Last Friday, the California Senate and Assembly approved AB 495 along strict party lines, with Democrats in support and Republicans in opposition. The bill, authored by Assemblymember Celeste Rodriguez (D-Los Angeles), now sits on Governor Gavin Newsom’s desk. He must decide by October 12 whether to sign it into law or issue a veto.
California Family Council is deeply alarmed that AB 495 has advanced this far. Despite amendments made just days before the final vote, the bill still weakens parental rights and leaves children vulnerable to exploitation. We urge every concerned parent to contact Governor Newsom and respectfully request that he veto AB 495.
Amendments: Window Dressing, Not Protection
In response to overwhelming opposition from thousands of parents, the author amended AB 495 to remove two controversial provisions:
- Language allowing unrelated adults with a “mentoring relationship” to sign the Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit.
- Language explicitly stating that a parent’s signature was not required.
While these tweaks may appear to address concerns, they do little to fix the bill’s fundamental flaws. AB 495 still expands the use of the Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit, a decades-old legal form that permits non-parents to make medical and educational decisions for a child, solely reserved for parents or legal guardians. The bill continues to allow individuals to claim kinship “within the fifth degree” without requiring notarization, verification, or parental consent. In practice, this means a stranger could falsely claim to be a relative and assume authority over a child’s schooling or healthcare decisions. The affidavit states schools or medical facilities have “no obligation” to verify the affidavit signer is the person they say they are.
What Supporters Claimed
Supporters framed AB 495 as compassionate legislation designed to help immigrant families prepare for emergencies. Senator Jesse Arreguín (D-Oakland) and others insisted the measure simply ensures “continuity” for children when parents are detained or deported. They argued it empowers parents to plan ahead and prevents kids from being routed into foster care.
The California Catholic Conference, the official public policy voice of the Catholic Church in California, even issued a statement supporting the bill, calling it “pro-family” and “pro-child,” and portraying the affidavit as a long-standing safeguard for vulnerable children. Glossing over the dangers posed by the Caregiver’s Authorization Affidavit, the CCC press release falsely implies that the affidavit involves parents by stating it “allows an adult already known to the family and caring for the child to communicate with schools and medical providers on the child’s behalf.” But how can this be so, when the person signing the affidavit doesn’t have to involve the parents at all?
These claims gloss over the bill’s dangerous deficiencies. Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Yucaipa) made a similar point on the Senate floor when she said the affidavit process “has exposed the massive safety risk our current caregiver authorization affidavit process poses.” She pointed out that someone could make important decisions for a child by “simply filling out an eight-question form that is not required to be notarized, checking a box to indicate that they are a relative, and presenting a form of ID that is never verified for authenticity.”
“It seems unbelievable that an individual could assume care of a child and make medical decisions for them without parents’ consent,” she said.
Ochoa Bogh’s sober warning underscored the heart of the matter: AB 495 expands a loophole that predators or bad actors could exploit, all while bypassing parental knowledge or consent.
A Direct Assault on Parental Rights
California Family Council has consistently warned that AB 495 represents a direct violation of God-given parental rights. Parents — not bureaucrats, not schools, and not loosely defined “relatives” — are the ones entrusted by God to protect and raise their children (Deut. 6:6–7). This bill threatens that sacred bond by allowing others to step into a parental role without genuine safeguards.
“AB 495 still leaves the door wide open for fraud and abuse,” said CFC Vice President Greg Burt. “The so-called amendments were nothing more than window dressing. Parents must be notified and give consent before anyone else is authorized to make educational and medical decisions for their child. Anything less is a betrayal of parental rights and an invitation for exploitation.”
Call to Action
Governor Gavin Newsom has until October 14 to act. We are calling on every parent, grandparent, and concerned Californian to call the Governor’s office today and urge him to veto AB 495.
California’s children deserve real protections, not flimsy affidavits that strip parents of their God-given authority.
