BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 870 (Roth) - Domestic violence
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|Version: February 22, 2016 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 7 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: Yes |
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|Hearing Date: April 18, 2016 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 870 would revise the existing provisions of the
felony domestic violence statute to separately establish the
felony offense of domestic violence where the corporal injury is
caused by strangulation or suffocation, as specified.
Fiscal
Impact:
State prisons : Potential future increase in state costs
(General Fund) to the extent establishing a separate offense
specifying domestic violence caused by strangulation or
suffocation leads to additional defendants being sentenced to
state prison and/or longer sentences imposed for first time
and repeat offenders.
County jails : Potential future increase in local costs (Local
Funds) for additional commitments to jail and/or longer
sentences imposed resulting from the establishment of a
SB 870 (Roth) Page 1 of
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separate offense specifying domestic violence where the injury
is caused by strangulation or suffocation.
Background: Existing law provides that any person who willfully inflicts
corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon a victim
(spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, fiancé or
fiancée, current or former dating relationship, or the mother or
father of the offender's child) is guilty of a felony,
punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three,
or four years, or in a county jail for not more than one year,
or by a fine of up to $6,000, or by both that fine and
imprisonment. (Penal Code (PC) § 273.5(a).)
Under existing law, a "traumatic condition" means a condition of
the body, such as a wound, or external or internal injury,
including but not limited to, injury as a result of
strangulation or suffocation, whether of a minor or serious
nature, caused by physical force. For purposes of this section,
"strangulation" and "suffocation" include impeding the normal
breathing or circulation of the blood of a person by applying
pressure on the throat or neck. (PC § 273.5(d).)
Existing law additionally provides that a person convicted of a
violation of this offense within seven years of a previous
conviction for this offense or specified assault or battery
offenses is to be punished in a county jail for not more than
one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four,
or five years, or by both imprisonment and a fine of up to
$10,000. (PC § 273.5(f)(1).)
Proposed
Law: This bill would revise the existing provisions of the
felony domestic violence statute to separately establish the
felony offense of domestic violence where the corporal injury is
caused by strangulation or suffocation. Specifically, this bill:
Deletes the references to strangulation and
suffocation in the definition of "traumatic condition"
under existing law, subdivision (d) of PC § 273.5.
SB 870 (Roth) Page 2 of
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Establishes a new paragraph (2) under PC § 273.5(a)
that provides the following: "Any person who willfully
inflicts corporal injury resulting in a traumatic
condition upon a victim described in subdivion (b), where
the corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition is
caused in whole or in part by strangulation or
suffocation, is guilty of a felony, and upon conviction
thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the state
prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail
for not more than one year, or by a fine of up to $6,000,
or by both that fine and imprisonment. For purposes of
this paragraph, "strangulation" and "suffocation" include
impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood
of a person by applying pressure on the throat or neck."
Prior
Legislation: SB 420 (Kehoe) Chapter 129/2011 specified that for
purposes of felony domestic violence, "traumatic condition"
included an injury as a result of strangulation or suffocation,
as defined.
Staff
Comments: By establishing a separate paragraph for the felony
offense of domestic violence where the injury is caused by
strangulation or suffocation, the potential charging and
sentencing impacts of this change cannot be determined with
certainty, as the fiscal impact would be dependent on numerous
factors including but not limited to prosecutorial and judicial
discretion, the criminal history of the defendant, and the
elements specific to each case.
While a defendant cannot be punished for an offense under more
than one provision of law (PC § 654), a defendant could
potentially be charged with both offenses, which could
potentially have an impact on the outcome of the proceedings
that may not have otherwise occurred under the existing singular
provision of law.
Statistics from the Department of Justice (DOJ) indicate nearly
43,000 arrests and 4,400 convictions in 2015 for felony domestic
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violence pursuant to PC § 273.5(a). Additionally, data from CDCR
indicates on average over 2,500 new commitments to state prison
each year under this provision of law. To the extent even two
additional defendants are committed to state prison or are
sentenced to a longer prison sentence in any one year resulting
from the provisions of this bill, state incarceration costs
would increase by $58,000 (General Fund) based on the contract
bed cost per inmate of $29,000.
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