BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  AB 1360
                                                                  Page  1

          ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
          AB 1360 (John A. Perez) 
          As Amended  June 2, 2009
          Majority vote

           PUBLIC SAFETY       7-0         APPROPRIATIONS      14-3        
           
           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 
          |Ayes:|Solorio, Hagman,          |Ayes:|De Leon, Ammiano, Charles    |
          |     |Furutani, Gilmore, Hill,  |     |Calderon, Davis, Fuentes,    |
          |     |Ma, Skinner               |     |Hall, Miller,                |
          |     |                          |     |John A. Perez, Price,        |
          |     |                          |     |Skinner, Solorio, Audra      |
          |     |                          |     |Strickland, Torlakson,       |
          |     |                          |     |Krekorian                    |
          |     |                          |     |                             |
          |-----+--------------------------+-----+-----------------------------|
          |     |                          |Nays:|Nielsen, Duvall, Harkey      |
          |     |                          |     |                             |
           -------------------------------------------------------------------- 

           SUMMARY  :  Expands the categories of relationships that  
          constitute felony domestic violence resulting in a traumatic  
          condition to include former fiances/fiancees, as well as current  
          and former dating relationships.   

           EXISTING LAW  :

          1)Provides any person who willfully inflicts upon a person who  
            is his or her spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former  
            cohabitant, or the mother or father of his or her child,  
            corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition, is guilty  
            of a felony, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by  
            imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four  
            years, or in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a  
            fine of up to $6,000 or by both that fine and imprisonment.  

          2)States that holding oneself out to be the husband or wife of  
            the person with whom one is cohabiting is not necessary to  
            constitute cohabitation as the term is used in this section.  

          3)Defines a "traumatic condition" a condition of the body, such  
            as a wound or external or internal injury, whether of a minor  
            or serious nature, caused by a physical force.  









                                                                  AB 1360
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           FISCAL EFFECT  :  According to the Assembly Appropriations  
          Committee, unknown, moderate annual General Fund costs,  
          potentially in excess of $150,000 for increased state prison  
          commitments.  The same penalty, however, can be achieved by  
          charging under Penal Code 245 (assault with a deadly weapon or  
          force likely to cause bodily injury), which would significantly  
          mitigate the cost of new commitments.  Because this section  
          provides for longer state prison sentences for repeat offenses  
          of this section, this bill could increase annual costs in the  
          out-years.

           COMMENTS  :  According to the author, "AB 1360 seeks to eliminate  
          an inconsistency in domestic violence laws by amending Penal  
          Code Section 273.5 to expand the scope of felony domestic  
          violence to include relationships found in other domestic  
          violence laws.

          "Specifically, this bill adds to the list of persons who  
          can be charged with felony domestic violence a defendant  
          who is a fiance or fiancee, or a person with whom he or she  
          currently has, or previously had, a dating or engagement  
          relationship.  

          "The prevalence of domestic violence has been an  
          increasingly important focus of the Legislature and law  
          enforcement as California has witnessed rates of domestic  
          violence increase.  In order to adequately respond to cases  
          of domestic violence, state laws must be consistent with  
          respect to who qualifies for this crime.  

          "The exclusion of these relationships makes the felony  
          domestic violence statute inconsistent with other domestic  
          violence laws with respect to who may qualify for that  
          crime.  Under current law, the list of individuals covered  
          by California's misdemeanor domestic violence law [Penal  
          Code Section 243(e)(1)] is significantly broader than the  
          individuals covered by our felony domestic violence law  
          (Penal Code Section 273.5).

          "Because of this flaw, a defendant who commits a felony battery  
          on his or her fiance or fiancee, or a person with whom the  
          defendant currently has, or has previously had, a dating or  
          engagement relationship are not subject to the same punishments  
          and treatment requirements that other domestic abusers are  
          subject to upon conviction.  For example, if probation is  








                                                                  AB 1360
                                                                  Page  3

          granted, the conditions of probation may include:  (a) That the  
          defendant make payments to a battered women's shelter, up to a  
          maximum of $5,000, pursuant to Section 1203.097, and/or (b) That  
          the defendant reimburse the victim for reasonable costs of  
          counseling and other reasonable expenses that the court finds  
          are the direct result of the defendant's offense; enhanced  
          penalties for multiple convictions within a seven-year period;  
          requirement that an individual participate in a one-year  
          batterers treatment program.

          "State law also requires that domestic violence crimes track  
          annual deaths when the deceased was a current or former spouse,  
          current or former fiance or fiancee, or current or former dating  
          partner (Penal Code Section 11163.6).  This discrepancy in the  
          felony domestic violence statute impacts the reporting of  
          domestic violence cases.  By not including the same  
          relationships in the Penal Code Section 273.5 that are used for  
          annual reporting, the state relies on inaccurate domestic  
          violence statistics.  

          "The inclusion of fiances or fiancees, and current or  
          former dating and engagement partners in Penal Code Section  
          273.5 will make the felony statute consistent with all  
          other domestic violence laws.  It will enable all offenders  
          to be charged with the appropriate crimes and sentenced to  
          the appropriate punishments.  And it will allow for more  
          accurate statistical reporting of domestic violence  
          occurrences."

          Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this  
          bill.
           

          Analysis Prepared by  :    Gabriel Caswell / PUB. S. / (916)  
          319-3744 


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