BILL NUMBER: SB 1265 CHAPTERED 09/05/02 CHAPTER 377 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 5, 2002 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 4, 2002 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 19, 2002 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 15, 2002 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 9, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 21, 2002 AMENDED IN SENATE FEBRUARY 19, 2002 INTRODUCED BY Senator Alpert JANUARY 14, 2002 An act to amend Section 6228 of the Family Code, relating to domestic violence. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1265, Alpert. Domestic violence incident report. Existing law requires state and local law enforcement agencies to provide one copy of all domestic violence incident reports, one copy of all domestic violence incident report face sheets, or both, to a victim of domestic violence, upon request. Existing law requires persons requesting these copies to present state or local law enforcement with identification at the time a request is made. This bill would also require state and local law enforcement agencies to provide those documents to a representative of the victim, as defined, if the victim is deceased. The bill would require any person requesting those documents to present his or her identification, as specified, and, if that person is a representative of the victim, a certified copy of the death certificate or other satisfactory evidence of the death of the victim. By imposing additional duties on local officials, the bill would create a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed $1,000,000. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 6228 of the Family Code is amended to read: 6228. (a) State and local law enforcement agencies shall provide, without charging a fee, one copy of all domestic violence incident report face sheets, one copy of all domestic violence incident reports, or both, to a victim of domestic violence, or to his or her representative if the victim is deceased, as defined in subdivision (g), upon request. For purposes of this section, "domestic violence" has the definition given in Section 6211. (b) A copy of a domestic violence incident report face sheet shall be made available during regular business hours to a victim of domestic violence or his or her representative no later than 48 hours after being requested by the victim or his or her representative, unless the state or local law enforcement agency informs the victim or his or her representative of the reasons why, for good cause, the domestic violence incident report face sheet is not available, in which case the domestic violence incident report face sheet shall be made available to the victim or his or her representative no later than five working days after the request is made. (c) A copy of the domestic violence incident report shall be made available during regular business hours to a victim of domestic violence or his or her representative no later than five working days after being requested by a victim or his or her representative, unless the state or local law enforcement agency informs the victim or his or her representative of the reasons why, for good cause, the domestic violence incident report is not available, in which case the domestic violence incident report shall be made available to the victim or his or her representative no later than 10 working days after the request is made. (d) Any person requesting copies under this section shall present state or local law enforcement with his or her identification, such as a current, valid driver's license, a state-issued identification card, or a passport and, if the person is a representative of the victim, a certified copy of the death certificate or other satisfactory evidence of the death of the victim at the time a request is made. (e) This section shall apply to requests for face sheets or reports made within five years from the date of completion of the domestic violence incidence report. (f) This section shall be known, and may be cited, as the Access to Domestic Violence Reports Act of 1999. (g) (1) For purposes of this section, a representative of the victim means any of the following: (A) The surviving spouse. (B) A surviving child of the decedent who has attained 18 years of age. (C) A domestic partner, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 297. (D) A surviving parent of the decedent. (E) A surviving adult relative. (F) The public administrator if one has been appointed. (2) A representative of the victim does not include any person who has been convicted of murder in the first degree, as defined in Section 189 of the Penal Code, of the victim, or any person identified in the incident report face sheet as a suspect. Domestic violence incident report face sheets may not be provided to a representative of the victim unless the representative presents his or her identification, such as a current, valid driver's license, a state-issued identification card, or a passport and a certified copy of the death certificate or other satisfactory evidence of the death of the victim at the time of the request. SEC. 2. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000), reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.