WeVote
Log In

Bill

Bill

AB 1739

Healing arts: sexual exploitation: clergy.

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Chris Ward

Clergy who provide therapeutic services would face the same prohibitions against sexual exploitation as other licensed practitioners, with criminal penalties.

Read second time and amended.
#healingarts #clergy #sexualexploitation
0
WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · AB 1739

Summary of AB 1739 (2025-2026, California)

Overview

  • Bill: AB 1739
  • Introduced by: Assembly Member Ward (Co-sponsor: Chris Ward)
  • Session: California 2025-2026
  • Topic: Healing arts; sexual exploitation; clergy
  • Purpose: Expand protections against sexual exploitation to include members of the clergy when providing therapeutic or psychotherapeutic services, by amending the Business and Professions Code.

What the bill would do (key provisions)

  • Amend Section 729 of the Business and Professions Code to add a new protected category:
    • A member of the clergy, or someone who holds themselves out to be a member of the clergy, would be subject to the same prohibitions against sexual exploitation as physicians/surgeons, psychotherapists, research psychoanalysts, student research psychoanalysts, and alcohol and drug abuse counselors.
  • Prohibited conduct:
    • A member of the clergy providing therapeutic services (as defined) may not engage in sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, or sexual contact with a current or former patient, client, or member of the congregation, particularly when the relationship ends primarily to facilitate such acts.
    • A violation can occur within two years after termination of therapeutic services, unless the provider refers the patient/client/congregation member to an independent licensed or qualified professional for treatment.
  • Penalties:
    • Violations are crimes punishable by imprisonment and/or fines, mirroring penalties applicable to other listed professions.
    • Penalties scale with the number of victims and prior sexual exploitation convictions, including options such as:
    • Up to 6 months in county jail or a fine up to $1,000 (single victim, no prior conviction).
    • For two or more victims (or with prior convictions), more severe penalties, including imprisonment up to 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years, and fines up to $10,000.
  • Definitions (section (c)):
    • “Therapeutic services” include counseling, mental health guidance, spiritual counseling involving emotional/psychological/behavioral treatment, or similar services, whether or not licensed.
    • “Member of the clergy” includes priests, ministers, rabbis, ordained religious practitioners, etc.
    • “Member of the congregation” means a person within the clergy member’s congregation when the clergy member provides therapeutic services.
    • “Intimate part” and “touching” align with definitions in Penal Code 243.4.
    • Other terms (e.g., “psychotherapist,” “alcohol and drug abuse counselor”) retain their existing meanings.
  • Protections for confidentiality:
    • Investigations cannot rely on disclosure of confidential files from other patients/clients/congregation members in related cases.
  • Clarifications:
    • Inclusion of clergy in this section does not automatically extend the Psychology Licensing Law to duly ordained clergy, or religious practitioners doing psychological work, as long as they do not claim to be licensed to practice psychology.
    • The bill expresses legislative intent that clergy providing therapeutic services be governed by a code of conduct at least as stringent as the prohibitions described in this section, with penalties aligned to similar offenses.

Who would be affected

  • Primary: Members of the clergy who provide therapeutic or psychotherapeutic services to patients, clients, or congregation members.
  • Indirect: Religious organizations, congregations, and clergy who offer spiritual counseling or mental health guidance as part of their duties.
  • The bill also specifies that it creates a state crime; local agencies may incur costs associated with enforcement.

Procedural and timeline notes

  • Legislative history indicates amendments were made in April 2026; the bill passed committee votes and advanced through the Assembly process.
  • As a crime-expanding measure, it includes a state-mandated local program and notes that no reimbursement is required for certain costs under California law.
  • Current status (as of the provided text): Amended and re-referred in committee with final action recorded in April 2026.

Practical takeaways

  • If enacted, clergy who provide therapeutic services would be subject to the same prohibitions against sexual exploitation as other licensed or recognized professionals.
  • Violations could carry criminal penalties, with enhanced penalties for multiple victims or prior offenses.
  • The bill emphasizes a professional-standard approach for clergy conduct in therapeutic contexts, while explicitly limiting the scope to therapeutic services and not broad licensing requirements for clergy as a whole.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

Sign in to ask a question.