Bill Text: CA AB2967 | 2017-2018 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Foster care: certified record of live birth.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-09-19 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 551, Statutes of 2018. [AB2967 Detail]

Download: California-2017-AB2967-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  March 22, 2018

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2017–2018 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 2967

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Introduced by Assembly Member Quirk-Silva

February 16, 2018

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An act to add Part 7 (commencing with Section 6470) to Division 10 of the Family Code, relating to domestic violence.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 2967, as amended, Quirk-Silva. Domestic violence: batterer’s program.

Existing law specifies that the terms of probation granted to a person who has been convicted of domestic violence are required to include, among other things, successful completion of a batterer’s program, as defined, or, if none is available, another appropriate counseling program designated by the court, for a period of not less than one year. For defendants who are chronic users or serious abusers of drugs or alcohol, existing law requires that standard components in the program include concurrent counseling for substance abuse and violent behavior, and, in appropriate cases, detoxification and abstinence from the abused substance. Under existing law, the probation department has the sole authority to approve a batterer’s program for probation, subject to specified criteria that the batterer’s program is required to meet.

Existing law authorizes, in addition to, and not in lieu of, the batterer’s program, and unless prohibited by the referring court, the probation department or the court to make provisions for a defendant to use his or her resources to enroll in a chemical dependency program or to enter voluntarily a licensed chemical dependency recovery hospital or residential treatment program, as specified.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would remove the conflation of alcohol or substance abuse treatment with a batterer’s program.

Existing law authorizes a court to issue an order to restrain any person in order to prevent acts of domestic violence, abuse, and sexual abuse and to provide for a separation of the persons involved in the domestic violence for a period sufficient to enable these persons to seek a resolution of the causes of the violence. Existing law also authorizes the court, after notice and a hearing, to issue an order requiring the restrained party to participate in a batterer’s program approved by the probation department as described above.

This bill would require a batterer’s program that has been approved by a probation department to make its services available to a person who voluntarily applies for enrollment in the batterer’s program, as specified, without requiring that the person be referred to the batterer’s program by a court or probation department or be the subject of any criminal, civil, or juvenile proceedings. To the extent that a county administers its own batterer’s program, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NOYES  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Part 7 (commencing with Section 6470) is added to Division 10 of the Family Code, to read:

PART 7. BATTERER’S PROGRAM

6470.

 (a) A batterer’s program that has been approved by a probation department pursuant to Section 1203.097 of the Penal Code shall make its services available to a person who voluntarily applies for enrollment in the batterer’s program, subject to any other law and the enrollment criteria of the batterer’s program, without requiring that the person be referred to the batterer’s program by a court or probation department or be the subject of any criminal, civil, or juvenile proceedings.

(b) The probation department is not required to verify the batterer’s program’s compliance with subdivision (a) for purposes of the probation department’s approval process under Section 1203.097 of the Penal Code.

(c) This section does not affect the requirements described in Section 1203.097 of the Penal Code for purposes of a person participating in a batterer’s program as a term of probation pursuant to Section 1203.097 of the Penal Code, and does not affect the requirements described in Section 6343 for purposes of a person subject to a protective order and participating in a batterer’s program pursuant to Section 6343.

SEC. 2.

 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

SECTION 1.

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would remove the conflation of alcohol or substance abuse treatment with a batterer’s program.