BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 188
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 19, 2009

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                     SB 188 (Runner) - As Amended:  July 2, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                               
          JudiciaryVote:10-0 (Consent)

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          Yes    Reimbursable:              Yes

           SUMMARY  

          This bill authorizes specified educational institutions to seek  
          restraining orders on behalf of students.  Specifically, this  
          bill:

          1)Authorizes the chief administrative officer, or their  
            designee, of a private postsecondary educational institution  
            to seek, with a student's consent, a temporary restraining  
            order on behalf of a student who has suffered a credible  
            threat of violence.
           
          2)Provides that if the defendant is a current student of the  
            private postsecondary institution requesting the injunction,  
            the judge shall receive evidence concerning the decision of  
            the institution to retain, terminate, or otherwise discipline  
            the defendant.

          3)Establishes a process for consideration, issuance, and  
            enforcement of a restraining order conforming to the existing  
            statutory process for restraining orders issued under other  
            circumstances.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)Minor nonreimbursable costs to local governments for enforcing  
            restraining orders, violations of which are misdemeanors,  
            subject to a fine of up to $1,000 and/or one year in county  
            jail.

          2)Minor absorbable costs to the courts for additional hearings  
            and services of process regarding restraining orders.








                                                                  SB 188
                                                                  Page  2


           COMMENTS  

           Purpose  .  This bill arose from an incident in the author's  
          district that occurred at an adult beauty institute in  
          Lancaster, California.  According to the author, the Western  
          Beauty Institute (WBI) expelled a student who was making threats  
          to other students and staff members.  After being expelled, the  
          student proceeded to attack one of her classmates with a set of  
          keys, inflicting a serious head injury.  In response to this  
          incident, the administrators of WBI asked the court for a  
          restraining order but discovered that educational facilities are  
          not covered by current law.  Therefore, there is currently no  
          mechanism to issue a blanket restraining order to protect all  
          individuals on a campus at any given time.  The most recent  
          amendments limited the bill to private postsecondary schools.   
          According to the Assembly Judiciary Committee analysis, the  
          amendments excluded K-12 schools and public postsecondary  
          institutions, "where serious and countervailing constitutional,  
          educational, parental, due-process and other important legal  
          rights and concerns are implicated."

           Analysis Prepared by  :    Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081