BILL ANALYSIS �
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 910|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 910
Author: Pavley (D), et al.
Amended: 8/18/14
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE : 6-0, 4/1/14
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Knight, Liu, Mitchell, Steinberg
NO VOTE RECORDED: De Le�n
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SENATE FLOOR : 36-0, 5/1/14
AYES: Anderson, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett, Correa, De
Le�n, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani, Hancock,
Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara, Leno,
Lieu, Liu, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen, Padilla,
Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Beall, Calderon, Wright, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/20/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Domestic violence: restraining orders
SOURCE : Los Angeles District Attorney's Office
DIGEST : This bill expands the definition of domestic violence
for purposes of a court's ability to issue restraining orders in
domestic violence cases, as specified.
Assembly Amendments add a coauthor and double-jointing language
CONTINUED
SB 910
Page
2
with
AB 1498 (Campos) and AB 1850 (Waldron).
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1.Authorizes courts to issue a civil or criminal protective
order to protect victims of domestic violence upon a good
cause belief that harm to, or intimidation or dissuasion of, a
victim or witness has occurred or is reasonably likely to
occur, and authorizes courts to issue a no-contact order for
the protected party and, in the discretion of the court, for
other named family or household members.
2.Authorizes courts to issue an "order protecting victims of
violent crime from all contact by the defendant, or contact,
with the intent to annoy, harass, threaten, or commit acts of
violence, by the defendant," as specified.
3.Provides that if a court does not issue the no-contact order,
the court "on its own motion shall consider issuing a
protective order upon a good cause belief that harm to, or
intimidation or dissuasion of, a victim or witness has
occurred or is reasonably likely to occur" in cases where the
defendant is charged with a crime of domestic violence, as
specified.
4.Provides that in determining whether good cause exists to
issue a protective order in a domestic violence case, the
court may consider the underlying nature of the offense
charged, and the defendant's history of domestic violence,
prior restraining orders and other forms of violence or
weapons offenses.
This bill:
1.Expands the definition of domestic violence for purposes of
the issuance of a protective order, including an order that
may be valid for up to 10 years, to include abuse perpetrated
against any of the additional following persons:
A. Cohabitants and former cohabitants, defined more
broadly.
CONTINUED
SB 910
Page
3
B. A person with whom the respondent has had a child, where
the presumption applies that the male parent is the father
of the child of the female parent, as specified.
C. A child of a party or a child who is the subject of an
action under the Uniform Parentage Act, where the
presumption applies that the male parent is the father of
the child to be protected.
D. Any other person related by consanguinity or affinity
within the second degree.
1.Revises language to provide it applies to a case in which the
defendant is charged with a crime involving domestic violence.
2.Contains double-jointing language with AB 1498 (Campos) and AB
1850 (Waldon).
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/20/14)
Los Angeles District Attorney's Office (source)
AFSCME
California District Attorneys Association
California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
Crime Victims United of California
Jewish Family Services of Los Angeles
Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California
National Association of Social Workers
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/20/14)
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Public Defenders Association
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The author states in part, "The narrow
definition in the law has led to an equally narrow
interpretation by judges when issuing protection orders in
domestic violence cases with child victims, with some refusing
to issue pre-sentencing protective orders for child abuse
CONTINUED
SB 910
Page
4
victims. Tragically, children are often the first target for
abuse when a domestic violence offender is released from prison
or jail. SB 910 addresses this potentially life threatening gap
in the law by giving sentencing judges a tool to protect all
potential victims from abuse regardless of their age."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The California Public Defenders
submit in part, "The broad discretion to restrain the defendant
from the complaining witness' dependents and relatives within
two degrees of consanguinity effectively alienates the defendant
from resources, housing, and property without the right to a
hearing. The court already has the power to restrain a
defendant from appropriate persons on a case by case basis when
the reason is articulated in the charging documents, or on the
record in the pretrial stage. After conviction, the terms and
conditions of sentencing, probation, or parole address the same;
and the defendant is guaranteed to a have a voice through
counsel."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/20/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Ch�vez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hern�ndez, Holden,
Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A.
P�rez, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Grove, Vacancy
JG:k 8/20/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED
SB 910
Page
5
CONTINUED