BILL NUMBER: AB 114 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 27, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 31, 2005
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 25, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 13, 2005
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 8, 2005
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cohn
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Spitzer)
(Principal coauthor: Senator Alquist)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bass, Garcia, Shirley Horton,
Matthews, Montanez, Nation, Negrete McLeod, Parra, Pavley,
Ridley-Thomas, and Vargas)
JANUARY 12, 2005
An act to amend Section 1109 of the Evidence Code, and to amend
Section 124250 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to child and
domestic abuse.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 114, as amended, Cohn. Child and domestic abuse.
Under existing law, evidence of a person's character, such as
opinion or specific instances of conduct, is generally not admissible
to prove a defendant's conduct on a particular occasion, with
specified exceptions. Existing law provides, however, that when a
defendant is accused of domestic violence in a criminal action,
evidence of the defendant's prior acts of domestic violence may be
admitted to prove the defendant's conduct, except as to the findings
and declarations of a regulatory agency or when the acts occurred
more than 10 years ago or the court exercises its discretion to
exclude the evidence of prior acts, as specified.
This bill would provide that when a defendant is accused of child
abuse in a criminal action, evidence of the defendant's prior acts of
child abuse or domestic violence may be admitted
to prove the defendant's conduct, except as specified and
subject to an evidentiary hearing . The bill would also define
"child abuse" for purposes of that provision and would make other
nonsubstantive changes.
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. In
implementing the program, the department is required to consult with
a designated advisory council that shall remain in existence until
January 1, 2006.
This bill would provide that the advisory council shall remain in
existence until January 1, 2010.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 1109 of the Evidence Code is amended to read:
1109.
(a) (1) Except as provided in subdivision (e) or (f), in a
criminal action in which the defendant is accused of an offense
involving domestic violence, evidence of the defendant's commission
of other domestic violence is not made inadmissible by Section 1101
if the evidence is not inadmissible pursuant to Section 352.
(2) Except as provided in subdivision (e) or (f), in a criminal
action in which the defendant is accused of an offense involving
abuse of an elder or dependent person, evidence of the defendant's
commission of other abuse of an elder or dependent person is not made
inadmissible by Section 1101 if the evidence is not inadmissible
pursuant to Section 352.
(3) Except as provided in subdivision (e) or (f) and subject
to a hearing conducted pursuant to Section 352, which shall
include consideration of any corroboration and remoteness in
time , in a criminal action in which the defendant is accused
of an offense involving child abuse, evidence of the defendant's
commission of child abuse or domestic violence is
not made inadmissible by Section 1101 if the evidence is not
inadmissible pursuant to Section 352. Nothing in this paragraph
prohibits or limits the admission of evidence pursuant to subdivision
(b) of Section 1101.
(b) In an action in which evidence is to be offered under this
section, the people shall disclose the evidence to the defendant,
including statements of witnesses or a summary of the substance of
any testimony that is expected to be offered, in compliance with the
provisions of Section 1054.7 of the Penal Code.
(c) This section shall not be construed to limit or preclude the
admission or consideration of evidence under any other statute or
case law.
(d) As used in this section:
(1) "Abuse of an elder or dependent person" means physical or
sexual abuse, neglect, financial abuse, abandonment, isolation,
abduction, or other treatment that results in physical harm, pain, or
mental suffering, the deprivation of care by a caregiver, or other
deprivation by a custodian or provider of goods or services that are
necessary to avoid physical harm or mental suffering.
(2) "Child abuse" means an act proscribed by Section 273d
or 288.5 of the Penal Code.
(3) "Domestic violence" has the meaning set forth in Section 13700
of the Penal Code. Subject to a hearing conducted pursuant to
Section 352, which shall include consideration of any corroboration
and remoteness in time, "domestic violence" has the further meaning
as set forth in Section 6211 of the Family Code, if the act occurred
no more than five years before the charged offense.
(e) Evidence of acts occurring more than 10 years before the
charged offense is inadmissible under this section, unless the court
determines that the admission of this evidence is in the interest of
justice.
(f) Evidence of the findings and determinations of administrative
agencies regulating the conduct of health facilities licensed under
Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code is inadmissible under this
section.
SEC. 2. 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
havens , 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,
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.