19.7K GAVIN NEWSOM JUST SIGNED DANGEROUS BILL AB495 INTO LAW It allows any adult up to a 5-degree relative to use a 1 page form to take control over your child. No parental signature. No background check.

Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 495 on March 23, 2026, according to the Alliance for Children’s Rights, which co-sponsored the legislation. That confirms the post’s central timing claim, but not its description of what the law permits.allianceforchildrensrights.orgallianceforchildrensrights.orgAB 495 The available descriptions identify AB 495 as the Family Preparedness Plan Act, intended to help families arrange care when a parent is detained or deported. That purpose is materially different from authorizing an unrelated adult to seize custody of a child. Some coverage uses alarmed language, saying the law broadens who may assert caregiver status when parents are unavailable. That concern may reflect disagreement over the bill’s safeguards or scope, but the provided material does not establish the post’s specific claims about a five-degree relative, a one-page form, the absence of a parental signature, or the absence of a background check. Snopes’ search-page summary also indicates that the law was labeled online as a “legalized kidnapping” bill, which describes the controversy rather than proving the allegation.snopes.comsnopes.comCalifornia Articles | Page 2+2 more

The sources provided do not include the enacted statutory text or an official legislative analysis detailing every eligibility and verification requirement. On this record, the signing is verified, while the claim that AB 495 lets any adult take control of a child through an unrestricted form is an exaggerated and unsupported characterization.