Amended in Assembly May 21, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 30, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 22, 2015

Amended in Assembly April 13, 2015

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly BillNo. 1407


Introduced by Assembly Member Atkins

begin delete(Coauthor: Assembly Member Cristina Garcia)end deletebegin insert Coauthors: Assembly Members Chávez, Chu, Dodd, Cristina Garcia, and Eduardo Garcia)end insert

(Coauthor: Senator Pan)

February 27, 2015


An act to add Section 6347 to the Family Code, relating to family law.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1407, as amended, Atkins. Family law: protective orders: wireless telephone numbers.

Existing law authorizes a court to issue an ex parte protective order enjoining a party from engaging in specified acts against another party, including, among other things, threatening or harassing that party. Existing law also authorizes a court to include these protective orders and other orders in a judgment entered in specified proceedings, including, among others, a proceeding for the dissolution of marriage. A violation of these court orders constitutes contempt of court, which is punishable as a misdemeanor.

This bill would, commencing July 1, 2016, additionally authorize a court, after notice and a hearing, to issue an order directing a wireless telephone service provider to transfer the billing responsibility and rights to a wireless telephone number or numbers to a requesting party. The bill would require that order to be a separate order directed to the wireless telephone service provider that lists the name and billing telephone number of the accountholder, the name and contact information of the person to whom the number or numbers will be transferred, and each number to be transferred to that person. The bill would require, upon transfer of billing responsibility for and rights to a wireless telephone number, the requesting party to assume all financial responsibility for the transferred wireless telephone number, monthly service costs, and costs for any mobile device associated with the wireless telephone number. The bill would prohibit a cause of action against a wireless telephone service provider, its officers, employees, or agents, for actions taken in accordance with the terms of the court order. The bill would require the Judicial Council to, on or before July 1, 2016, develop any forms or rules necessary to effectuate these provisions.

By expanding the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
2following:

3(a) For many victims of domestic violence, a wireless telephone
4is their lifeline to the community resources, life-saving services,
5and support network they need to leave their batterer and abusive
6environment. For the majority of victims, shelter in a confidential
7begin delete safehouseend deletebegin insert safe houseend insert is a last resort, and, in fact, unnecessary.
8Victims are going about their lives, working, and taking care of
9their children, as they are making plans and determining their next
10steps to safely leave their abuser. Many victims are able to access
11counseling services and obtain legal assistance, such as securing
P3    1a restraining order, without entering into abegin delete safehouse.end deletebegin insert safe house.end insert
2 For these victims, a wireless telephone serves as a critical tool for
3making appointments and communicating with their advocates.

4(b) Allowing a victim of domestic violence to retain the use of
5an existing wireless telephone number and access to the contacts
6and other information that may be contained in an existing wireless
7telephone is important for both the safety and emotional support
8of the victim. This can be a problem if the domestic violence victim
9is not the accountholder for the wireless telephone, as only an
10accountholder has the authority to release the telephone number
11or numbers contained in the account.

12(c) According to a Wall Street Journal article, in 2011 just under
1371 percent of households had a landline in the home, down from
14a little more than 96 percent of households 15 years earlier. Cellular
15telephone ownership among adults reached 89 percent in 2011, up
16from approximately 36 percent in 1998.

begin insert

17(d) A 2014 National Public Radio Survey of 72 shelters in large
18cities and smaller towns across the nation found that 85 percent
19of the shelters worked directly with victims whose abusers tracked
20the victims using GPS. Seventy-five percent of the shelters worked
21with victims whose abusers eavesdropped on their conversations
22remotely by using hidden mobile applications.

end insert
23

SEC. 2.  

Section 6347 is added to the Family Code, to read:

24

6347.  

(a) Commencing July 1, 2016, in order to ensure that
25the requesting party can maintain an existing wireless telephone
26number, and the wireless numbers of any minor children in the
27care of the requesting party, the court may issue an order, after
28 notice and a hearing directing a wireless telephone service provider
29to transfer the billing responsibility for and rights to the wireless
30telephone number or numbers to the requesting party, if the
31requesting party is not the accountholder.

32(b) (1) The order transferring billing responsibility for and
33rights to the wireless telephone number or numbers to a requesting
34party shall be a separate order that is directed to the wireless
35telephone service provider. The order shall list the name and billing
36telephone number of the accountholder, the name and contact
37information of the person to whom the telephone number or
38numbers will be transferred, and each telephone number to be
39transferred to that person. The court shall ensure that the contact
40information of the requesting party is not provided to the
P4    1accountholder in proceedings held pursuant to Division 10
2(commencing with Section 6200).

3(2) The order shall be served on the wireless service provider’s
4agent for service of process listed with the Secretary of State.

5(3) Where the wireless service provider cannot operationally or
6technically effectuate the order due to certain circumstances,
7including, but not limited to, any of the following, the wireless
8service provider shall notify the requesting party within 72 hours
9of receipt of the order:

10(A) When the accountholder has already terminated the account.

11(B) When differences in network technology prevent the
12functionality of a device on the network.

13(C) When there are geographic or other limitations on network
14or service availability.

15(c) (1) Upon transfer of billing responsibility for and rights to
16a wireless telephone number to a requesting party pursuant to
17subdivision (b) by a wireless telephone service provider, the
18 requesting party shall assume all financial responsibility for the
19transferred wireless telephone number, monthly service costs, and
20costs for any mobile device associated with the wireless telephone
21number.

22(2) This section shall not preclude a wireless service provider
23from applying any routine and customary requirements for account
24establishment to the requesting party as part of this transfer of
25billing responsibility for a wireless telephone number and any
26devices attached to that number, including, but not limited to,
27identification, financialbegin delete informationend deletebegin insert information,end insert and customer
28 preferences.

29(d) This section shall not affect the ability of the court to
30apportion the assets and debts of the parties as provided for in law.

31(e) No cause of action shall lie against any wireless telephone
32service provider, its officers, employees, or agents, for actions
33taken in accordance with the terms of a court order issued pursuant
34to this section.

35(f) The Judicial Council shall, on or before July 1, 2016, develop
36any forms or rules necessary to effectuate this section.

37

SEC. 3.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
38Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
39the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
40district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
P5    1infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
2for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
3the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
4the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
5Constitution.



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