BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 910| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |1020 N Street, Suite 524 | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 SB 910 Page 2 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. SB 910 Page 3 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 SB 910 Page 4 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 **** END **** SB 910 Page 5