BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1407|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
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CONSENT
Bill No: AB 1407
Author: Atkins (D), et al.
Amended: 7/6/15 in Senate
Vote: 21
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 6/30/15
AYES: Jackson, Moorlach, Anderson, Hertzberg, Leno, Monning,
Wieckowski
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: Senate Rule 28.8
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 6/2/15 (Consent) - See last page for
vote
SUBJECT: Family law: protective orders: wireless telephone
numbers
SOURCE: Women Escaping a Violent Environment
DIGEST: This bill authorizes a court, beginning July 1, 2016,
after notice and a hearing, to issue a domestic violence
restraining order directing a wireless telephone service
provider to transfer the billing responsibility and rights to a
wireless telephone number to a requesting party and requires
that the requesting party assume all financial responsibility
for the transferred telephone number, monthly service costs, and
costs for any mobile device associated with the telephone
number. This bill also prohibits 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, and requires the Judicial Council to, on or before
July 1, 2016, develop any forms or rules necessary to effectuate
these provisions.
AB 1407
Page 2
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Authorizes the court under the Domestic Violence Prevention
Act (DVPA), to issue an ex parte restraining order enjoining a
party from assault or harassment, specified behavior,
obtaining the address or location of the protected party,
and/or determining the temporary use, possession, and control
of real or personal property. (Fam. Code Secs. 6320 et. seq.,
6324, 6340 et. seq.)
2)Allows a court, after notice and a hearing, to issue any
restraining order described above, or an order excluding the
restrained party from a dwelling, making custody
determinations, ordering a party to pay child support,
ordering the restrained party to participate in a batterer's
program, for up to five years. (Fam. Code Secs. 6340 et seq.)
This bill:
1)Authorizes a court, beginning July 1, 2016, in a DVPA
proceeding after notice and a hearing, to issue an order
directing a wireless telephone service provider (service
provider) to transfer billing responsibility and rights to a
wireless telephone number(s) to a requesting party, if the
requesting party is not the accountholder.
2)Requires that the order be made to the service provider, as
specified, and contain specified information.
3)Requires the service provider, when it cannot operationally or
technically effectuate the order, to notify the requesting
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Page 3
party within 72 hours.
4)Provides that a service provider, as part of the transfer of
billing responsibility, is not precluded from applying any
routine and customary requirements for account establishment,
including, but not limited to, identification, financial
information and customer preferences, to the requesting party.
5)Provides that no cause of action will lie against any wireless
provider for actions taken in accordance with a court order
issued pursuant to the provisions above.
6)Requires the Judicial Council, by July 1, 2016, to develop any
necessary forms or rules necessary to effectuate the above
provisions.
Background
Survivors of domestic violence who are planning to leave their
abusers, or those who have already escaped and wish to start a
new life, often rely on cellular phones to plan a transition and
communicate with supportive family, friends, or other community
resources. However, with the development of smart phones and
new technology, abusers have begun using cell phones to
determine a victim's location, behavior, and plans in a variety
of ways, including using a location service on family plans,
installing spyware on the phone, monitoring phone activity
through phone bills, installing applications that provide
location information about the victim's phone, monitoring recent
calls and text messages and electronic mail, and Internet Web
browsing history.
Seeking to better protect survivors of domestic violence and
their children, this bill allows a court in a domestic violence
proceeding, to direct a wireless telephone service provider to
transfer billing responsibility and rights for a wireless
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telephone number to a requesting party.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: Yes
SUPPORT: (Verified8/17/15)
Women Escaping a Violent Environment (source)
AT&T
California Catholic Conference
California College and University Police Chiefs Association
California District Attorneys Association
California Judges Association
California Public Defenders Association
California State Lodge, Fraternal Order of Police
Family Violence Appellate Project
Immigration Center for Women and Children
Legal Aid Society of Orange County
Legal Aid Society of San Diego
Legal Services of Northern California
Long Beach Police Officers Association
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs Association
Santa Ana Police Officers Association
Sprint
T-Mobile
Verizon
OPPOSITION: (Verified8/17/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Women Escaping a Violent Environment
(WEAVE), sponsor, writes in support:
This bill is necessary for several reasons. First, it halts
GPS tracking and stalking of a domestic violence victim. When
the abuser is the accountholder, he has access to information
about the victim's movements and the ability to review call
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Page 5
activity, he or she can continue to harass and track the
victim. Second, it will prevent the accountholder from
controlling the account and suspending service, which
interferes with the victim's ability to use this lifeline to
community resources, life-saving services, and support network
they need to leave their abuser.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: 78-0, 6/2/15
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Travis Allen, Baker, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bonilla, Bonta, Brough, Brown, Burke, Calderon, Campos, Chang,
Chau, Chiu, Chu, Cooley, Cooper, Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dodd,
Eggman, Frazier, Beth Gaines, Gallagher, Cristina Garcia,
Eduardo Garcia, Gatto, Gipson, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray,
Hadley, Harper, Roger Hernández, Holden, Irwin, Jones,
Jones-Sawyer, Kim, Lackey, Levine, Linder, Lopez, Low,
Maienschein, Mathis, Mayes, McCarty, Medina, 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: Chávez, Grove
Prepared by:Nichole Rapier / JUD. / (916) 651-4113
8/18/15 17:18:23
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