BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                          SB 218
                                                          Page  1

Date of Hearing:   August 25, 1999

              ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS 
                    Carole Migden, Chairwoman

          SB 218 (Solis) - As Amended: August 19, 1999 

Policy Committee:                              Public  
SafetyVote:  8-0

Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local  
Program:YesReimbursable:          Yes

  SUMMARY  :

This bill makes a series of several changes to domestic violence  
law, including requiring, rather than authorizing, courts to  
seize guns from persons subject to domestic violence protective  
orders. Specifically, this bill:

1)Makes a series of changes to state law regarding ownership or  
  possession of guns by a person under domestic violence  
  protective order (DVPO): 
 
   a)   Enacts an automatic prohibition from owning or  
     possessing a gun by deleting the requirement of a separate  
     court order.

   b)   Limits judicial discretion to modify an order requiring  
     that a person subject to a DVPO relinquish all guns for the  
     duration of the order. Clarifies existing law prohibiting  
     owning or possessing a gun while a DVPO is in effect. 

   c)   Requires the court to inform the respondent of a  
     protective order that the respondent is prohibited from  
     owing or possessing a gun.  

2)Increases mandatory minimum jail terms for certain repeat  
  offenders granted probation: 

   a)   One prior conviction within 7 years for a specified  
     domestic violence offense: from 96 hours to 15 days.

   b)   Two prior convictions within 7 years: from 30 days to 60  
     days.








                                                          SB 218
                                                          Page  2


   c)   Retains the provision of current law in this section  
     that allows the court to not impose the mandatory  
     punishment upon a showing of good cause.  

3)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.

4)Requires batterer's treatment programs to be approved by the  
  probation department.

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 and knowingly possessing a gun in  
  violation of a protective order, as specified.  

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, and requires law enforcement to seize a gun or  
  other deadly weapon.  

7)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.  

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 and  
  establishes uniform reporting criteria for domestic violence  
  death review teams. 

  FISCAL EFFECT
  
1)Unknown, probably minor costs for additional state prison  
  commitments.
2)Minor reimbursable local costs to probation departments to  
  approve batterer's treatment programs.

  COMMENT








                                                         SB 218
                                                          Page  3

  
  Rationale  . Current law prohibits a person restrained by a DVPO  
from purchasing a gun, but does not currently incorporate other  
restrictions contained in federal law. This bill conforms  
California law to federal law by prohibiting a person restrained  
by a DVPO from owning or possessing a gun for 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 the  
county probation department pursuant to detailed standards set  
out in the Penal Code.



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