BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                       



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                  AB 1738|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  AB 1738
          Author:   Tran (R)
          Amended:  5/24/10 in Senate
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE  :  7-0, 6/15/10
          AYES:  Leno, Cogdill, Cedillo, Hancock, Huff, Steinberg,  
            Wright
           
          SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  10-0, 6/28/10
          AYES:  Kehoe, Cox, Alquist, Corbett, Denham, Leno, Price,  
            Walters, Wolk, Yee
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Wyland

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  74-0, 4/22/10 (Consent) - See last page  
            for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Domestic violence:  incident reports

           SOURCE  :     Conference of California Bar Associations


           DIGEST  :    This bill expands the current law providing  
          domestic violence victims with a free copy of the domestic  
          violence incident report to include family members and  
          additional representatives, as specified.

           ANALYSIS  :    Current law requires state and local law  
          enforcement agencies to provide, without charging a fee,  
          one copy of all domestic violence incident report face  
          sheets, one copy of all domestic violence incident reports,  
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          or both, to a victim of domestic violence, or to his/her  
          representative if the victim is deceased, upon request.   
          (Section 6228 of the Family Code [FAM])

          Current law provides that, for purposes of this section, a  
          representative of the victim where the victim is deceased,  
          means any of the following:

           The surviving spouse.
           A surviving child of the decedent who has attained 18  
            years of age.
           A domestic partner.
           A surviving parent of the decedent.
           A surviving adult relative.
           The public administrator if one has been appointed.  (FAM  
            Section 6228(g))

          This bill revises this list to include in this authority  
          the "personal representative of the victim, as defined in  
          Section 58 of the Probate Code, if one is appointed."

          This bill additionally authorizes "either of" the following  
          persons as representatives entitled to this information  
          where the victim is not deceased:
           
           A parent, sibling, or adult child of the victim, who  
            shall present to law enforcement his or her  
            identification and a signed authorization by the victim  
            allowing that family member to act on behalf of the  
            victim.

           An attorney for the victim, who shall present to law  
            enforcement his or her identification and written proof  
            that he or she is the attorney for the victim.

           A conservator or guardian of the victim.
           
           This bill provides that domestic violence incident report  
          face sheets may not be provided to a representative of the  
          victim unless both of the following conditions are met:

          1. The representative presents his or her identification,  
             such as a current, valid driver's license, a  
             state-issued identification card, or a passport.

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          2. The representative presents one of the following:

             A.    If the victim is deceased, a certified copy of the  
                death certificate or other satisfactory evidence of  
                the death of the victim at the time of the request.

             B.    If the victim is alive, a written authorization  
                signed by the victim making him/her the victim's  
                personal representative.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

          According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

                         Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions      2010-11     2011-12     2012-13     Fund  

          Expands state mandate         Likely minor, possible  
          reimbursable        General/
                                                            Local

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  6/29/10)

          Conference of California Bar Associations (source)
          Crime Victims Action Alliance
          Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State  
          Bar
          Peace Officers Research Association of California


           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The author states:

            "Current law authorizes a victim of domestic violence (or  
            the representative of a deceased victim of domestic  
            violence ?) to obtain one copy of the domestic violence  
            incident report or domestic violence incident report face  
            sheets, to support the evidentiary showing required to  
            obtain a temporary restraining order or protective order,  
            and for other purposes.  However, the law does not permit  
            the victim to authorize a representative, including the  
            attorney hired to represent the victim in the matter, to  

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            obtain a copy of the incident report or face sheets on  
            the victim's behalf; a representative of the victim may  
            only obtain a copy of the incident report or face sheets  
            if the victim is deceased.  Thus, a victim who is  
            injured, has moved to another location, or is otherwise  
            unable to appear in person, cannot obtain a copy of the  
            incident report or face sheet.  Existing law further does  
            not authorize the conservator of a victim who has been  
            determined incapacitated or the guardian of a minor  
            victim to obtain a copy of the reports or face sheets on  
            the victim's behalf.

            "AB 1738 ? would permit a victim of domestic violence to  
            authorize a member of her or his immediate family  
            (representative to obtain a copy of the incident report  
            or face sheet on her or his behalf.  It would also  
            authorize the attorney of the victim hired to represent  
            the victim in the matter related to the domestic violence  
            and the conservator or guardian of the victim to obtain a  
            copy of the incident report or face sheet.  All  
            authorizations would be subject to the existing  
            prohibition against the reports or face sheets being  
            provided to 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."  
           

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
          AYES:  Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Bass, Beall,  
            Bill Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block,  
            Bradford, Brownley, Buchanan, Charles Calderon, Carter,  
            Chesbro, Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon,  
            DeVore, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,  
            Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,  
            Gilmore, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill,  
            Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Lieu, Logue, Bonnie Lowenthal,  
            Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava, Nestande, Niello,  
            Nielsen, V. Manuel Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas,  
            Saldana, Silva, Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra  
            Strickland, Swanson, Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran,  
            Villines, Yamada, John A. Perez
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Blumenfield, Caballero, Huber, Huffman,  
            Norby, Vacancy

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          RJG:mw  6/29/10   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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