BILL ANALYSIS Ó AB 545 Page 1 Date of Hearing: ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Jimmy Gomez, Chair AB 545 (Melendez) - As Amended April 23, 2015 ----------------------------------------------------------------- |Policy |Public Safety |Vote:|6 - 0 | |Committee: | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: YesReimbursable: No SUMMARY: This bill imposes minimum period of imprisonment in county jail of two days for individuals convicted of domestic battery with a prior conviction for domestic violence. AB 545 Page 2 FISCAL EFFECT: Minor, nonreimbursable costs for incarceration, offset to a degree by increased fine revenue. COMMENTS: 1)Purpose. According to the author, " We must make certain that repeat domestic abusers are recognized in the law as repeat offenders and held accountable to their actions, regardless of the order in which their crimes are committed." 2)Felony Battery vs. Domestic Violence. California has created an elaborate scheme for dealing with the problem of domestic violence. Individuals who are arrested, charged, or convicted of domestic violence-related offenses have a variety of conditions mandated and services available which are not in place for simple assault and battery offenses. Individuals arrested and charged with domestic violence offenses may be required to appear in court at times when battery defendants are not and face stiffer rules related to protective orders. Probation conditions include an extensive counseling program for the purpose of deprogramming violent conduct as it relates to domestic scenarios. Additionally, criminal penalties for recidivist conduct are more severe. Finally, additional counseling and victim advocacy services are available for victims of domestic violence. 3)Prior Legislation. AB 2066 (Friedman), Chaptered 421, Statutes of 1996, required that upon conviction of a violation of domestic battery, if probation was granted or the execution or imposition of the sentence is suspended and the person has AB 545 Page 3 been previously convicted of a violation of this subdivision and sentenced under law, the person shall be imprisoned for not less than 48 hours in addition to the conditions in law. However, the court, upon a showing of good cause, may elect not to impose the mandatory minimum imprisonment as required by this subdivision and may, under these circumstances, grant probation or order the suspension of the execution or imposition of the sentence. Analysis Prepared by:Pedro Reyes / APPR. / (916) 319-2081