Help VETO AB 495

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Stop AB 495: Veto California’s Child Traffickers’ and Kidnappers’ Dream Bill!

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Sacramento lawmakers passed the AB 495 Child Kidnapping Bill, and now it's up to us to convince Governor Newsom to VETO this bill that most California voters demanded lawmakers vote no on!

California’s Assembly Bill 495, deceptively dubbed the “Family Preparedness Plan Act of 2025,” is a dangerous piece of legislation that opens the door wide for child traffickers and kidnappers.

Authored by Assemblywoman Celeste Rodriguez (D-San Fernando), this bill allows virtually anyone—relative or not—to claim guardianship over a child with just a one-page affidavit, no background checks, no court oversight, and no verification. With over 300,000 unaccounted-for children crossing the border and sex trafficking surpassing drugs as the most lucrative criminal enterprise, California is once again leading the nation in endangering its most vulnerable. Leave it to Democrats to devise yet another way to put children at risk!

Family abductions, which include cases where a relative (typically a parent) takes or keeps a child without legal authority, often during custody disputes, accounted for approximately 49% of all reported child abductions.

Read: “Presto, Someone Walks Away with Your Child!”

AB 495’s alarming provisions permit anyone claiming a “familial or mentoring relationship” or even a distant connection through marriage—up to five degrees removed, including non-blood relatives like step-cousins or ex-spouses—to seize control of a child if they simply state the parents “cannot be found.” This flimsy affidavit grants authority over a child’s schooling, medical procedures, and residence, enabling predators to hide in plain sight. Schools are barred from contacting Child Protective Services when a stranger picks up a child, relying solely on a driver’s license and an unverified form. This isn’t tailored to immigration emergencies—it applies to all children, inviting out-of-state kidnappers to exploit California’s lax system.

Nothing prevents parents from updating authorized pickup lists at the start of the school year to close any gap for predators, rendering AB 495 unnecessary and reckless.

The state’s duty is to protect parentless children through established procedures with oversight, not hand them over to anyone with a piece of paper! This bill ensures unaccounted-for children vanish into the shadows of trafficking networks, leaving grieving parents with no recourse.

Lawmakers temporarily pulled this bill that was racing for passage after a major parental rights rally in Sacramento, but, as warned, it passed the Senate Appropriations Committee and State Senate, and our only hope is to call for a Governor's Veto!