BILL NUMBER: AB 100	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  JUNE 21, 2005
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 19, 2005

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Cohn

                        JANUARY 11, 2005

   An act to amend  Section 977.2 of the Penal Code, relating
to crimes   124250 of the Health and Safety Code,
relating to domestic violence  .


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 100, as amended, Cohn.   Arraignment: by audiovideo
communication.   Battered womens' shelters: grant
program.  
   Existing law requires the Maternal and Child Health Branch of the
State Department of Health Services to administer a comprehensive
shelter-based services grant program to battered women's shelters,
and requires the department to consult with an advisory council that
remains in existence until January 1, 2006, in the administration of
the grant program.  
   This bill would extend the period during which the advisory
council would remain in existence to January 1, 2010.  
   Existing law provides that in all cases in which the defendant is
charged with a misdemeanor or a felony and is currently incarcerated
in the state prison, the Department of Corrections may arrange for
specified court appearances to be conducted by 2-way electronic
audiovideo communication between the defendant and the courtroom in
lieu of the physical presence of the defendant in the courtroom, as
specified.  
   This bill would provide that the local law enforcement agency
having jurisdiction over a defendant currently incarcerated in a city
or county jail may, with the consent of the defendant and the court
in which the defendant is to appear, also arrange for specified court
appearances of the defendant to be conducted by 2-way electronic
audiovideo communication in lieu of the physical presence of the
defendant in the courtroom, as specified. 
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee:  no
  yes  . State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


   SECTION 1.    Section 124250 of the   Health
and Safety Code   is amended to read: 
   124250.
   (a) The following definitions shall apply for purposes of this
section:
   (1) "Domestic violence" means the infliction or threat of physical
harm against past or present adult or adolescent female intimate
partners, and shall include physical, sexual, and psychological abuse
against the woman, and is a part of a pattern of assaultive,
coercive, and controlling behaviors directed at achieving compliance
from or control over, that woman.
   (2) "Shelter-based" means an established system of services where
battered women and their children may be provided safe or
confidential emergency housing on a 24-hour basis, including, but not
limited to, hotel or motel arrangements, haven, and safe houses.
   (3) "Emergency shelter" means a confidential or safe location that
provides emergency housing on a 24-hour basis for battered women and
their children.
   (b) The Maternal and Child Health Branch of the State Department
of Health Services shall administer a comprehensive shelter-based
services grant program to battered women's shelters pursuant to this
section.
   (c) The Maternal and Child Health Branch shall administer grants,
awarded as the result of a request for application process, to
battered women's shelters that propose to maintain shelters or
services previously granted funding pursuant to this section, to
expand existing services or create new services, and to establish new
battered women's shelters to provide services, in any of the
following four areas:
   (1)  Emergency shelter to women and their children escaping
violent family situations.
   (2)  Transitional housing programs to help women and their
children find housing and jobs so that they are not forced to choose
between returning to a violent relationship or becoming homeless. The
programs may offer up to 18 months of housing, case management, job
training and placement, counseling, support groups, and classes in
parenting and family budgeting.
   (3) Legal and other types of advocacy and representation to help
women and their children pursue the appropriate legal options.
   (4) Other support services for battered women and their children.

   (d) (1) The Maternal and Child Health Branch of the State
Department of Health Services shall conduct a minimum of one site
visit per grant term to each agency funded to provide shelter-based
services to battered women and their children. The purpose of the
site visit shall be a performance assessment of, and technical
assistance for, each agency visited. The performance assessment shall
include, but need not be limited to, a review of all of the
following:
   (A) Progress in meeting program goals and objectives.
   (B) Agency organization and facilities.
   (C) Personnel policies, files, and training.
   (D)  Recordkeeping, budgeting, and expenditures.
   (E)  Documentation, data collection, and client confidentiality.
   (2) Subsequent to each site visit conducted under paragraph (1),
the Maternal and Child Health Branch shall provide a written report
to the agency summarizing the agency's performance, any deficiencies
noted, and any corrective action needed.
   (3) Where an agency receives funding from both the Maternal and
Child Health Branch of the State Department of Health Services and
the Domestic Violence Branch of the Office of Criminal Justice
Planning during any grant cycle, the Maternal and Child Health Branch
and the Domestic Violence Branch shall, to the extent feasible,
coordinate agency site visits and share performance assessment data
with the goal of improving efficiency, eliminating duplication, and
reducing administrative costs.
   (e) In implementing the grant program pursuant to this section,
the State Department of Health Services shall consult with an
advisory council that shall remain in existence until January 1,
 2006   2010  . The council shall be
composed of not to exceed 13 voting members and two nonvoting members
appointed as follows:
   (1) Seven members appointed by the Governor.
   (2) Three members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly.
   (3) Three members appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules.
   (4) Two nonvoting ex officio members who shall be Members of the
Legislature, one appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly and one
appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules. Any Member of the
Legislature appointed to the council shall meet with, and participate
in the activities of, the council to the extent that participation
is not incompatible with his or her position as a Member of the
Legislature.
   The membership of the council shall consist of domestic violence
advocates, battered women service providers, and representatives of
women's organizations, law enforcement, and other groups involved
with domestic violence. At least one-half of the council membership
shall consist of domestic violence advocates or battered women
service providers from organizations such as the California Alliance
Against Domestic Violence.
   It is the intent of the Legislature that the council membership
reflect the ethnic, racial, cultural, and geographic diversity of the
state.
   (f) The department shall collaborate closely with the council in
the development of funding priorities, the framing of the Request for
Proposals, and the solicitation of proposals.
   (g) (1) The Maternal and Child Health Branch of the State
Department of Health Services shall administer grants, awarded as the
result of a request for application process, to agencies to conduct
demonstration projects to serve battered women, including, but not
limited to, creative and innovative service approaches, such as
community response teams and pilot projects to develop new
interventions emphasizing prevention and education, and other support
projects identified by the advisory council.
   (2) For purposes of this subdivision, "agency" means a state
agency, a local government, a community-based organization, or a
nonprofit organization.
   (h) It is the intent of the Legislature that services funded by
this program include services in underserved and ethnic and racial
communities. Therefore, the Maternal and Child Health Branch of the
State Department of Health Services shall do all of the following:
   (1)  Fund shelters pursuant to this section that reflect the
ethnic, racial, economic, cultural, and geographic diversity of the
state.
   (2)  Target geographic areas and ethnic and racial communities of
the state whereby, based on a needs assessment, it is determined that
no shelter-based services exist or that additional resources are
necessary.
   (i) The director may award additional grants to shelter-based
agencies when it is determined that there exists a critical need for
shelter or shelter-based services.
   (j) As a condition of receiving funding pursuant to this section,
battered women's shelters shall do all of the following:
   (1) Provide matching funds or in-kind contributions equivalent to
not less than 20 percent of the grant they would receive. The
matching funds or in-kind contributions may come from other
governmental or private sources.
   (2) Ensure that appropriate staff and volunteers having client
contact meet the definition of "domestic violence counselor" as
specified in subdivision (a) of Section 1037.1 of the Evidence Code.
The minimum training specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of
Section 1037.1 of the Evidence Code shall be provided to those staff
and volunteers who do not meet the requirements of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (a) of Section 1037.1 of the Evidence Code.   
  SECTION 1.  Section 977.2 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
   977.2.
   (a) (1) Notwithstanding Section 977 or any other law, in any case
in which the defendant is charged with a misdemeanor or a felony and
is currently incarcerated in the state prison, the Department of
Corrections may arrange for all court appearances in superior court,
except for the preliminary hearing, trial, judgment and sentencing,
and motions to suppress, to be conducted by two-way electronic
audiovideo communication between the defendant and the courtroom in
lieu of the physical presence of the defendant in the courtroom.
Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to eliminate the
authority of the court to issue an order requiring the defendant to
be physically present in the courtroom in those cases where the court
finds circumstances that require the physical presence of the
defendant in the courtroom. For those court appearances that the
department determines to conduct by two-way electronic audiovideo
communication, the department shall arrange for two-way electronic
audiovideo communication between the superior court and any state
prison facility located in the county. The department shall provide
properly maintained equipment and adequately trained staff at the
prison as well as appropriate training for court staff to ensure that
consistently effective two-way communication is provided between the
prison facility and the courtroom for all appearances that the
department determines to conduct by two-way electronic audiovideo
communication.
   (2) Notwithstanding Section 977 or any other law, in any case in
which the defendant is charged with a misdemeanor or a felony and is
currently incarcerated in a city or county jail, the law enforcement
agency having jurisdiction over the defendant may, with the consent
of the defendant and the court in which the defendant is to appear,
arrange for all court appearances in municipal or superior court,
except for the preliminary hearing, trial, judgment and sentencing,
and motions to suppress, to be conducted by two-way electronic
audiovideo communication between the defendant and the courtroom in
lieu of the physical presence of the defendant in the courtroom.
Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to eliminate the
authority of the court to issue an order requiring the defendant to
be physically present in the courtroom in those cases where the court
finds circumstances that require the physical presence of the
defendant in the courtroom. For those court appearances that the law
enforcement agency having jurisdiction over the defendant determines
to conduct by two-way electronic audiovideo communication, the law
enforcement agency shall arrange for the two-way electronic
audiovideo communication between the municipal or superior court and
the city or county jail. To ensure that consistently effective
two-way communication is provided between the city or county jail and
the courtroom for all appearances that the law enforcement agency
determines to conduct by two-way electronic audiovideo communication,
the law enforcement agency shall, at the very least, ensure that
properly maintained equipment and adequately trained staff are
available at the city or county jail and that appropriately trained
court staff are available in the courtroom.
   (b) If the defendant is represented by counsel, the attorney shall
be present with the defendant at the initial court appearance and
arraignment, and may enter a plea during the arraignment. However, if
the defendant is represented by counsel at an initial hearing in
superior court in a felony case, and if the defendant does not plead
guilty or nolo contendere to any charge, the attorney shall be
present with the defendant or if the attorney is not present with the
defendant, the attorney shall be present in court during the
hearing.
   (c) In lieu of the physical presence of the defendant's counsel at
the institution with the defendant, the court and the department or
law enforcement agency shall establish a confidential telephone and
facsimile transmission line between the court and the institution for
communication between the defendant's counsel in court and the
defendant at the institution. In this case, counsel for the defendant
shall not be required to be physically present at the institution
during any court appearance that is conducted via electronic
audiovideo communication.
   (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the
physical presence of the defense counsel with the defendant at the
state prison or a city or county jail.