BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 238
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 10, 2013
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 238 (Gomez) - As Amended: March 20, 2013
Policy Committee: JudiciaryVote:9-0
(Consent)
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
Yes Reimbursable: Yes
SUMMARY
This bill:
1)Requires, when an emergency protective order (EPO) is issued,
that the law enforcement agency employing the officer who
requested the EPO enter the order into the California
Restraining and Protective Order System (CARPOS) within two
hours of its issuance.
2)Repeals the requirement that the officer requesting the EPO
carry copies of the order while on duty.
FISCAL EFFECT
Costs for law enforcement agencies to enter EPOs into the CARPOS
are state reimbursable but should be minor. These entities
already enter non-emergency protective orders into the statewide
system. In Los Angeles County, about 5,500 EPOs were requested
in 2012.
COMMENTS
1)Background . EPOs are designed to protect victims of domestic
violence in emergency situations. They may be requested by a
law enforcement officer when the officer has reasonable
grounds to believe that there is immediate danger of abuse.
The order lasts for the lesser of five court days or seven
calendar days, and is issued immediately without prior notice
to the restrained party.
Under current law, after the judge issues an EPO, the law
AB 238
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enforcement officer requesting the order is required to serve
the EPO on the restrained party if the party can be reasonably
located, provide a copy to the protected party, file a copy
with the court, and carry a copy of the order while on duty.
To more easily track and enforce restraining orders, they must
be entered into CARPSOS-the statewide database of protective
orders maintained by the Department of Justice. EPOs have not
been required to be entered into CARPOS, likely because with
the short life of an EPO, the order could be expired before it
is even entered into the system.
2)Purpose . Under the current procedure described above, except
for the requesting officer, no other law enforcement officials
have any information about an EPO or the need for protection.
AB 238, sponsored by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's
Department, is intended to make EPOs work more effectively by
requiring almost immediate entry into the CARPOS in lieu of
requiring the requesting officer to carry the order while on
duty. The author asserts that the current procedure is
unworkable, stating "When the officer is off duty, what
happens to those orders?"
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081