primary language, or immigration status. Existing law, for purposes of this provision, defines "sex" to include, but does not limit it to, a person's gender. Existing law further defines "gender" to mean sex, and includes a person's gender identity and gender expression, as the latter is defined. Existing law prohibits the act from being construed to require any construction, alteration, repair, structural or otherwise, or modification of any sort whatsoever, beyond that construction, alteration, repair, or modification that is otherwise required by other provisions of law, to any new or existing establishment, facility, building, improvement, or any other structure, or to augment, restrict, or alter in any way the authority of the State Architect to require construction, alteration, repair, or modifications that the State Architect otherwise possesses pursuant to other laws. This bill would include in the provision regarding full and equal business accommodations the characteristics of gender identity and gender expression, as defined, and make corresponding changes in existing law. The bill would delete the above definitions of "sex" and "gender" and, instead, define "sex" to mean an individual's immutable biological sex, including either female or male, as further defined. The bill would require that accommodations, advantages, facilities, privileges, or services in all business establishments related to intimate spaces be separated on the basis on sex, irrespective of gender identity or gender expression. The bill would define "intimate spaces" to include bathrooms, showers, changing rooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms, and any other area in which an individual would have a reasonable expectation of privacy from the opposite sex. The bill would authorize single-occupancy intimate bathrooms to be gender neutral. The bill would make related legislative findings and declarations.
Who sponsors AB 1998?
AB 1998 is sponsored by Castillo, Leticia (Republican).
What is the current status of AB 1998?
This bill has been introduced in the Assembly. Introduced February 17, 2026. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track AB 1998?
Track AB 1998 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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