BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1206
Page 1
Date of Hearing: August 8, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
SB 1206 (Walters) - As Amended: August 6, 2012
Policy Committee: JudiciaryVote:9 -
0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill limits passport applications for children during
divorce and custody proceedings and allows a court to order the
freezing of certain assets when it issues a protective custody
warrant for a child. Specifically, this bill:
1)Provides that, in a dissolution proceeding, parents are
restricted from applying for a passport or replacement
passport for any minor child without written consent from the
other parent or a court order.
2)Provides that a protective custody warrant issued by a court
to secure the recovery of an unlawfully detained or concealed
child may also contain an order to freeze any funds held in a
California bank account of the party alleged to be in
possession of the child.
3)Provides that any order to freeze assets may be terminated,
modified or vacated by the court upon a finding that the
release of assets will not jeopardize the safety or best
interest of a child.
FISCAL EFFECT
Costs associated with this legislation would be minor and
absorbable within existing resources.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . International child abductions are challenging to
prevent with state law alone. Accordingly, federal law and
SB 1206
Page 2
international agreements have attempted to address this
problem. Despite lawmakers' efforts, parental child
abductions to foreign countries have almost doubled since
2006. This bill seeks to add protections to existing law to
further prevent international parental child abduction. The
author notes that in 2010, the U.S. State Department reported
2,488 children abducted to other countries from the United
States
While the Synclair-Cannon Act developed a framework for
preventing child abductions, there are some areas where the
law can be strengthened to further deter international
abductions from taking place. The intent of this legislation
is to strengthen those areas by restricting parents from
applying for passports for minor children without consent from
both parents and allowing the court to freeze the assets of a
parent who has unlawfully concealed their child. The sponsors,
Bring Abducted Children Home, argues that this will provide
essential additional barriers to prevent international child
abduction.
2)Background . The Synclair-Cannon Act, passed by the Legislature
in 2002 in response to child abductions by parents, attempts
to prevent abductions by requiring courts in custody or
visitation proceedings to consider specified factors
indicating a risk of abduction and implement specified
preventive measures. (AB 2441 (Bates), Chap. 856, Stats.
2002.) Over the past decade, these provisions have dictated
the standard California courts use to determine and impose
necessary restrictions when a risk of parental child abduction
exists.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081