BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                            



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                        SB 910|
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                                 UNFINISHED BUSINESS


          Bill No:  SB 910
          Author:   Pavley (D), et al.
          Amended:  8/18/14
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE  :  6-0, 4/1/14
          AYES:  Hancock, Anderson, Knight, Liu, Mitchell, Steinberg
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  De León

           SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE  :  Senate Rule 28.8

           SENATE FLOOR  :  36-0, 5/1/14
          AYES:  Anderson, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De  
            León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock,  
            Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara, Leno,  
            Lieu, Liu, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen, Padilla,  
            Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Wyland
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Beall, Calderon, Wright, Yee

           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  78-0, 8/20/14 - See last page for vote


           SUBJECT  :    Domestic violence:  restraining orders

           SOURCE  :     Los Angeles District Attorneys Office


           DIGEST  :    This bill expands the definition of domestic violence  
          for purposes of a court's ability to issue restraining orders in  
          domestic violence cases, as specified.

           Assembly Amendments  add a coauthor and double-jointing language  
                                                                CONTINUED





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          with 
          AB 1498 (Campos) and AB 1850 (Waldron).

           ANALYSIS  :    

          Existing law:

          1.Authorizes courts to issue a civil or criminal protective  
            order to protect victims of domestic violence 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, and authorizes courts to issue a no-contact order for  
            the protected party and, in the discretion of the court, for  
            other named family or household members.  

          2.Authorizes courts 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," as specified.  

          3.Provides that if a court does not issue the no-contact order,  
            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" in cases where the  
            defendant is charged with a crime of domestic violence, as  
            specified.

          4.Provides that in determining whether good cause exists to  
            issue a protective order in a domestic violence case, the  
            court may consider the underlying nature of the offense  
            charged, and the defendant's history of domestic violence,  
            prior restraining orders and other forms of violence or  
            weapons offenses.  

          This bill:

          1.Expands the definition of domestic violence for purposes of  
            the issuance of a protective order, including an order that  
            may be valid for up to 10 years, to include abuse perpetrated  
            against any of the additional following persons:

             A.   Cohabitants and former cohabitants, defined more  
               broadly.







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             B.   A person with whom the respondent has had a child, where  
               the presumption applies that the male parent is the father  
               of the child of the female parent, as specified. 

             C.   A child of a party or a child who is the subject of an  
               action under the Uniform Parentage Act, where the  
               presumption applies that the male parent is the father of  
               the child to be protected.

             D.   Any other person related by consanguinity or affinity  
               within the second degree.

          1.Revises language to provide it applies to a case in which the  
            defendant is charged with a crime involving domestic violence.

          2.Contains double-jointing language with AB 149o8 (Campos) and  
            AB 1850 (Waldon).

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  Yes    
          Local:  Yes

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  4/30/14) (Unable to reverify at time of  
          writing)

          Los Angeles District Attorney's Office (source)
          California District Attorneys Association
          California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
          Crime Victims United of California
          Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles

           OPPOSITION  :    (Verified  4/30/14) (Unable to reverify at time  
          of writing)

          California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
          California Public Defenders Association
          Legal Services for Prisoners with Children

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    The author states in part, "The narrow  
          definition in the law has led to an equally narrow  
          interpretation by judges when issuing protection orders in  
          domestic violence cases with child victims, with some refusing  
          to issue pre-sentencing protective orders for child abuse  
          victims.  Tragically, children are often the first target for  







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          abuse when a domestic violence offender is released from prison  
          or jail.  SB 910 addresses this potentially life threatening gap  
          in the law by giving sentencing judges a tool to protect all  
          potential victims from abuse regardless of their age."

           ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION  :    The California Public Defenders  
          submit in part, "The broad discretion to restrain the defendant  
          from the complaining witness' dependents and relatives within  
          two degrees of consanguinity effectively alienates the defendant  
          from resources, housing, and property without the right to a  
          hearing.  The court already has the power to restrain a  
          defendant from appropriate persons on a case by case basis when  
          the reason is articulated in the charging documents, or on the  
          record in the pretrial stage.  After conviction, the terms and  
          conditions of sentencing, probation, or parole address the same;  
          and the defendant is guaranteed to a have a voice through  
          counsel."                                         


           ASSEMBLY FLOOR  :  78-0, 8/20/14
          AYES:  Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,  
            Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian  
            Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,  
            Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,  
            Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,  
            Gorell, Gray, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández, Holden,  
            Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,  
            Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,  
            Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A.  
            Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,  
            Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,  
            Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
          NO VOTE RECORDED:  Grove, Vacancy


          JG:k  8/20/14   Senate Floor Analyses 

                           SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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