BILL ANALYSIS
SB 218
Page 1
Date of Hearing: July 13, 1999
Counsel: Bruce E. Chan
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Mike Honda, Chair
SB 218 (Solis) - As Amended: July 6, 1999
SUMMARY : Makes several changes in domestic violence law,
including requiring, rather than authorizing, courts to seize
firearms from persons subject to domestic violence protective
orders. Changes existing statutes with regard to mandatory
minimum jail terms for repeat offenders. Makes additional
changes relating to domestic violence death review teams,
unofficial translations of court orders and other miscellaneous
provisions. Specifically, this bill :
1)Permits courts to issue unofficial translations of orders or
documents issued pursuant to the Domestic Violence Prevention
Act, and directs the Judicial Council to prepare forms that
relate to domestic violence prevention in languages other than
English.
2)Requires batterer's treatment programs to be approved by the
probation department as provided for in Penal Code Section
1203.097.
3)Makes the following changes to conform state law to federal
law regarding ownership or possession of firearms when subject
to a domestic violence protective order (DVPO):
a) Enacts an automatic prohibition from owning or
possessing a firearm by deleting the requirement of a
separate court order.
b) Limits judicial discretion to order either a shorter or
longer period of time to relinquish a firearm than the
current requirement of 72 hours.
c) Limits judicial discretion to modify an order requiring
that a person subject to a DVPO relinquish all firearms for
the duration of the order or orders.
SB 218
Page 2
d) Clarifies existing law prohibiting owning or possessing
a firearm while a DVPO is in effect to include purchasing
or receiving.
e) Clarifies existing law by consolidating the respective
penalties for either purchasing or receiving or owning or
possessing a firearm while subject to a DVPO in one
statutory provision.
4) Removes the sunset on the advisory council to the Department
of Health Services, Maternal and Child Health Branch's grant
program to fund domestic violence shelters and services for
victims of domestic violence.
5) Expands grounds for contempt of court to include willfully
disobeying of an out-of-state court order issued to a party
alleging domestic violence.
6) Requires an officer to make an arrest, with or without a
warrant, when responding to a call alleging a violation of a
DVPO, whether or not the violation occurred in the presence
of the officer. Requires law enforcement to seize a firearm
or other deadly weapon.
7) Allows the court to appoint a guardian ad litem to receive
service of a subpoena on a minor.
8) Allows members of a county interagency domestic violence
death review team to share confidential or privileged
information, or information that is prohibited from
disclosure by statute, regarding the victim, with other
appointed members. Establishes uniform reporting criteria
for domestic violence death review teams.
9) Increases mandatory minimum jail terms for certain repeat
offenders who are granted probation by deleting existing
penalties in favor of other penalty provisions. This bill
retains current imprisonment terms, but changes minimum jail
sentences as follows:
a) One prior conviction within 7 years for a domestic
violence offense as defined in Penal Code Section 273.5 -
increases minimum jail term from 96 hours to 15 days.
b) Two prior convictions within 7 years for a domestic
SB 218
Page 3
violence as defined in Penal Code Section 273.5 - increases
minimum jail term from 30 days to 60 days.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Provides that persons who are subject to a temporary
restraining order issued pursuant to Civil Code Section 527.6
or 527.8 for harassing behavior, or a protective order under
Family Code Section 6218, may not purchase or receive a
firearm for the duration of the order. The punishment for the
offense is imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year
or 16 months, 2 or 3 years in state prison. (Penal Code
Section 12021(g).)
2)Provides that a person subject to a domestic violence
restraining order may not own or possess any firearm. The
court may order a person who is the subject of a DVPO to
relinquish possession or control of any firearm during the
period covered by the order. Federal law provides that a
person subject to a court order that restrains the person from
harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or
child of such intimate partner cannot lawfully receive,
possess, ship, or transport a firearm or ammunition, as
specified. (Family Code Section 6389.)
3)Authorizes law enforcement at the scene of a family violence
incident involving a threat to human life or a physical
assault to take temporary custody of any firearm or other
deadly weapon in plain sight or discovered pursuant to a
consensual search as necessary for the protection of the peace
officer or other persons present. (Penal Code Section 836.)
4)Provides that corporal injury upon a spouse is an alternate
felony/misdemeanor, punishable by imprisonment in the state
prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for
not more than one year, or by a fine of up to $6,000 or by
both.
5)Provides that persons convicted of felony domestic violence
can be subject to an enhanced prison term of two, four, or
five years if the offense occurred within seven years of one
of the following offenses: battery inflicting serious bodily
injury, sexual battery, assault with caustic chemicals,
assault with a stun gun or taser, assault with a deadly weapon
likely to produce great bodily injury, or felony domestic
SB 218
Page 4
violence. (Penal Code Section 273.55.)
6)Provides mandatory minimum jail terms are required for certain
repeat offenders if probation is granted to a person convicted
of felony domestic violence (Penal Code Section 273.5.)
a) One prior conviction within 7 years: 96 hours in jail.
b) Two prior convictions within 7 years: 30 days in jail.
7)Provides mandatory minimum jail terms are required for certain
repeat offenders if probation is granted to a person convicted
of felony domestic violence-related offenses (battery with
serious bodily injury, sexual battery, assault with caustic
chemicals, assault with a stun gun, assault with a deadly
weapon, or felony domestic violence) (Penal Code Section
273.56):
a) One prior conviction within 7 years: 15 days in jail.
b) Two prior convictions within 7 years: 60 days.
8)Provides that a peace officer responding to a call alleging a
violation of a protective order may arrest the suspected
violator if the peace officer has probable cause to believe
that the person has notice of the order and has committed an
act in violation of said order. (Penal Code Section 836.)
9)Authorizes counties to establish an interagency domestic
violence death review team, as specified. Prohibits the
disclosure of specified information, such as medical records,
child abuse reports, juvenile court proceedings, and by and
between government agencies and persons involved in the
investigation of deaths. (Penal Code Section 11163.3.)
10)Provides that it is a contempt of court, punishable as a
misdemeanor to willfully disobey "any process or order
lawfully issued by any court." (Penal Code Section 166.)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement: According to the author, "Although
domestic violence is no longer seen as a taboo in our society,
SB 218
Page 5
it continues to be a prevalent problem that plagues the lives
of millions of women every year. By the most conservative of
estimates, each year one million women suffer nonfatal
violence by an intimate and nearly one in three women
experience at least one physical assault by a partner during
adulthood. Domestic violence is the second leading cause of
injury to women of all ages and it is the leading cause of
injury to women between the ages of 15 and 44. SB 218 seeks
to help protect women from the unnecessary and inexcusable
injury and death produced by domestic violence. The bill will
strengthen a number of current California laws including
requiring the mandatory removal of all guns found at the scene
of a domestic violence incident, the mandatory arrest of
restraining order violators, and the prohibition of a
restrained person from owning or possessing a firearm.
Likewise, the bill will allow for the full enforcement of
out-of-state restraining orders and will allow restraining
orders to be translated in other languages."
2)Arguments in Support: This bill requires that out-of-state
domestic violence restraining orders be accorded the full
force of the law in the same manner as orders issued by a
California court. Foreign orders issued while a trial is
pending shall be enforced in California, and the court is
authorized to use its contempt powers to enforce a foreign
order issued to a party alleging domestic violence. This bill
also requires officers to make an arrest when responding to a
call regarding a violation of a DVPO. Finally, this bill
permits DVPOs and other related documents to be printed in
languages other than English.
California law prohibits a person restrained by a DVPO from
purchasing a firearm, but does not currently incorporate other
restrictions contained in federal law. This bill conforms
California law to the federal law by prohibiting a person
restrained by a DVPO from owning or possessing a firearm for
the duration of the term of the DVPO. This bill also requires
law enforcement to remove any firearms at the scene of a
domestic violence incident or any firearms found after a
consensual search.
Courts may order a perpetrator of domestic violence to attend
counseling, but there are no minimum standards in statute
regarding the quality or duration of the counseling. This
bill requires batterer's treatment programs to be approved by
SB 218
Page 6
the county probation department pursuant to the detailed
standards set out in Penal Code Section 1203.097.
Domestic violence is the second leading cause of injury to women
over all, and the leading cause of injury to women between the
ages of 15 and 44. By removing guns from batterers who are
the subject of a domestic violence restraining order and
providing more uniform enforcement throughout California, this
bill could save the lives of many women.
1)Arguments in Opposition : The California Rifle and Pistol
Association (CRPA) states that this bill removes too much
discretion from law enforcement and the court by requiring
batterers to be disarmed. CRPA believes that current laws
that allow for a case-by-case determination of which violent
persons should be disarmed are preferable.
The Coalition of Parent Support (COPS) opposes almost every
provision of the bill. COPS states that batterer's treatment
programs are ineffective and "consist mainly of political
propaganda" and should not be expanded. COPS believes that
women's shelters are a haven for kidnappers and routinely fail
to report child abuse. Finally, COPS asserts that Death
Review Teams are "an institution of dubious merit." In
particular, the one operated by Santa Clara County "exists
for the sole purpose of propagandizing, to the detriment of
traditional rights of privacy and confidentiality."
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Alliance Against Family Violence & Sexual Assault
Asian Law Alliance
AVANCE Human Services, Inc.
Baldwin Park Chief of Police
California Alliance Against Domestic Violence
California Child, Youth, and Family Coalition
California Commission on the Status of Women
California Federation of Business and Professional Women
California Organization for Women (NOW)
California Peace Officers Association
California Police Chiefs Association
California Psychiatric Association
California State Sheriffs' Association
SB 218
Page 7
California Women Lawyers
California Women's Law Center
Children's Advocacy Institute (CAI)
City of Los Angeles
Coalition for Family Equity
Communities of Color Program
Defensa de Mujeres/Women's Crisis Support
Family Law Section, State Bar of California
Family Service Council of California
Family Violence Project of Jewish Family Service
Frieda Rapoport Caplan, Founder and Chairman of Frieda's
Haven Women's Center of Stanislaus
House of Ruth
Human Options: Alternatives for Abused Women and their Children
Jewish Family Service of Los Angeles
Judge Conrad R. Aragon, East Los Angeles Municipal Court
Junior League of Los Angeles, Inc.
Kamilat
Korean Health, Education, Information & Research Center
La Casa de las Madres
Laura's House
Law Offices of Nancy Hormachea
Los Angeles Commission on Assaults Against Women
March of Dimes
Marin Abused Women's Services
Napa Emergency Women's Services
Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence
Older Women's League of California
Peace & Joy Care Center
Project INFO Community Services, Inc.
Sacramento County Sheriff's Department
Southern California Public Health Association
State of California, Department of Justice
Statewide California Coalition for Battered Women
Support Network for Battered Women
The Riley Center of St. Vincent De Paul Society
Trauma Foundation
Tri-Valley Haven
Women Against Gun Violence
Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles
Women's and Children's Crisis Shelter, Inc.
Women Shelter of Long Beach
YWCA Legal Advocacy Program
YWCA of Greater Los Angeles
SB 218
Page 8
YWCA of San Diego County
Opposition
Coalition of Parent Support
California Rifle and Pistol Association
Analysis Prepared by : Bruce Chan / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744