BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 545
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 545 (John A. Perez) - As Introduced: February 16, 2011
Policy Committee: Public
SafetyVote: 7-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: No
SUMMARY
This bill adds former fiancés/fiancées and current and former
dating relationships to the list of relationships -
spouse/former spouse, cohabitant/former cohabitant,
mother/father of the offender's child - that constitute felony
domestic violence when corporal injury results in a traumatic
condition. This offense is a wobbler, punishable by up to 1 year
in county jail and/or a fine of up to $6,000, or 2, 3, or 4
years in state prison.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Unknown, moderate annual GF costs for increased state prison
commitments. In 2009 and 2010, a combined 3,604 persons were
committed to state prison under the section amended by this
bill. If the definitional expansion in this bill results in a
1% increase in state commitments, assuming a mid-range term
and full sentence credits, annual costs could exceed $1.5
million.
The same penalty, however, can be achieved by charging under
Penal Code Section 245 (assault with a deadly weapon or force
likely to cause bodily injury), which would significantly
mitigate, if not eliminate, the cost of new commitments.
2)In addition, however, this section provides for longer state
prison sentences for repeat offenses of this section, which
would further increase annual costs in the out-years. These
costs would likely be in the low hundreds of thousands of
dollars, assuming one or two persons were committed as repeat
offenders per year.
AB 545
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3)Unknown nonreimbursable local probation costs for programs and
treatment, offset to a degree by offender reimbursements.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . The author's intent is to address a perceived
inconsistency between the relationships listed in the
misdemeanor domestic violence statute, and those listed in the
felony statute. According to the author, this bill addresses
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 law.
"The inclusion of fiancés or fiancées, 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."
2)Support . Proponents contend the differences between these
lists create a discrepancy in with respect to the protection
of victims. Proponents contend AB 1360 corrects this problem
by expanding the scope of the felony statute to cover the same
list of victims as the misdemeanor statute.
Due to what proponents consider a discrepancy, a defendant who
commits a felony battery on his or her fiancé, or fiancée, or
a person with whom the defendant currently has, or had, a
dating or engagement relationship, are not subject to the same
punishment and treatment requirements other domestic abusers
face.
For example, if probation is granted, the conditions of
probation may include: 1) that the defendant make payments to
a battered women's shelter, up to a maximum of five thousand
dollars ($5,000); 2) 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; 3) enhanced penalties for multiple
convictions within a seven-year period; and/or 4) a batterers
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treatment program).
3)Opponents , the CA Public Defenders Association do not see
current law as flawed, but as a reflection of the differences
between dating relationships and cohabitation and/or
parenthood.
4)Prior legislation , AB 1360 (J. Perez), 2009, was virtually
identical to AB 545, and was held on this committee's Suspense
File.
Analysis Prepared by : Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081