Newsom Signs Campus Sexual Violence Laws As Horrific Case Sheds Spotlight On Issue

SACRAMENTO, CA — California colleges and universities will face new training and reporting requirements under one of several public safety bills Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Wednesday, as allegations stemming from a 2024 sexual assault at Cornell University bring renewed attention to sexual violence on campus.

Newsom's office said the package was signed as "disturbing allegations of sexual violence on college campuses" draw renewed national attention. One case has drawn particular attention: A woman filed a lawsuit Sept. 16 claiming seven men sexually assaulted her at a Cornell University fraternity house in October 2024 after she was pressured to consume drugs and alcohol. None of the men were ever charged. This week, CBS published troubling excerpts of a group chat between the men involved on the night of the alleged attack, prompting students, celebrities and politicians to demand more protections for victims and accountability for rapists.

Against that backdrop, one of the measures signed by Newsom, Assembly Bill 1845 by Assemblymember Maggy Krell, will require covered California colleges to address human trafficking and improve procedures for identifying and reporting sex crimes.

Beginning July 1, 2027, employees at public colleges will have to complete the training annually. It must address sex and labor trafficking, warning signs, people who may be at heightened risk and procedures for reporting suspected trafficking.

The law also expands existing campus safety rules to include human trafficking. Colleges will have to update agreements with local law enforcement to establish responsibility for investigating trafficking cases and revise reporting procedures to include trafficking alongside certain violent crimes, sexual assaults and hate crimes. The law includes protections intended to keep a victim's identifying information confidential unless the victim agrees to its disclosure, with limited exceptions involving ongoing safety threats.

"Students can be particularly vulnerable to exploitation for a variety of reasons including financial insecurity and housing instability," Krell said in a statement announcing the bill's signing.

Newsom also signed SB 1056 by Sen. Tim Grayson, which creates new privacy safeguards for adult victims whose sexually explicit images or recordings become evidence in certain criminal cases.

Under the law, courts in specified cases must issue protective orders governing the disclosure of that evidence. The orders must protect the victim's privacy and prevent unnecessary copying or distribution while preserving a defendant's right to a fair trial and access needed to prepare a defense.

SB 1056 was inspired in part by Denise Huskins Quinn, who was kidnapped and sexually assaulted in 2015 in the Bay Area. Huskins Quinn and her husband, Aaron Quinn, pushed for stronger safeguards after sexually explicit evidence documenting the assaults was made available during the criminal case, according to the governor's office.

"At its core, SB 1056 is about dignity," Grayson said.

The broader package also includes measures aimed at domestic violence, stalking, protective-order violations, human trafficking prosecutions and other public safety issues.

"Public safety is about more than statistics — it is about people, families and communities," Newsom said Wednesday.

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