BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair


          AB 2467 (Hueso) - Protective orders: electronic monitoring.
          
          Amended: July 6, 2012           Policy Vote: Public Safety 7-0
          Urgency: No                     Mandate: No
          Hearing Date: August 16, 2012                          
          Consultant: Jolie Onodera       
          
          SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
          
          
          Bill Summary: AB 2467 would authorize courts with jurisdiction 
          over a criminal matter to include electronic monitoring as part 
          of a protective order, as specified.

          Fiscal Impact: 
           Potential ongoing annual costs to the courts in the range of 
            $433,000 to $0.9 million (General Fund) for every five to 10 
            percent of 78,000 protective order hearings impacted 
            statewide. This estimate assumes an additional 10 minutes per 
            hearing for the court to determine the appropriateness of 
            electronic monitoring and the ability of the individual to 
            pay. To the extent a greater percentage of cases are impacted, 
            costs to the courts would be significantly higher.
           Potentially significant ongoing non-reimbursable costs to 
            counties that have adopted a policy to authorize electronic 
            monitoring to cover the costs of electronic monitoring to the 
            extent the court determines an individual is unable to pay. 
            Assuming an average daily cost for active electronic 
            monitoring of $20, costs for one year could exceed $700,000 
            per 100 indigent defendants.
           Potential future cost savings to law enforcement and the 
            courts to the extent the utilization of electronic monitoring 
            of domestic violence defendants results in fewer protective 
            order violations and/or deters the committal of additional 
            criminal offenses.

          Background: Existing law generally authorizes a court with 
          jurisdiction over a criminal matter to issue certain protective 
          orders 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, as specified. Additionally, existing law 
          authorizes a court to issue an order protecting victims of 








          AB 2467 (Hueso)
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          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. 

          Proposed Law: This bill, to be known and cited as "Kathy's Law," 
          would authorize a court issuing a protective order to require 
          electronic monitoring, as follows:
           A protective order may require the defendant to be placed on 
            electronic monitoring if the local government, upon receiving 
            the concurrence of the county sheriff, adopts a policy to 
            authorize electronic monitoring of defendants for this 
            purpose.
           If the court determines that the defendant has the ability to 
            pay for the monitoring program, the court shall order the 
            defendant to pay for the monitoring. 
           If the court determines that the defendant does not have the 
            ability to pay for the electronic monitoring, the court may 
            order electronic monitoring to be paid for by the local 
            government that adopted the policy to authorize electronic 
            monitoring. 
           The duration of electronic monitoring shall not exceed one 
            year from the date the order is issued.
           At no time shall the electronic monitoring be in place if the 
            protective order is not in place.

          Staff Comments: The provisions of this bill could create 
          additional workload on the courts and result in lengthier court 
          hearings than otherwise would have occurred under existing law 
          for matters involving criminal protective orders. Costs would be 
          dependent upon the number of local jurisdictions that elect to 
          provide electronic monitoring, the number of protective orders 
          issued within those jurisdictions, the number of cases in which 
          electronic monitoring would be considered and whether the 
          defendant has the ability to pay for the monitoring.

          The Judicial Council indicates the consideration of electronic 
          monitoring and the ability of a defendant to pay would extend 
          the length of court proceedings. Based on an average daily court 
          cost of $4,000, an increased length in proceedings of 10 minutes 
          would incur additional costs of $111 per hearing. Based on 
          approximately 78,000 criminal protective orders issuances per 
          year, a five to ten percent impact on protective orders would 
          result in increased court costs of $433,000 to $0.9 million 
          (General Fund) per year.








          AB 2467 (Hueso)
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          This bill authorizes a court issuing a protective order to 
          require the defendant to be placed on electronic monitoring if 
          the local government, upon receiving the concurrence of the 
          county sheriff, adopts a policy to authorize electronic 
          monitoring of defendants for this purpose. If the court 
          determines that the defendant does not have the ability to pay 
          for the electronic monitoring, the court may order electronic 
          monitoring to be paid for by the local government that adopted 
          the policy to authorize electronic monitoring. The provisions of 
          this bill could result in significant ongoing costs to local 
          agencies that have opted to offer electronic monitoring, as 
          specified. Assuming a daily rate of $20 for active electronic 
          monitoring, the cost to operate electronic monitoring for one 
          year for 100 indigent defendants would cost local agencies in 
          excess of $700,000 per year. 

          To the extent the utilization of electronic monitoring of 
          domestic violence defendants results in fewer protective order 
          violations and deters the committal of additional criminal 
          offenses, there could be future cost savings to law enforcement 
          and the courts of an unknown, but potentially significant 
          amount. 

          Proposed Author Amendments:  The proposed amendments would 
          condition electronic monitoring of a defendant if the local 
          government, with the concurrence of the county sheriff or the 
          chief probation officer with jurisdiction, adopts a policy to 
          authorize electronic monitoring of defendants and specifies the 
          agency with jurisdiction.