BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2467
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 2467 (Hueso)
As Amended May 25, 2012
Majority vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Knight, Hall, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Harkey, |
| |Hagman, Mitchell, Skinner | |Blumenfield, Bradford, |
| | | |Charles Calderon, Campos, |
| | | |Davis, Donnelly, Gatto, |
| | | |Ammiano, Hill, Lara, |
| | | |Mitchell, Nielsen, Norby, |
| | | |Solorio, Wagner |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes a court to order electronic monitoring of a
defendant where a protective order has been issued to protect a
victim of a violent crime committed by the defendant during the
pendency of the criminal case. Specifically, this bill:
1)Authorizes a court to place a defendant on electronic
monitoring during the pendency of a criminal case for a
violent crime whenever a protective order is placed on the
defendant to protect the victim from all contact by the
defendant if the local government adopts a policy to authorize
electronic monitoring of defendants for this purpose.
2)Requires the court to order the defendant to pay for
electronic monitoring if the court determines that the
defendant has the ability to pay for the monitoring device.
3)Authorizes a court to order electronic monitoring to be paid
by the local government that adopted the policy to authorize
electronic monitoring if the court determines that the
defendant does not have the ability to pay for the electronic
monitoring.
4)Prohibits the electronic monitoring from being in place at any
time that the protective order is not in place.
5)States that a protective order placed on a defendant at the
time of sentencing for a conviction of a crime of domestic
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violence may include provisions for electronic monitoring if
the local government adopts a policy authorizing electronic
monitoring of defendants for this purpose.
6)Provides that if the court determines that the convicted
defendant has the ability to pay for the monitoring program,
the court shall order the defendant to pay for the monitoring.
7)States that if the court determines that the convicted
defendant does not have the ability to pay for the electronic
monitoring, the court may order the electronic monitoring to
be paid for by the local government that adopted the policy
authorizing electronic monitoring.
8)Limits the duration of electronic monitoring of a defendant
convicted of a crime of domestic violence to not more than one
year from the date the order is issued.
9)Defines "local government" as the county that has jurisdiction
over the protective order.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes a court, upon a good cause belief that harm to, or
intimidation or dissuasion of, a victim or witness has
occurred or is reasonably likely to occur, to issue an order
protecting victims of violent crime from all contact by the
defendant, or contact, with the intent to annoy, harass,
threaten, or commit acts of violence, by the defendant.
2)Provides that if a court does not issue an order in a case in
which the defendant is charged with a crime of domestic
violence as defined, the court on its own motion shall
consider issuing a protective order upon a good cause belief
that harm to, or intimidation or dissuasion of, a victim or
witness has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur, that
places restrictions on owning, purchasing or receiving
firearms, and orders the defendant to relinquish any firearms
he or she owns or possesses.
3)Authorizes a county probation department to utilize continuous
electronic monitoring to electronically monitor the
whereabouts of persons on probation.
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4)Defines "continuous electronic monitoring" to include the use
of worldwide radio navigation system technology, known as GPS.
The Legislature finds that because of its capability for
continuous surveillance, continuous electronic monitoring has
been used in other parts of the country to monitor persons on
parole who are identified as requiring a high level of
supervision.
5)Authorizes a chief probation officer to charge persons on
probation for the costs of any form of supervision that
utilizes continuous electronic monitoring devices that monitor
the whereabouts of the person pursuant to this chapter, upon a
finding of the ability to pay those costs. However, the
department shall waive any or all of that payment upon a
finding of an inability to pay. Inability to pay all or a
portion of the costs of continuous electronic monitoring
authorized by this chapter shall not preclude use of
continuous electronic monitoring, and eligibility for
probation shall not be enhanced by reason of ability to pay.
6)States that a chief probation officer may charge a person on
probation for the cost of continuous electronic monitoring as
a condition of probation provided the person has first
satisfied all other outstanding base fines, state and local
penalties, restitution fines, and restitution orders imposed
by a court.
7)Authorizes the parole authority to require, as a condition of
release on parole or reinstatement on parole, or as an
intermediate sanction in lieu of return to prison, that an
inmate or parolee agree in writing to the use of electronic
monitoring or supervising devices for the purpose of helping
to verify his or her compliance with all other conditions of
parole. The devices shall not be used to eavesdrop or record
any conversation, except a conversation between the parolee
and the agent supervising the parolee which is to be used
solely for the purposes of voice identification.
8)Requires any inmate released on parole pursuant to this
section to pay for the costs associated with the monitoring by
GPS. However, the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation (CDCR) shall waive any or all of that payment
upon a finding of an inability to pay. CDCR shall consider
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any remaining amounts the inmate has been ordered to pay in
fines, assessments and restitution fines, fees, and orders,
and shall give priority to the payment of those items before
requiring that the inmate pay for the global positioning
monitoring.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, unknown, potentially moderate, annual state trial
court costs to lengthen protection order hearings if/when
electronic monitoring is an issue. The court would need to
determine whether electronic monitoring is necessary and whether
the defendant can afford to pay. If 2% of 78,000 cases require
an additional hour of court time, annual General Fund costs
could exceed $500,000.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "Domestic violence offenses
continue to be a significant public health and criminal justice
problem. In the U.S. each day, three women are killed due to
domestic violence. In California alone, about 700,000 women
currently experience domestic violence; this is three times the
national average. Domestic violence is the leading cause of
serious injury to women and is responsible for three times as
many emergency room visits as car crashes and muggings combined.
"Courts issue protective orders. On any given year, there are
about 220,000 active restraining orders, most issued in domestic
violence cases. However, over 50% of them are violated,
according to the National Partnership to End Domestic Violence.
"AB 2467 provides victims with real and tangible protection. It
allows a court to order the active GPS monitoring of
perpetrators. If the perpetrator is within a certain distance
from the victim, the GPS device will go off alerting both the
victim and law enforcement. This helps turn victims into
survivors.
"About 30 other states use or are actively working on laws to
monitor defendants in domestic violence cases. In
Massachusetts, GPS monitoring has been very successful in
preventing homicides. Other countries, including Spain, France,
Scotland and Peru, also use GPS devices to monitor perpetrators
in these cases. CA would be joining the ranks of these
progressive states and countries. It's time to prioritize the
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lives of domestic violence victims and stop perpetrators in
their tracks."
Please see the policy committee analysis for a full discussion
of this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Stella Choe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744
FN: 0003858