Bill Text: CA SB863 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Chaptered

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Bill Title: Domestic violence: death review teams.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-09-30 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 986, Statutes of 2022. [SB863 Detail]

Download: California-2021-SB863-Chaptered.html

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Senate Bill No. 863

CHAPTER 986

An act to amend Sections 11163.3, 11163.4, 11163.5, and 11163.6 of the Penal Code, relating to domestic violence.

[ Approved by Governor  September 30, 2022. Filed with Secretary of State  September 30, 2022. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 863, Min. Domestic violence: death review teams.

Existing law authorizes a county to establish an interagency domestic violence death review team to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing domestic violence deaths, including homicides and suicides, and facilitating communication among various agencies involved in domestic violence cases.

This bill would additionally authorize those interagency domestic violence death review teams to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing domestic violence near-death cases, as defined. The bill would prohibit near-death reviews from occurring before any prosecution has concluded and would prohibit the compelled participation of any near-death survivors in death review team investigations.

Under existing law, an oral or written communication or a document provided by a third party to a domestic violence review team is confidential and not subject to disclosure or discovery.

This bill would specify that this confidentiality provision includes a statement provided by a survivor in a near-death review case review.

Subject to available funding, existing law requires the Attorney General to develop a protocol designed to facilitate communication, as specified, to recognize incidents of domestic violence and deaths related to domestic violence.

This bill would require the Attorney General to develop that protocol no later than January 1, 2025, and would include communication regarding near deaths related to domestic violence in the protocol.

Digest Key

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

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Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

 Section 11163.3 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

11163.3.

 (a) A county may establish an interagency domestic violence death review team to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing domestic violence deaths and near deaths, including homicides and suicides, and facilitating communication among the various agencies involved in domestic violence cases. Interagency domestic violence death review teams have been used successfully to ensure that incidents of domestic violence and abuse are recognized and that agency involvement is reviewed to develop recommendations for policies and protocols for community prevention and intervention initiatives to reduce and eradicate the incidence of domestic violence.

(b) (1) For purposes of this section, “abuse” has the meaning set forth in Section 6203 of the Family Code and “domestic violence” has the meaning set forth in Section 6211 of the Family Code.

(2) For purposes of this section, “near death” means the victim suffered a life-threatening injury, as determined by a licensed physician or licensed nurse, as a result of domestic violence.

(c) A county may develop a protocol that may be used as a guideline to assist coroners and other persons who perform autopsies on domestic violence victims in the identification of domestic violence, in the determination of whether domestic violence contributed to death or whether domestic violence had occurred prior to death, but was not the actual cause of death, and in the proper written reporting procedures for domestic violence, including the designation of the cause and mode of death.

(d) County domestic violence death review teams shall be comprised of, but not limited to, the following:

(1) Experts in the field of forensic pathology.

(2) Medical personnel with expertise in domestic violence abuse.

(3) Coroners and medical examiners.

(4) Criminologists.

(5) District attorneys and city attorneys.

(6) Representatives of domestic violence victim service organizations, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1037.1 of the Evidence Code.

(7) Law enforcement personnel.

(8) Representatives of local agencies that are involved with domestic violence abuse reporting.

(9) County health department staff who deal with domestic violence victims’ health issues.

(10) Representatives of local child abuse agencies.

(11) Local professional associations of persons described in paragraphs (1) to (10), inclusive.

(e) An oral or written communication or a document shared within or produced by a domestic violence death review team related to a domestic violence death review is confidential and not subject to disclosure or discoverable by a third party. An oral or written communication or a document provided by a third party to a domestic violence death review team, or between a third party and a domestic violence death review team, is confidential and not subject to disclosure or discoverable by a third party. This includes a statement provided by a survivor in a near-death case review. Notwithstanding the foregoing, recommendations of a domestic violence death review team upon the completion of a review may be disclosed at the discretion of a majority of the members of the domestic violence death review team.

(f) Each organization represented on a domestic violence death review team may share with other members of the team information in its possession concerning the victim who is the subject of the review or any person who was in contact with the victim and any other information deemed by the organization to be pertinent to the review. Any information shared by an organization with other members of a team is confidential. This provision shall permit the disclosure to members of the team of any information deemed confidential, privileged, or prohibited from disclosure by any other statute.

(g) Written and oral information may be disclosed to a domestic violence death review team established pursuant to this section. The team may make a request in writing for the information sought and any person with information of the kind described in paragraph (2) may rely on the request in determining whether information may be disclosed to the team.

(1) An individual or agency that has information governed by this subdivision shall not be required to disclose information. The intent of this subdivision is to allow the voluntary disclosure of information by the individual or agency that has the information.

(2) The following information may be disclosed pursuant to this subdivision:

(A) Notwithstanding Section 56.10 of the Civil Code, medical information.

(B) Notwithstanding Section 5328 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, mental health information.

(C) Notwithstanding Section 15633.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information from elder abuse reports and investigations, except the identity of persons who have made reports, which shall not be disclosed.

(D) Notwithstanding Section 11167.5 of the Penal Code, information from child abuse reports and investigations, except the identity of persons who have made reports, which shall not be disclosed.

(E) State summary criminal history information, criminal offender record information, and local summary criminal history information, as defined in Sections 11075, 11105, and 13300 of the Penal Code.

(F) Notwithstanding Section 11163.2 of the Penal Code, information pertaining to reports by health practitioners of persons suffering from physical injuries inflicted by means of a firearm or of persons suffering physical injury where the injury is a result of assaultive or abusive conduct, and information relating to whether a physician referred the person to local domestic violence services as recommended by Section 11161 of the Penal Code.

(G) Notwithstanding Section 827 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, information in any juvenile court proceeding.

(H) Information maintained by the Family Court, including information relating to the Family Conciliation Court Law pursuant to Section 1818 of the Family Code, and Mediation of Custody and Visitation Issues pursuant to Section 3177 of the Family Code.

(I) Information provided to probation officers in the course of the performance of their duties, including, but not limited to, the duty to prepare reports pursuant to Section 1203.10 of the Penal Code, as well as the information on which these reports are based.

(J) Notwithstanding Section 10850 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, records of in-home supportive services, unless disclosure is prohibited by federal law.

(3) The disclosure of written and oral information authorized under this subdivision shall apply notwithstanding Sections 2263, 2918, 4982, and 6068 of the Business and Professions Code, or the lawyer-client privilege protected by Article 3 (commencing with Section 950) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code, the physician-patient privilege protected by Article 6 (commencing with Section 990) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code, the psychotherapist-patient privilege protected by Article 7 (commencing with Section 1010) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code, the sexual assault counselor-victim privilege protected by Article 8.5 (commencing with Section 1035) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code, the domestic violence counselor-victim privilege protected by Article 8.7 (commencing with Section 1037) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code, and the human trafficking caseworker-victim privilege protected by Article 8.8 (commencing with Section 1038) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code.

(4) In near-death cases, representatives of domestic violence victim service organizations, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 1037.1 of the Evidence Code, shall obtain an individual’s informed consent in accordance with all applicable state and federal confidentiality laws, before disclosing confidential information about that individual to another team member as specified in this section. In death review cases, representatives of domestic violence victim service organizations shall only provide client-specific information in accordance with both state and federal confidentiality requirements.

(5) Near-death case reviews shall only occur after any prosecution has concluded.

(6) Near-death survivors shall not be compelled to participate in death review team investigations; their participation is voluntary. In cases of death, the victim’s family members may be invited to participate, however they shall not be compelled to do so; their participation is voluntary. Members of the death review teams shall be prepared to provide referrals for services to address the unmet needs of survivors and their families when appropriate.

SEC. 2.

 Section 11163.4 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

11163.4.

 Subject to available funding, the Attorney General, working with the state domestic violence coalition, shall develop, no later than January 1, 2025, a protocol for the development and implementation of interagency domestic violence death review teams for use by counties, which shall include relevant procedures for both urban and rural counties. The protocol shall be designed to facilitate communication among persons who perform autopsies and the various persons and agencies involved in domestic violence cases so that incidents of domestic violence, near deaths related to domestic violence, and deaths related to domestic violence are recognized and surviving nonoffending family and household members and domestic partners receive the appropriate services.

SEC. 3.

 Section 11163.5 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

11163.5.

 (a) The purpose of this section is to coordinate and integrate state and local efforts to address fatal domestic violence, and to create a body of information to prevent domestic violence deaths.

(b) (1) The Department of Justice is hereby authorized to carry out the purpose of this section with the cooperation of the State Department of Social Services, the State Department of Health Services, the California State Coroner’s Association, the County Welfare Directors Association, and the state domestic violence coalition.

(2) The Department of Justice, after consulting with the agencies and organizations specified in paragraph (1), may consult with other representatives of other agencies and private organizations to accomplish the purpose of this section.

(c) To accomplish the purpose of this section, the Department of Justice and agencies and organizations involved may engage in the following activities:

(1) Collect, analyze, and interpret state and local data on domestic violence death and near death in an annual report to be available upon request. The report may contain, but need not be limited to, information provided by state agencies and the county domestic violence death review teams for the preceding year.

(2) Develop a state and local database on domestic violence deaths.

(A) The state data may include the Department of Justice statistics, the State Department of Health Services Vital Statistics, and information obtained by other relevant state agencies.

(B) The Department of Justice, in consultation with the agencies and organizations specified in paragraph (1) of subdivision (b), may develop a model minimal local data set and request data from local teams for inclusion in the annual report.

(3) Distribute a copy of the report to public officials in the state who deal with domestic violence issues and to those agencies responsible for domestic violence death review investigation in each county.

(d) The Department of Justice may direct the creation of a statewide domestic violence death review team directory, which shall contain the names of the members of the agencies and private organizations participating under this section, the members of local domestic violence death review teams, and the local liaisons to those teams. The department may maintain and update the directory annually.

(e) The agencies or private organizations participating under this section shall participate without reimbursement from the state. Costs incurred by participants for travel or per diem shall be borne by the participant agency or organization. Any reports prepared by the Department of Justice pursuant to this section shall be in consultation with the state domestic violence coalition.

SEC. 4.

 Section 11163.6 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

11163.6.

 In order to ensure consistent and uniform results, data may be collected and summarized by the domestic violence death review teams to show the statistical occurrence of domestic violence deaths or near deaths in the team’s county that occur under the following circumstances:

(a) The deceased was a victim of a homicide committed by a current or former spouse, fiance, or dating partner.

(b) The deceased was the victim of a suicide, was the current or former spouse, fiance, or dating partner of the perpetrator and was also the victim of previous acts of domestic violence.

(c) The deceased was the perpetrator of the homicide of a former or current spouse, fiance, or dating partner and the perpetrator was also the victim of a suicide.

(d) The deceased was the perpetrator of the homicide of a former or current spouse, fiance, or dating partner and the perpetrator was also the victim of a homicide related to the domestic homicide incident.

(e) The deceased was a child of either the homicide victim or the perpetrator, or both.

(f) The deceased was a current or former spouse, fiance, or dating partner of the current or former spouse, fiance, or dating partner of the perpetrator.

(g) The deceased was a law enforcement officer, emergency medical personnel, or other agency responding to a domestic violence incident.

(h) The deceased was a family member, other than identified above, of the perpetrator.

(i) The deceased was the perpetrator of the homicide of a family member, other than identified above.

(j) The deceased had a disability and the homicide was related to domestic violence.

(k) The deceased was a person not included in the above categories and the homicide was related to domestic violence.

(l) The victim suffered a substantial risk of serious bodily injury or death from domestic violence.

(m) The circumstances of the domestic violence event indicate the perpetrator more likely than not intended to kill or seriously injure the victim.