SB 577 is now law. Here is what changes for survivors, and when.

Update, October 3, 2026: Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 577 on September 30, 2026. It is Chapter 971 of the Statutes of 2026. Because it is a non-urgency bill, it takes effect on January 1, 2027. This post has been rewritten to reflect the law as enacted.

What changes

• A shorter discovery window for abuse before 2024. Today a survivor of pre-2024 abuse may file until age 40, or within five years of discovering that adult psychological injury was caused by the abuse, whichever is later. Starting January 1, 2027, the five years becomes three (Code Civ. Proc. § 340.11(a)(1), as amended). The age-40 rule does not change, and abuse on or after January 1, 2024 still has no deadline.
• A higher standard of proof against public entities for survivors over 40. New section 340.12 applies to pre-2024 abuse cases against a public entity (a school district, a county, a state agency) filed on or after January 1, 2026 by a survivor who is 40 or older. The survivor must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the entity knew of misconduct that resulted in the abuse and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent it, and that it negligently failed to carry out a mandatory duty. Courts must also weigh specified factors when reviewing large verdicts, and public entities may elect to pay judgments over time.
• Certificates of merit filed with the complaint. A survivor who is 40 or older must file the attorney’s and mental health practitioner’s certificates of merit together with the complaint; a clerk may not accept a complaint without them.
• No treble damages against public entities. The cover-up treble damages provision now expressly does not apply to a public entity.
• No refiling after five years. A case against an institution that is dismissed without prejudice may not be refiled if five or more years have passed since it was first filed.
• Limits on joint liability. In cases filed on or after January 1, 2027, a public entity found less than 15 percent at fault is not jointly liable for a survivor’s economic damages.
• Prevention requirements. Local governments and school agencies must adopt codes of conduct and sexual abuse prevention plans by December 1, 2027, and report to the Attorney General.
• Penalties for bad-faith claims. An attorney who brings a childhood sexual assault claim in bad faith, as the statute defines it, faces a $25,000 civil penalty per violation.

What does not change

There is still no deadline for abuse that occurred on or after January 1, 2024. Childhood sexual abuse claims still do not require a six-month government claim before suit. And claims against private institutions, such as churches, private schools, and youth organizations, are affected only by the shorter discovery window, not by the new proof requirements, which apply to public entities.

What to do now

If your abuse happened before 2024 and you are relying on the discovery rule rather than the age-40 rule, the difference between five years and three years could decide whether your claim is open. Nothing in the new law shortens the window for cases that are already on file, so a case filed before January 1, 2027 is judged under today’s five-year rule. If you are over 40 and the responsible institution is a public entity, the new proof standard already applies to cases filed this year, and the facts that satisfy it, what the institution knew and when, are exactly what an early investigation is for. A confidential conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing. More on California’s deadlines.