BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    




                   Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
                           Senator Kevin Murray, Chairman

                                           2139 (Garcia)
          
          Hearing Date:  8/7/06           Amended: 4/18/06
          Consultant: Nora Lynn           Policy Vote: Public Safety 6-0
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____
          BILL SUMMARY:   
          AB 2139 requires law enforcement officers who respond to an  
          intimate violence situation to tell the victim that he or she  
          may ask the officer to request an emergency protective order  
          (EPO), as specified. Making this request on victims' behalf  
          constitutes a state mandated local program.
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____
                            Fiscal Impact (in thousands)

           Major Provisions         2006-07      2007-08       2008-09     Fund
           
          State mandated local program      Unknown, likely less than $150  
          annually               General
          (EPO request)
          _________________________________________________________________ 
          ____

          STAFF COMMENTS: 
          A 2005 California Attorney General's Office report entitled  
          "Keeping the Promise: Victim Safety and Batterer Accountability"  
          described the current EPO process as follows:

               ? A victim of domestic violence can seek an Emergency  
               Protective Order (EPO), at any time of day or night,  
               from a police officer who responds to a call for  
               assistance. If the officer demonstrates to a judge (by  
               telephone) ? that a person is in immediate and present  
               danger of domestic violence, based on the person's  
               allegation of a recent incident of abuse or threat of  
               abuse, the judge, through the officer, can issue an  
               order on the spot that prohibits firearm possession  
               and requires no contact or peaceful contact. Though of  
               short duration (five to seven days), this order can  
               provide some temporary protection and serve as "proof"  
               of abuse if the victim later applies for a Temporary  
               Restraining Order (TRO) and Order After Hearing  










               (OAH)?. 

          AB 2139 requires a law enforcement officer who responds to a  
          situation where he or she believes there may be grounds for the  
          issuance of an EPO to inform the victim that he or she may ask  
          the officer to request an EPO. AB 2139 further requires the  
          officer to request the EPO if the officer believes the person  
          requesting the EPO is in immediate and present danger.

          Requiring officers to seek EPOs constitutes a state mandated  
          local program. For local governments that seek reimbursement of  
          costs associated with this measure, costs are not likely to  
          exceed $150,000 per year.