Crimes: rape.

Senators Wahab, Rubio, and Cervantes frame a reform of California’s rape law that removes the spousal exception and requires proof that the alleged victim was incapable of giving legal consent at the time of intercourse due to a mental disorder or developmental or physical disability. The core change centers on recasting rape as a crime that hinges on evidence of incapacity to consent tied to disability or mental condition, rather than treating disability alone as dispositive.

The bill establishes an evidentiary framework in which incapacity must be proven as an element of the offense. It specifies that a person with a disability is not automatically deemed unable to consent, and it requires the prosecution to show that the accused knew or reasonably should have known about the alleged victim’s incapacity. The incapacity assessment references external standards for mitigating measures and voluntary supports and directs consideration of these factors in determining consent. In addition to the disability-based framework, the bill preserves existing circumstances under which rape can be charged, including force, threats, unconsciousness, intoxication, deceit, and coercion, now evaluated through the lens of incapacity to consent. Definitions related to duress, incapacity, and menace are presented to guide those determinations, drawing on regulatory and welfare-and-services provisions for context.

From a fiscal and implementation perspective, the bill’s digest alerts that expanding the scope of the crime could create a state-mandated local program. The enacted text, however, includes a no-reimbursement provision, stating that local agencies would not receive state reimbursement for costs arising from changes to the crime’s definition. The measure underwent fiscal review and local-program considerations, with no explicit appropriations included. Practically, prosecutors and investigators may face new or intensified needs for expert testimony and forensic evaluation to establish incapacity, while judges would apply the updated evidentiary framework and cross-referenced standards.

Timeline and broader context: the measure progressed through the California Legislature during the 2025–2026 regular session, with introduction in early February, amendments in May and September, and passage by both houses in September 2025 before enrollment. The text does not specify an explicit effective date within the provided excerpt. In policy terms, the reform aligns the rape statute with a framework that emphasizes the circumstances surrounding an alleged victim’s capacity to consent, particularly in cases involving disabilities, and it relies on established regulatory and welfare provisions to inform capacity determinations.