Lisae Jordan, Esq, Executive Director and Counsel, Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault (MCASA), Kayleigh Kozak, Chairman Andy Biggs (AZ-05), Congressman Brad Knott (NC-13). Rachel Wright, National Policy Director, Right on Crime, CA State Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares (R-Santa Clarita)
Today California State Senator Suzette Martinez Valladares (R-Santa Clarita) testified before the House Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance in support of the federal version of Kayleigh's Law, legislation that would allow judges to issue lifetime protective orders against dangerous offenders at the time of sentencing.
The law is named after Kayleigh Kozak, a crime survivor who was repeatedly forced to return to court to renew restraining orders against a perpetrator convicted of abusing her as a minor. Kayleigh was forced to relive her trauma - over and over - simply to maintain the protections she already had.
"We've built a system with gaps and the consequences are real," said Sen Valladares. "Survivors who did everything right - reported the crime, testified, obtained protection orders - are being failed by a system that lets those protections expire. If someone is dangerous enough to commit a serious violent crime, a survivor should not have to keep going back to court just to stay safe."
Kayleigh's Law is already in place in multiple states. Sen Valladares authored the California version of the bill SB 1395. Despite organized opposition, a narrowed version of the bill passed the California Senate Public Safety Committee last week with unanimous bipartisan support and now advances to the Senate Appropriations Committee. The amended bill would provide victims of child felony sex offenses up to 25 years of protection, which is a significant step towards Kayleigh’s Law.
Sen. Valladares testified before the subcommittee to share the California experience and make the case for a federal law that would extend these protections nationwide. The federal version would go further than California's bill, allowing judges to issue lifetime protective orders at sentencing for the most serious offenders.
"In California, we've passed law after law reducing penalties, expanding early release, limiting tools for law enforcement, and creating more barriers for survivors," said Sen Valladares. "Kayleigh's Law goes in the other direction. It provides certainty where today there is none, protecting due process while prioritizing public safety and survivors' rights. Survivors of violent crime deserve permanent protection, not temporary relief."
Background: SB 1395 — Kayleigh's Law - Under current California law, protective orders for childhood victims of felony sex offenses last just four to seven years. When those orders expire, survivors are forced to return to court and face their abusers again simply to renew their protection. A child harmed at a young age can lose court-ordered protection before ever reaching adulthood. SB 1395 gives judges the discretion to issue protective orders lasting up to 25 years, closing that dangerous gap.