BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 842
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 9, 2006

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                   Judy Chu, Chair

                                           SB 842 (Machado) - As Amended:   
          June 15, 2005 

          Policy Committee:                              Public  
          SafetyVote:  6-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the Attorney General to conduct a study by  
          June 30, 2008 regarding attendance, enrollment, and re-offense  
          rates for persons assigned to batterers' treatment programs. The  
          study would review data from five representative counties and  
          compare the data to similar counties that do not operate  
          batterers' programs.  
           
           FISCAL EFFECT  

          The Attorney General's Office indicates the cost of the study  
          would be about $250,000 per year for two years (GF), including  
          two positions.

          The bill specifies that this measure shall be implemented only  
          when "adequate funding for that purpose has been made available  
          to the Department of Justice."

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale  . The author contends research regarding the efficacy  
            of batterers' treatment programs is inconclusive and  
            conflicting. This bill is intended to provide objective data  
            to help policymakers identify potential program shortcomings  
            and respond more effectively to domestic violence. 

           2)Current law  requires persons convicted of domestic violence,  
            as specified, to complete a one-year batterer's treatment  
            program as a condition of probation.









                                                                  SB 842
                                                                  Page  2



           Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081