Cal. PEN § 5009
This is the official text of Cal. PEN § 5009, part of California’s Penal Code — defines crimes and sets criminal procedure in California.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
(a) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature that all prisoners shall be afforded reasonable opportunities to exercise religious freedom.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that all prisoners shall be afforded religious grooming, clothing, and headwear accommodations in accordance with Section 2607.
(b) (1) Except in extraordinary circumstances, upon the transfer of an inmate to another state prison institution, any member of the clergy or spiritual adviser who has been previously authorized by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to visit that inmate shall be granted visitation privileges at the institution to which the inmate is transferred within 72 hours of the transfer.
(2) Visitations by members of the clergy or spiritual advisers shall be subject to the same rules, regulations, and policies relating to general visitations applicable at the institution to which the inmate is transferred.
(3) A departmental or volunteer chaplain who has ministered to or advised an inmate incarcerated in state prison may, voluntarily and without compensation, continue to minister to or advise the inmate while they are on parole, provided that the departmental or volunteer chaplain so notifies the warden and the parolee’s parole agent in writing.
(c) Nothing in this section limits the department’s ability to prohibit a departmental chaplain from ministering to a parolee, or to exclude a volunteer chaplain from department facilities, if either is found to be in violation of any law or regulation and that violation would ordinarily be grounds for adverse action or denial of access to a facility or person under the department’s custody.
(2) It is the intent of the Legislature that all prisoners shall be afforded religious grooming, clothing, and headwear accommodations in accordance with Section 2607.
(b) (1) Except in extraordinary circumstances, upon the transfer of an inmate to another state prison institution, any member of the clergy or spiritual adviser who has been previously authorized by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to visit that inmate shall be granted visitation privileges at the institution to which the inmate is transferred within 72 hours of the transfer.
(2) Visitations by members of the clergy or spiritual advisers shall be subject to the same rules, regulations, and policies relating to general visitations applicable at the institution to which the inmate is transferred.
(3) A departmental or volunteer chaplain who has ministered to or advised an inmate incarcerated in state prison may, voluntarily and without compensation, continue to minister to or advise the inmate while they are on parole, provided that the departmental or volunteer chaplain so notifies the warden and the parolee’s parole agent in writing.
(c) Nothing in this section limits the department’s ability to prohibit a departmental chaplain from ministering to a parolee, or to exclude a volunteer chaplain from department facilities, if either is found to be in violation of any law or regulation and that violation would ordinarily be grounds for adverse action or denial of access to a facility or person under the department’s custody.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Dealing with a criminal defense matter in California?
See all California Criminal Defense lawyers
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.