CHAPTER 2. Procedures for Requiring HIV Testing [7510. - 7519.]

Cal. Penal Code - PEN 2.
in effect

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 7510. Section 7510.

(a) A law enforcement employee who believes that he or she came into contact with bodily fluids of either an inmate of a correctional institution, a person not in a correctional institution who has been arrested or taken into custody whether or not the person has been charged with a crime, including a person detained for or charged with an offense for which he or she may be made a ward of the court under Section 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, a person charged with any crime, whether or not the person is in custody, on postrelease community supervision, mandatory supervision pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or on probation or parole due to conviction of a crime, shall report the incident through the completion of a form provided by the State Department of Public Health. The form shall be directed to the chief medical officer, as defined in subdivision (c), who serves the applicable law enforcement employee. Utilizing this form the law enforcement employee may request a test for HIV or hepatitis B or C of the person who is the subject of the report. The forms may be combined with regular incident reports or other forms used by the correctional institution or law enforcement agency, however the processing of a form by the chief medical officer containing a request for HIV or hepatitis B or C testing of the subject person shall not be delayed by the processing of other reports or forms. (b) The report required by subdivision (a) shall be submitted by the end of the law enforcement employee’s shift during which the incident occurred, or if not practicable, as soon as possible, but no longer than two days after the incident, except that the chief medical officer may waive this filing period requirement if he or she finds that good cause exists. The report shall include names of witnesses to the incident, names of persons involved in the incident, and if feasible, any written statements from these parties. The law enforcement employee shall assist in the investigation of the incident, as requested by the chief medical officer. (c) For purposes of this section, Section 7503, and Section 7511, “chief medical officer” means: (1) In the case of a report filed by a staff member of a state prison, the chief medical officer of that facility. (2) In the case of a parole officer filing a report, the chief medical officer of the nearest state prison. (3) In the case of a report filed by an employee of the Division of Juvenile Justice, the chief medical officer of the facility. (4) In the case of a report filed against a subject who is an inmate of a city or county jail or a county- or city-operated juvenile facility, or a court facility, or who has been arrested or taken into custody whether or not the person has been charged with a crime, but who is not in a correctional facility, including a person detained for, or charged with, an offense for which he or she may be made a ward of the court under Section 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or a person charged with a crime, whether or not the person is in custody, the county health officer of the county in which the individual is jailed or charged with the crime. (5) In the case of a report filed by a probation officer, a prosecutor or staff person, a public defender attorney or staff person, the county health officer of the county in which the probation officer, prosecutor or staff person, a public defender attorney or staff person, is employed. (6) In any instance where the chief medical officer, as determined pursuant to this subdivision, is not a physician and surgeon, the chief medical officer shall designate a physician and surgeon to perform his or her duties under this title.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 7511. Section 7511.

(a) The chief medical officer shall, regardless of whether a report filed pursuant to Section 7510 contains a request for HIV or hepatitis B or C testing, decide whether or not to require HIV or hepatitis B or C testing of the inmate or other person who is the subject of the report filed pursuant to Section 7510, within 24 hours of receipt of the report. If the chief medical officer decides to require HIV or hepatitis B or C testing, he or she shall specify in his or her decision the circumstances, if any, under which followup testing will also be required. (b) The chief medical officer shall order an HIV or hepatitis B or C test only if he or she finds that, considering all of the facts and circumstances, there is a significant risk that HIV or hepatitis B or C was transmitted. In making this decision, the chief medical officer shall take the following factors into consideration: (1) Whether an exchange of bodily fluids occurred which could have resulted in a significant risk of AIDS or hepatitis B or C infection, based on the latest written guidelines and standards established by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the State Department of Health Services. (2) Whether the person exhibits medical conditions or clinical findings consistent with HIV or hepatitis B or C infection. (3) Whether the health of the institution staff or inmates may have been endangered as to HIV or hepatitis B or C infection resulting from the reported incident. (c) Prior to reaching a decision, the chief medical officer may if needed receive written or oral testimony from the law enforcement employee filing the report, from the subject of the report, and from witnesses to the incident, as he or she deems necessary for a complete investigation. The decision shall be in writing and shall state the reasons for the decision. A copy shall be provided by the chief medical officer to the law enforcement employee who filed the report and to the subject of the report, and where the subject is a minor, to the parents or guardian of the minor, unless the parent or guardian of the minor cannot be located.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 7512. Section 7512.

(a) An inmate of a correctional institution may request testing for HIV or hepatitis B or C of another inmate of that institution if he or she has reason to believe that he or she has come into contact with the bodily fluids of that inmate, in situations, which may include, but are not limited to, rape or sexual contact with a potentially infected inmate, tattoo- or drug-needle sharing, an incident involving injury in which bodily fluids are exchanged, or confinement with a cellmate under circumstances involving possible mingling of bodily fluids. A request may be filed under this section only within two calendar days of the date when the incident causing the request occurred, except that the chief medical officer may waive this filing period requirement when he or she finds that good cause exists. (b) An inmate in a Division of Juvenile Justice facility or any county- or city-operated juvenile facility who is 15 years of age or older may file a request for a test of another inmate in that facility, in the same manner as an inmate in a state prison, and is subject to the same procedures and rights. An inmate in a Division of Juvenile Justice facility or a county- or city-operated juvenile facility who is a minor may file a request for testing through a staff member of the facility in which he or she is confined. A staff member may file this request on behalf of a minor on his or her own volition if he or she believes that a situation meeting the criteria specified in subdivision (a) has occurred warranting the request. The filing of a request by staff on behalf of an inmate of a Division of Juvenile Justice facility or a local juvenile facility shall be within two calendar days of its discovery by staff, except that the chief medical officer may waive this filing period requirement if he or she finds that good cause exists. When a request is filed on behalf of a minor, the facility shall notify the parent or guardian of the minor of the request and seek permission from the parent or guardian for the test request to proceed. If the parent or guardian refuses to grant permission for the test, the Director of the Division of Juvenile Facilities may request the juvenile court in the county in which the facility is located, to rule on whether the test request procedure set forth in this title shall continue. The juvenile court shall make a ruling within five days of the case being brought before the court. If the parent or guardian cannot be located, the superintendent of the facility shall approve or disapprove the request for a test. (c) Upon receipt of a request for testing as provided in this section, a law enforcement employee shall submit the request to the chief medical officer, the identity of which shall be determined as if the request had been made by an employee of the facility. The chief medical officer shall follow the procedures set forth in Section 7511 with respect to investigating the request and reaching a decision as to mandatory testing of the inmate who is the subject of the request. The inmate submitting the request shall provide names or testimony of witnesses within the limits of his or her ability to do so. The chief medical officer shall make his or her decision based on the criteria set forth in Section 7511. A copy of the chief medical officer’s decision shall be provided to the person submitting the request for HIV or hepatitis B or C testing, to the subject of the request, and to the superintendent of the correctional institution. In the case of a minor, a copy of the decision shall be provided to the parents or guardian of the minor, unless the parent or guardian of the minor cannot be located.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 7512.5. Section 7512.5.

In the absence of the filing of a report pursuant to Section 7510 or a request pursuant to Section 7512, the chief medical officer may order a test of an inmate if he or she concludes there are clinical symptoms of HIV infection, AIDS, or hepatitis B or C, as recognized by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the State Department of Health Services. A copy of the decision shall be provided to the inmate, and where the inmate is a minor, to the parents or guardian of the minor, unless the parent or guardian of the minor cannot be located. Any decision made pursuant to this section shall not be appealable to a three-member panel provided for under Section 7515.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 7513. Section 7513.

An inmate who is the subject of an HIV or hepatitis B or C test report filed pursuant to Section 7510 or an HIV or hepatitis B or C test report filed pursuant to Section 7512 shall receive, in conjunction with the decision of the chief medical officer to order a test, a copy of this title, a written description of the right to appeal the chief medical officer’s decision which includes the applicable timelines, and notification of his or her right to receive pretest and posttest HIV counseling by staff that have been certified as HIV test counselors or to receive hepatitis B or C test results and counseling from a licensed medical professional.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 7514. Section 7514.

(a) It shall be the chief medical officer’s responsibility to see that personal counseling is provided to a law enforcement employee filing a report pursuant to Section 7510, an inmate filing a request pursuant to Section 7512, and any potential test subject, at the time the initial report or request for tests is made, at the time when tests are ordered, and at the time when test results are provided to the employee, inmate, or test subject. (b) The chief medical officer may provide additional counseling to any of these individuals, upon his or her request, or whenever the chief medical officer deems advisable, and may arrange for the counseling to be provided in other jurisdictions. The chief medical officer shall encourage the subject of the report or request, the law enforcement employee who filed the report, the person who filed the request pursuant to Section 7512, or in the case of a minor, the minor on whose behalf the request was filed, to undergo voluntary HIV or hepatitis B or C testing if the chief medical officer deems it medically advisable. All testing required by this title or any voluntary testing resulting from the provisions of this title, shall be at the expense of the appropriate correctional institution.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 7515. Section 7515.

(a) A decision of the chief medical officer made pursuant to Section 7511, 7512, or 7516 may be appealed, within three calendar days of receipt of the decision, to a three-person panel, either by the person required to be tested, his or her parent or guardian when the subject is a minor, the law enforcement employee filing a report pursuant to either Section 7510 or 7516, or the person requesting testing pursuant to Section 7512, whichever is applicable, or the chief medical officer, upon his or her own motion. If no request for appeal is filed under this subdivision, the chief medical officer’s decision shall be final. (b) Depending upon which entity has jurisdiction over the person requesting or appealing a test, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Division of Juvenile Justice, the county, the city, or the county and city shall convene the appeal panel and shall ensure that the appeal is heard within seven calendar days. (c) A panel required pursuant to subdivision (a) or (b) shall consist of three members, as follows: (1) The chief medical officer making the original decision. (2) A physician and surgeon who has knowledge in the diagnosis, treatment, and transmission of HIV or hepatitis B and C, selected by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Division of Juvenile Justice, the county, the city, or the county and city. The physician and surgeon appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall preside at the hearing and serve as chairperson. (3) A physician and surgeon not on the staff of, or under contract with, a state, county, city, or county and city correctional institution or with an employer of a law enforcement employee as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 7502, and who has knowledge of the diagnosis, treatment, and transmission of HIV or hepatitis B and C. The physician and surgeon appointed pursuant to this paragraph shall be selected by the State Department of Health Services from a list of persons to be compiled by that department. The State Department of Health Services shall adopt standards for selecting persons for the list required by this paragraph, as well as for their reimbursement, and shall, to the extent possible, utilize its normal process for selecting consultants in compiling this list. The Legislature finds and declares that the presence of a physician and surgeon on the panel who is selected by the State Department of Health Services enhances the objectivity of the panel, and it is the intent of the Legislature that the State Department of Health Services make every attempt to comply with this subdivision. (d) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the county, the city, or the county and city shall notify the Office of AIDS in the State Department of Health Services when a panel must be convened under subdivision (a) wherein HIV testing has been requested or the State Department of Health Services when a test for hepatitis B or C has been requested. Within two calendar days of the notification, a physician and surgeon appointed under paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) shall reach agreement with the Department of Corrections, the county, the city, or the county and city on a date for the hearing that complies with subdivision (b). (e) If the Office of AIDS in the State Department of Health Services or, in the case of a hepatitis B or C test, the State Department of Health Services, fails to comply with subdivision (d) or the physician and surgeon appointed under paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) fails to attend the scheduled hearing, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the county, the city, or the county and city shall appoint a physician and surgeon who has knowledge of the diagnosis, treatment, and transmission of HIV and hepatitis B and C to serve on the appeals panel to replace the physician and surgeon required under paragraph (3) of subdivision (c). The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the county, the city, or the county and city shall have standards for selecting persons under this subdivision and for their reimbursement. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Division of Juvenile Justice, the county, the city, or the county and city shall, whenever feasible, create, and utilize ongoing panels to hear appeals under this section. The membership of the panel shall meet the requirements of paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of subdivision (c). No panel shall be created pursuant to this paragraph by a county, city, or county and city correctional institution except with the prior approval of the local health officer. (f) A hearing conducted pursuant to this section shall be closed, except that each of the following persons shall have the right to attend the hearing, speak on the issues presented at the hearing, and call witnesses to testify at the hearing: (1) The chief medical officer, who may also bring staff essential to the hearing, as well as the other two members of the panel. (2) The subject of the chief medical officer’s decision, except that a subject who is a minor may attend only with the consent of his or her parent or guardian and, if the subject is a minor, his or her parent or guardian. (3) The law enforcement employee filing the report pursuant to Section 7510, or the person requesting HIV or hepatitis B or C testing pursuant to Section 7512, whichever is applicable and, if the person is a minor, his or her parent or guardian. (g) The subject of the test, or the person requesting the test pursuant to Section 7512, or who filed the report pursuant to Section 7510, whichever is applicable, may appoint a representative to attend the hearing in order to assist him or her. (h) When a hearing is sought pursuant to this section, or filed by a law enforcement employee pursuant to a request made under Section 7510, the decision shall be rendered within two days of the hearing. A unanimous vote of the panel shall be necessary in order to require that the subject of the hearing undergo HIV or hepatitis B or C testing. The criteria specified in Section 7511 for use by the chief medical officer shall also be utilized by the panel in making its decision. The decision shall be in writing, stating reasons for the decision, and shall be signed by the members. A copy shall be provided by the chief medical officer to the person requesting the test, or filing the report, whichever is applicable, to the subject of the test, and, when the subject is in a correctional institution, to the superintendent of the institution, except that, when the subject of the test or the person upon whose behalf the request for the test was made is a minor, copies shall also be provided to the parent or guardian of the minor, unless the parent or guardian cannot be located.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 7516. Section 7516.

(a) When a custodial officer or staff person of a correctional institution, observes or is informed of activity in a correctional institution that is classified as causing, or known to cause, the transmission of the AIDS virus, as described in subdivision (b), he or she may file a written report with the facility’s chief medical officer which, in the case of city or county jails, shall be the county health officer. (b) Reportable activities within a correctional institution for which a report may be filed pursuant to subdivision (a) include, but are not limited to, all of the following activities, if they could result in the transmission of AIDS, according to the standards provided for in this chapter: (1) Sexual activity resulting in exchange of bodily fluids. (2) IV drug use. (3) Incidents involving injury to inmates or staff in which bodily fluids are exchanged. (4) Tampering with medical and food supplies or medical or food equipment. (5) Tattooing among inmates. (c) The medical officer may investigate the report, conduct interviews, and determine whether the situation reported caused the probable exchange of body fluids in a manner that could result in the transmission of HIV, utilizing the criteria set forth in Section 7511, and pose a danger to the health and safety of the institution’s staff and inmate population. If the chief medical officer concludes this may have occurred, he or she shall require HIV testing of any inmate which he or she deems necessary pursuant to the investigation. Whenever an inmate is required to undergo an HIV test pursuant to this subdivision, he or she may appeal that decision as provided for in Section 7515. (d) Testing under this section may only be required by a unanimous vote of all three members of the panel. The rights guaranteed inmates under Section 7515 shall apply. When a hearing is convened pursuant to this section, the hearing shall be closed, except that both the person filing the original report and the chief medical officer as well as other panel members may also call witnesses to testify at the hearing. When a hearing is sought pursuant to this section, the decision shall be rendered within 20 days of the date the hearing is sought by the medical officer. (e) This section shall apply to situations involving individual inmates or group situations but shall not be utilized to require testing of all inmates in a correctional institution. (f) The findings of the panel shall be set forth in writing, including reasons for the panel’s decision, and shall be signed by the members of the panel. A copy of the decision shall be provided to the superintendent of the correctional institution, the subjects of the report and to any inmates or officers whom the panel concludes may have been exposed to HIV infection as established by provisions of this title.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 7516.5. Section 7516.5.

Any decision by a panel pursuant to Section 7515 or 7516 may be appealed to the superior court, either by a law enforcement employee filing a report pursuant to Section 7510, a person requesting an HIV test pursuant to Section 7512, a medical officer convening a panel pursuant to Section 7516, or any person required to be tested pursuant to a panel’s decision. A person required to be tested pursuant to Section 7512.5 may also appeal the decision to the superior court. The court shall schedule a hearing as expeditiously as possible to review the decision of the panel or a decision made pursuant to Section 7512.5. The court shall uphold the decision being appealed if that decision is based upon substantial evidence.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 7516.8. Section 7516.8.

It shall be the responsibility of the chief medical officer to see that copies of the hearing decision are distributed in accordance with requirements of this chapter.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 7517. Section 7517.

Except as otherwise permitted by this title or any provision of law, any records, including decisions of a chief medical officer or an appeals panel, compiled pursuant to this chapter shall be confidential.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 7518. Section 7518.

(a) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and local health officers shall adopt guidelines for the making of decisions pursuant to this chapter in consultation with the Office of AIDS in the State Department of Health Services for HIV testing and with the State Department of Health Services for hepatitis B and C testing. The guidelines shall be based on the latest written guidelines of HIV or hepatitis B and C transmission and infection established by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the State Department of Health Services. (b) Oversight responsibility for implementation of the applicable provisions of this title, including the oversight of reports involving parole officers and the staff of state adult and youth correctional facilities shall be vested with the Chief of Medical Services in the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Oversight responsibility at the county, the city, or the county and city level shall rest with the local health officer.

Cal. Penal Code - PEN § 7519. Section 7519.

(a) When an individual, including a minor charged with an offense for which he or she may be made a ward of the court under Section 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, has either been charged with a crime, but is not being held in a correctional institution due to his or her release, either through the granting of bail, a release on the individual’s own recognizance, or for any other reason, or been convicted of a crime, but not held in a correctional institution due to the imposition of probation, a fine, or any other alternative sentence, and the individual is required to undergo initial or followup testing pursuant to this title, the failure of the individual to submit to the test may be grounds for revocation of the individual’s release or probation or other sentence, whichever is applicable. (b) Any refusal by a person on parole, probation, mandatory supervision pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (h) of Section 1170, or postrelease community supervision to submit to testing required pursuant to this title may be ruled as a violation of the person’s parole, probation, mandatory supervision, or postrelease community supervision.
Source: CA Legislative Counsel Bulk DataURL: https://downloads.leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/pubinfo_2025.zipFetched: 6/27/2026