Legislation
SB 23: (Rubio) Revenge Porn: Statute of Limitations – Strengthens protections for victims of revenge porn by extending the statute of limitations to one year from discovery, giving a victim more time to seek justice against those who violate their privacy. (Signed into Law)
SB 24: (Joint Author) Domestic violence: protective orders: information pertaining to a child – Enhances protections against a third party’s disclosure of a minor’s protected information under a domestic violence restraining order. (Signed into Law)
SB 273: (Rubio) The Phoenix Act – This bill would provide additional time for domestic violence survivors to come forward about their abuse by extending the statute of limitations to 5 years. In addition, this bill will include specified techniques when handling incidents of domestic violence under the Peace Officers Standards and Training (POST) guidelines. (Signed into Law)
SB 316: (Rubio) Domestic Violence Hotline: High School – The bill would require public and higher education institutions to print the telephone number for the National Domestic Violence Hotline on student ID cards. (Signed into Law)
SB-320: (Coauthor) Domestic violence protective orders: possession of a firearm. Requires the courts to notify law enforcement and the county prosecutor’s office when there has been a violation of a firearm relinquishment order. (Signed into Law)
SB 374 : (Joint Author) Protective orders: reproductive coercion – Expands the definition of coercive control for which a court may issue a restraining order under the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (DVPA) to include reproductive coercion. (Signed into Law)
SB 538: (Rubio) Domestic Violence & Gun Violence Restraining Orders E-Filing & Remote Testimony – Strengthens protections for survivors of domestic violence by requiring California’s Superior Courts to maintain procedures allowing parties to electronically file for Domestic Violence Restraining Orders (DVROs) and Gun Violence Restraining Orders (GVROs). Also allows parties and witnesses to appear remotely at the hearing on a petition. (Signed into Law)
SB 616: (Rubio) Piqui's Law: Keeping Children Safe from Family Violence. Will ensure California can receive critical federal funding to further protect victims of child abuse and domestic violence by prioritizing child safety in our family court system, aligning with federal provisions within the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). (Held in Senate Floor)
SB-654: (Coauthor) Child custody. This bill (1) requires a court that grants unsupervised visitation to parents with histories of abuse, neglect, or substance abuse to state its reasons for doing so in writing or on the record; and (2) provides that if a child addresses a court regarding custody or visitation, they generally must be permitted to do so without the parties being present.
AB 673: (Coauthor) Domestic violence – Requires state grant funding awarded through Cal OES to a local domestic violence center be distributed in a single disbursement.
SB-720: (Coauthor) Statewide Domestic Violence Program. This bill requires the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to provide the full amount of a grant award to a domestic violence shelter service provider (DVSSP) at the beginning of a grant period.
SB-863: (Joint Author) Domestic violence: death review teams. This bill authorizes a county domestic violence death review team to assist local agencies in identifying and reviewing domestic violence near-death cases, as defined.
SB 914: (Rubio) Homeless domestic violence survivors and data systems: local and state support and guidelines. This bill would require the California Interagency Council on Homelessness to set and measure progress toward goals to prevent and end homelessness among domestic violence survivors and their children and among unaccompanied women in California. (Signed into Law)
SB-935: (Coauthor) Domestic violence: protective orders. Clarifies that a domestic violence protective order may be renewed more than once. Specifically, this bill: 1) Clarifies that a domestic violence protective order issued after notice and a hearing may be renewed for either five or more years, or permanently, at the discretion of the court. Provides that renewals and subsequent renewal are subject to termination, modification, or subsequent renewal by further order of the court either on written stipulation filed with the court or on the motion of a party.
AB 939: (Coauthor) Sex offenses: Evidence. Prohibits the admission of evidence of the manner in which a victim was dressed, when offered by either the prosecution or the defendant on the issue of consent, during the prosecution of specified sex crimes even if the evidence is determined to be relevant outside the presence of the jury and the interests of justice favor its admission.
SB-975: (Coauthor) Debt: coerced debts: right of action. This bill creates a cause of action through which a debtor can enjoin a creditor from holding the debtor personally liable for a debt incurred in the name of a debtor through duress, intimidation, threat, force, fraud, or exploitation of the debtor’s resources or personal information for personal gain.
SB-993: (Coauthor) Victims and persons erroneously convicted. This bill, among other things, establishes the Flexible Assistance for Survivors of Violence (FASV) Pilot Grant Program and makes numerous changes to the composition and processes of the California Victim Compensation Board (VCB), as specified.
SB 1141: (Rubio) Domestic Violence: Coercive Control – The bill would add “coercive control” to the Family Code. This behavior of coercive control includes: Isolating the victim from friends, relatives, or other support; depriving the victim of basic necessities; controlling the victim’s communications, daily behavior, finances, economic resources, and many other behaviors that cause severe emotional distress. (Signed into Law)
SB 1265: (Rubio) The Right to Pause Act: Child Custody Protection. Will further protect victims and children by allowing for a pause in visitation if there were recent signs of an escalation in violent behavior by the abusive parent that resulted in as arrest, charge or use of a weapon on another person. (Held in Asm. Judiciary)
SB 1276: (Rubio) The Comprehensive Statewide Domestic Violence Program – the bill removes the 10 percent cash or in-kind matching requirement for state grants awarded to domestic violence programs that provide essential resources. In addition to state requirements, domestic violence service providers must also meet match fund requirements for federal funding sources. (Signed into Law)
AB 2791: (Coauthor) Sheriffs: service of process and notices. Requires a marshal or sheriff to accept an electronically signed notice or other process issued by a superior court in a civil action, including service of process and court documents for the purpose of notice.