BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 870|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 870
Author: Roth (D)
Amended: 2/22/16
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/5/16
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Glazer, Leno, Liu, Monning, Stone
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/27/16
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, McGuire, Mendoza, Nielsen
SUBJECT: Domestic violence
SOURCE: Riverside District Attorney
DIGEST: This bill reframes existing strangulation provisions in
the felony domestic violence statute as a stand-alone
subdivision, with the same penalties as those in current law.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Provides any person who willfully inflicts upon a person who
is his or her spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former
cohabitant, fiancé or fiancée, or someone with whom the
offender has, or previously had, an engagement or dating
relationship, as defined, or the mother or father of his or
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her child, corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition,
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. (Penal Code § 273.5(a).)
2)Provides that as used in this section, "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 a 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. (Penal
Code § 273.5(d).)
This bill:
1)Deletes the references to strangulation and suffocation in the
above definition of "traumatic condition."
2)Provides, instead, that any person who willfully inflicts
corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon a
victim described above, "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.
3)Provides that "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."
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
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Com.:YesLocal: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
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
separate offense specifying domestic violence where the injury
is caused by strangulation or suffocation.
SUPPORT: (Verified5/27/16)
Riverside District Attorney (source)
California District Attorneys Association
California Police Chiefs Association
Peace Officers Research Association of California
One individual
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/27/16)
California Public Defenders Association
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: The Riverside District Attorney
submits in part:
"SB 870 allows us to readily identify offenders who strangle
their victims. Without creating a new offenses or increasing
the state prison population, it separates out this type of
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offender from other domestic violence offenders. This
identification becomes critical throughout the criminal justice
system. Law enforcement can use this information in order to
assess the potential lethality of the offender. Prosecutors and
the courts can use this information to craft appropriate
sentences. Probation can use this identification to craft
better programs for abusers. Victims benefit from the
recognition that non-fatal strangulation is the most severe form
of domestic violence short of homicide."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION: The California Public Defenders
Association submits in part:
"The proposed amendment to § 273.5 is unnecessary. For example,
under the current version of the statute 'choking or
suffocation' are already criminal acts subject to prosecution.
. . . Consequently, SB 870 adds nothing to the code beyond
needless verbiage.
"Similarly, separating 'choking and suffocation' assaults from
273.5's catch-all language (which includes far more serious
forms of assault) makes little sense, unless the bill were to
propose creating a separate code section for each possible form
of assault."
Prepared by:Alison Anderson / PUB. S. /
5/28/16 16:45:53
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