This bill would establish a continuous electronic monitoring system, as defined, and would require the court to administer the system pursuant to written contracts with public or private agencies or entities, as specified. The bill would also require that each county or municipality enter into a written agreement with qualified contract service providers and designate an agency to respond to monitoring violations, as specified. By imposing additional duties on counties and municipalities, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

The bill would require the court to order continuous electronic monitoring, as specified, for a person who is alleged to have committed various acts of domestic violence, including, among others, domestic violence involving strangulation or suffocation. The bill would also require the court to charge the person accused of domestic violence for the costs of any form of supervision that utilizes continuous electronic monitoring, except as specified.

The bill would require the entity that operates the continuous electronic monitoring system to notify the appropriate law enforcement employee and emergency communications dispatch center if an offender violates a condition of a court order.

The bill would make legislative findings and declarations related to the prevention of domestic violence.

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.

Article 1.5. Domestic Violence Prevention Act

6328.

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) Domestic violence is an urgent public safety and public health crisis and the severity of domestic violence incidents in California has been increasing for more than a decade. By 2023, more than one-half of domestic violence incidents involved aggravated domestic assaults.

(2) Approximately 20 percent of women and 14 percent of men experience severe physical violence from an intimate partner in their lifetime. Among homicides in the United States, nearly one-half of all female homicide victims and one-tenth of male homicide victims are killed by their intimate partners.

(3) Children exposed to domestic violence can experience long-term consequences, including difficulty at school, substance abuse, behavioral problems in adolescence, and serious adult health problems.

(4) Other states, including North Carolina and Tennessee, have established technology-driven domestic violence programs that have successfully saved lives by preventing domestic violence homicides.

(5) Although progress has been made toward preventing and ending domestic violence and providing support to survivors and their families, important work remains to be done.

(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to do both of the following:

(1) Promote the health and safety of domestic violence survivors and their children by preventing domestic violence homicides.

(2) Empower domestic violence survivors to reclaim their ability to live a life of freedom from their abusers.

6329.

(a) As used is this article, “continuous electronic monitoring system” means a system that electronically determines and reports the location of a domestic violence offender, as described in Section 6330, that has all of the following attributes:

(1) A device designed to be worn by a human being.

(2) A device that emits a signal as a person is moving or is stationary. The signal shall be capable of being received and tracked across large urban or rural areas, statewide, and received from within structures, vehicles, and other objects to the degree technically feasible in light of the associated costs, design, and other considerations as determined relevant by the court.

(3) A device that functions 24 hours per day.

(4) A device that is resistant or impervious to unintentional or willful damage.

(b) The court shall administer continuous electronic monitoring pursuant to written contracts and appropriate public or private agencies or entities to provide specified supervision services.

(1) No public or private agency or entity may operate a continuous electronic monitoring system as authorized by this article without a written contract with the court.

(2) Each specified county or municipality shall enter into a written agreement with a qualified contract service provider.

(c) Electronic monitoring shall be activated pursuant to Section 6330.

(d) Monitoring shall be continuous and in real time.

(e) A violation of court-ordered geographic exclusion zones or proximity restrictions shall be immediately transmitted to local law enforcement and to the protected party.

(f) Each county or municipality shall designate a responsible agency to respond to monitoring violations.

6330.

(a) The court, when ordering a protective order pursuant to this division, shall order continuous electronic monitoring if the alleged offender is alleged to have committed any of the following:

(1) Domestic violence involving strangulation or suffocation.

(2) Domestic violence involving the use or threatened use of a deadly weapon.

(3) Domestic violence resulting in serious bodily injury.

(4) A violation of a protective order issued in connection with domestic violence.

(5) A domestic violence offense where the alleged offender has a prior conviction for domestic violence within the past five years.

(b) The court shall order an alleged offender who meets any of the criteria in subdivision (a) to do all of the following:

(1) Wear a continuous electronic monitoring system device and, except as provided by subdivision (c), pay the costs associated with operating that system in relation to the alleged offender.

(2) If the alleged victim of the offense consents, except as provided in subdivision (c), pay the costs associated with providing the victim with a cellular device application or an electronic receptor device that does all of the following:

(A) Is capable of receiving the continuous electronic monitoring system information from the device worn.

(B) Notifies the victim if the offender is at or near a location that they have been ordered to refrain from going to or near.

(C) Notifies the victim if the offender is within a prescribed proximity of the victim’s cellular device or electronic receptor device.

(c) The court may charge the alleged offender for the costs of any form of supervision that utilizes continuous electronic monitoring devices that monitor the whereabouts of the person pursuant to this article.

(1) Inability to pay all or a portion of the costs of continuous electronic monitoring authorized by this article shall not preclude the use of continuous electronic monitoring.

(2) An alleged offender identified pursuant to this section may be required to pay for that monitoring upon a finding of the ability to pay those costs. However, the court shall waive any or all of that payment upon a finding of an inability to pay.

(d) Electronic monitoring shall remain in effect until disposition of the case or further order of the court.

6331.

A court that orders an electronic monitoring system device shall order the entity that operates the continuous electronic monitoring system to notify the appropriate law enforcement employee and the appropriate emergency communications dispatch center if an offender violates a condition of a court order.

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.