BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1081| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- CONSENT Bill No: AB 1081 Author: Quirk (D) Amended: 6/25/15 in Senate Vote: 21 SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/23/15 AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning, Wieckowski ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/14/15 - See last page for vote SUBJECT: Protective orders SOURCE: Judicial Council of California DIGEST: This bill allows either party to request a continuance of a hearing on a temporary restraining order (TRO), as specified, which the court would be required to grant on a showing of good cause, and additionally authorizes the court to grant a continuance on its own motion. This bill, upon granting a continuance, requires that any TRO that had previously been granted remain in effect until the conclusion of the continued hearing, and authorizes the court to modify or terminate that TRO. ANALYSIS: Existing law: 1)Provides that a court may issue a TRO for civil harassment, workplace violence, postsecondary education violence, juvenile AB 1081 Page 2 abuse, elder or dependent adult abuse, and domestic violence prevention, as specified. (Code Civ. Proc. Secs. 527.6(d), 527.8(e), 527.85(e); Welf. & Inst. Code Secs. 213.5(e), 15657.03(c); and Fam. Code Secs. 241, 6220, 6300 et seq.) 2)Provides that a court may grant a TRO in a dissolution, legal separation, or child support proceeding, as specified. (Fam. Code Secs. 240, 2045, 4620.) 3)Provides that a request for a TRO shall be granted or denied on the same day that the petition is submitted to the court, unless the petition is filed too late in the day to permit effective review. (Code Civ. Proc. Secs. 527.6(e), 527.8(f), 527.85(f); Welf. & Inst. Code Sec. 15657.03(e); and Fam. Code Sec. 246.) 4)Provides that a TRO issued for civil harassment, workplace violence, or postsecondary education violence shall remain in effect, at the court's discretion, for a period not to exceed 21 days, or, if the court extends the time for hearing, not to exceed 25 days, unless otherwise modified or terminated by the court. (Code Civ. Proc. Secs. 527.6(g), 527.8(g); and 527.85(g).) 5)Provides that within 21 days, or if good cause appears to the court, 25 days, from the date that a request for a TRO for elder or dependent adult abuse, or domestic violence is granted or denied, a hearing shall be held on the petition. (Welf. & Inst. Code Secs. 213.5, 15657.03(f); and Fam. Code Sec. 242.) 6)Provides that after a petition has been filed, the respondent shall be personally served with a copy of the petition, TRO, if any, and notice of hearing of the petition, and that the court may, for good cause, either on a motion of the petitioner or on its own motion, shorten the time for service on the respondent. (Code Civ. Proc. Secs. 527.6(m), AB 1081 Page 3 527.8(m), 527.85(m); Welf. & Inst. Code Sec.15657.03(k); and Fam. Code Sec. 243.) 7)Provides that a court may, upon the filing of a declaration by the petitioner that the respondent could not be served within the time required by statute, reissue an order previously issued and dissolved by the court for failure to serve the respondent. If reissued, the order shall remain in effect until the date set for the hearing. (Code Civ. Proc. Secs. 527.6(o); 527.8(o), 527.85(o); Welf. & Inst. Code Secs. 213.5(c), 15657.03; and Fam. Code Sec. 245.) 8)Provides that in a protective order to prevent civil harassment, workplace violence, private postsecondary education violence, or elder or dependent adult abuse, the respondent may request continuance of the hearing upon a showing of good cause, and provides that if the court grants the continuance, any TRO that has been granted remains in effect until the end of the continued hearing, unless otherwise ordered by the court. (Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 3.1152.) This bill: 1)Authorizes a court, upon a showing of good cause or on its own motion, to grant one continuance in a hearing involving the issuance of restraining orders to prevent civil harassment, workplace violence, private postsecondary education violence, elder or dependent adult abuse, juvenile abuse, or domestic violence, as well as other restraining orders under the Family Code. 2)Provides that if a court continues a hearing as provided above, any TRO that has been granted shall remain in effect until the end of the continued hearing, unless otherwise ordered by the court, and allows the court to modify or terminate the TRO prior to the continued hearing. AB 1081 Page 4 3)Makes other clarifying and technical changes. Background A restraining order, also called a "protective order," is a court order that can protect someone from being physically or sexually abused, threatened, stalked, or harassed. The person seeking the restraining order is called the "protected person," and the party who is prohibited from engaging in certain behaviors is the "restrained person." There are four basic types of civil restraining orders: (1) domestic violence restraining orders; (2) elder or dependent adult abuse restraining orders; (3) civil harassment restraining orders; and (4) workplace violence restraining orders. Generally, protective orders can include personal conduct orders, which seek to restrain a person from specific behavior including contacting, attacking, stalking, threatening, or harassing a protected party or destroying personal property of the protected party. Similarly, stay-away orders require the restrained person to stay a certain distance away (e.g., 50 or 100 yards) from the protected person, including his or her home, place of work, school, or vehicle. Residence exclusion ("kick-out" or "move-out") orders require a restrained person to move out from where the protected person lives and to take only clothing and personal belongings with them. Petitioners who need immediate protection may seek a temporary restraining order (TRO), which becomes effective upon receiving a judge's signature and being served on the respondent. TROs may be granted ex parte, without formal notice to, or presence of, the respondent. They are generally issued or denied on the date of application, and expire after 21 days, or after a noticed motion to extend the order. After notice and hearing, the protections of a TRO may be approved by the court as a restraining order for up to five years, as specified. AB 1081 Page 5 This bill, sponsored by Judicial Council, seeks to promote consistency among the different types of restraining orders and ensure continued protection of victims who need to postpone a hearing by allowing automatic continuances of protective order hearings. FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.:NoLocal: No SUPPORT: (Verified6/25/15) Judicial Council of California (source) California District Attorneys Association California Judges Association Executive Committee of the Family Law Section of the State Bar OPPOSITION: (Verified6/25/15) None received Judicial Council of California, sponsor, writes: This [bill] will allow all parties and the court to be adequately prepared before proceeding with a hearing on a request for a protective order, making the most efficient use of limited court time. By extending temporary orders to the date of a continued hearing, AB 1081 will continue to provide protection to an individual who requests a protective order until a final ruling can be made on the request for a permanent order. Without changing this provision, there exists the possibility of a gap in protection between the date of the originally scheduled hearing and the date of either the continued hearing or the AB 1081 Page 6 issuance of an order extending the original temporary protective order. AB 1081 will eliminate this gap by making extension of the temporary order automatic. ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 5/14/15 AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom, Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang, Chau, Chávez, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd, Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Grove, Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Lopez, Low, Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Melendez, Mullin, Nazarian, Obernolte, O'Donnell, Olsen, Patterson, Perea, Quirk, Rendon, Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Santiago, Steinorth, Mark Stone, Thurmond, Ting, Wagner, Waldron, Weber, Wilk, Williams, Wood, Atkins NO VOTE RECORDED: Linder, Medina Prepared by:Nichole Rapier / JUD. / (916) 651-4113 6/26/15 13:29:38 **** END ****