Amanda Simmons Testifies in Support of SB 1190, the Safe Passage for Youth Act, Before the Assembly Human Services Committee

On June 30, 2026, Amanda Simmons testified in support of Senate Bill 1190 (Grove; coauthors Krell and Lee) — the Safe Passage for Youth Act — at its first Assembly policy hearing, before the Committee on Human Services. The committee voted 7–0 to pass the bill and re-referred it to the Committee on Communications and Conveyance.

Youth transport companies collect children from their homes, often before dawn, and deliver them to residential programs. In California, that industry has operated with almost no oversight. SB 1190 would require the Department of Social Services to license and regulate youth transportation companies operating in the state; extend existing escort-service protections to every transport of a minor, not only those bound for out-of-state facilities; require written policies addressing minors’ safety and welfare; and bar the use of behavioral restraints unless necessary to prevent imminent serious physical harm with no less restrictive alternative available.

This advocacy is personal as well as professional. As a survivor of institutional child abuse and a core advocate for the federal Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act, signed into law in December 2024, Amanda has spent years documenting what happens to children in the gaps between licensed facilities — including the trip itself.

SB 1190 passed the Senate 33–0 on May 22, 2026. An earlier Assembly hearing set for June 16 was canceled at the author’s request.

SOURCE LINKS

•  Assembly Human Services Committee hearing — June 30, 2026. Amanda’s testimony at 45:20–53:55 (approx. 8.5 minutes). https://www.assembly.ca.gov/media/assembly-human-services-committee-20260630

•  LegiScan bill history — legiscan.com/CA/bill/SB1190/2025