BILL NUMBER: AB 1407 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 20, 2015
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 24, 2015
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 6, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 21, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 30, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 22, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Atkins
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Chávez, Chu, Cooper, Dodd, Cristina
Garcia, Eduardo Garcia, and Maienschein)
(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, 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
or numbers, the requesting party to assume all financial
responsibility for the transferred wireless telephone number or
numbers, monthly service costs, and costs for any mobile device
associated with the wireless telephone number or numbers. The bill
would not affect the ability of the court to apportion the assets and
debts of the parties as provided for in law, or the ability to
determine the temporary use, possession, and control of personal
property, as specified. 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.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) For many victims of domestic violence, a wireless telephone is
their lifeline to the community resources, life-saving services, and
support network they need to leave their batterer and abusive
environment. For the majority of victims, shelter in a confidential
safe house is a last resort, and, in fact, unnecessary. Victims are
going about their lives, working, and taking care of their children,
as they are making plans and determining their next steps to safely
leave their abuser. Many victims are able to access counseling
services and obtain legal assistance, such as securing a restraining
order, without entering into a safe house. For these victims, a
wireless telephone serves as a critical tool for making appointments
and communicating with their advocates.
(b) Allowing a victim of domestic violence to retain the use of an
existing wireless telephone number and access to the contacts and
other information that may be contained in an existing wireless
telephone is important for both the safety and emotional support of
the victim. This can be a problem if the domestic violence victim is
not the accountholder for the wireless telephone, as only an
accountholder has the authority to release the telephone number or
numbers contained in the account.
(c) According to a Wall Street Journal article, in 2011 just under
71 percent of households had a landline in the home, down from a
little more than 96 percent of households 15 years earlier. Cellular
telephone ownership among adults reached 89 percent in 2011, up from
approximately 36 percent in 1998.
(d) A 2014 National Public Radio Survey of 72 shelters in large
cities and smaller towns across the nation found that 85 percent of
the shelters worked directly with victims whose abusers tracked the
victims using GPS. Seventy-five percent of the shelters worked with
victims whose abusers eavesdropped on their conversations remotely by
using hidden mobile applications.
SEC. 2. Section 6347 is added to the Family Code, to read:
6347. (a) Commencing July 1, 2016, in order to ensure that the
requesting party can maintain an existing wireless telephone number,
and the wireless numbers of any minor children in the care of the
requesting party, the court may issue an order, after notice and a
hearing, directing a wireless telephone service provider to transfer
the billing responsibility for and rights to the wireless telephone
number or numbers to the requesting party, if the requesting party is
not the accountholder.
(b) (1) The order transferring billing responsibility for and
rights to the wireless telephone number or numbers to a requesting
party shall be a separate order that is directed to the wireless
telephone service provider. The order shall list the name and billing
telephone number of the accountholder, the name and contact
information of the person to whom the telephone number or numbers
will be transferred, and each telephone number to be transferred to
that person. The court shall ensure that the contact information of
the requesting party is not provided to the accountholder in
proceedings held pursuant to Division 10 (commencing with Section
6200).
(2) The order shall be served on the wireless service provider's
agent for service of process listed with the Secretary of State.
(3) Where the wireless service provider cannot operationally or
technically effectuate the order due to certain circumstances,
including, but not limited to, any of the following, the wireless
service provider shall notify the requesting party within 72 hours of
receipt of the order:
(A) When the accountholder has already terminated the account.
(B) When differences in network technology prevent the
functionality of a device on the network.
(C) When there are geographic or other limitations on network or
service availability.
(c) (1) Upon transfer of billing responsibility for and rights to
a wireless telephone number or numbers to a requesting party pursuant
to subdivision (b) by a wireless telephone service provider, the
requesting party shall assume all financial responsibility for the
transferred wireless telephone number or numbers, monthly service
costs, and costs for any mobile device associated with the wireless
telephone number or numbers.
(2) This section shall not preclude a wireless service provider
from applying any routine and customary requirements for account
establishment to the requesting party as part of this transfer of
billing responsibility for a wireless telephone number or numbers and
any devices attached to that number or numbers, including, but not
limited to, identification, financial information, and customer
preferences.
(d) This section shall not affect the ability of the court to
apportion the assets and debts of the parties as provided for in law,
or the ability to determine the temporary use, possession, and
control of personal property pursuant to Sections 6324 and 6340.
(e) No cause of action shall lie against any wireless telephone
service provider, its officers, employees, or agents, for actions
taken in accordance with the terms of a court order issued pursuant
to this section.
(f) The Judicial Council shall, on or before July 1, 2016, develop
any forms or rules necessary to effectuate this section.
SEC. 3. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the
Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the
meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.