BILL NUMBER: AB 2034 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 20, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE JULY 1, 2014
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 11, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 23, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 28, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 19, 2014
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 11, 2014
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Gatto
FEBRUARY 20, 2014
An act to add Section 2361 to the Probate Code, and to
add Section 15657.035 to amend Section 15657.03 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to elder and
dependent adults.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2034, as amended, Gatto. Elder and dependent adults.
Existing law requires the conservator of a person to be
responsible for the care, custody, control, and education of the
conservatee, except when the court, in its discretion, limits the
powers and duties of the conservator, as specified.
This bill would require the conservator of an elder or dependent
adult to inform the relatives of the conservatee whenever the
conservatee dies or is admitted to a medical facility for acute care
for a period of 3 days or more and would require the conservator, in
the event of death of the conservatee, to inform the relatives of any
funeral arrangements and the location of the conservatee's final
resting place.
Existing law authorizes a conservator or a trustee of an elder or
dependent adult, an attorney-in-fact of an elder or dependent adult,
a person appointed as a guardian ad litem for an elder or dependent
adult, or another person legally authorized to seek a protective
order on behalf of an elder or dependent adult who has suffered
physical abuse, neglect, financial abuse, abandonment, isolation,
abduction, or other treatment with resulting physical harm or pain or
mental suffering, or the deprivation by a care custodian of goods or
services that are necessary to avoid physical harm or mental
suffering.
This bill would additionally allow a petition to be brought for a
protective order by a relative of an elder or dependent adult to
enjoin a person from keeping the elder or dependent adult in
isolation from contact with the relative. The bill would allow a
court to make an order to restrain any person for the purpose of
preventing a recurrence of abuse upon proof of a past act or acts of
isolation and upon a showing that the elder or dependent adult
desires contact with the relative.
The bill would require the court to appoint counsel for the elder
or dependent adult and would allow the court to award court costs and
attorney's fees to the prevailing party. The bill would require
information on any protective order issued pursuant to these
provisions to be transmitted to the Department of Justice, as
provided. The bill would require the county adult protective services
or local law enforcement agency in the county where the proposed
visitee resides to investigate a complaint of isolation and to
prepare a report to be provided to the court stating, among other
things, whether the proposed visitee desires contact from the
relative. The bill would require, on request of the relative, any law
enforcement officer who is present at the scene of reported abuse to
serve a protective order issued pursuant to these provisions on the
restrained person. By increasing the duties of county adult
protective services and local law enforcement agencies, this bill
would impose a state-mandated local program.
This bill would, for purposes of a petition alleging abuse in the
form of isolation, as defined, allow the petition to be brought on
behalf of an abused elder or dependent adult by a relative of the
first degree of the elder or dependent adult who seeks visitation
with the isolated elder or dependent adult.
The bill would require the court to determine whether the elder or
dependent adult on whose behalf the petition was filed has retained
or intends to retain an attorney, and if the elder or dependent adult
has not retained an attorney and does not plan to retain one, allow
the court to appoint an attorney. If an attorney is appointed, the
bill would require the court to fix a reasonable sum for the
reasonable costs and fees of the elder or dependent adult's attorney.
The bill would allow the court to order the respondent, if the
petition is granted, or the relative of the first degree, if the
petition is denied, to pay the reasonable fees and costs of the elder
or dependent adult's attorney. The bill would require the court to
determine the ability of the person to pay these fees and costs and
would require the county to pay to the extent the person is unable to
pay. By requiring the county to pay these costs, this bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
Because a violation of a court order issued pursuant to the above
provisions would be punishable as contempt, a misdemeanor, this bill
would create a new crime and would thereby 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 with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 15657.03 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
15657.03. (a) (1) An elder or dependent adult who has suffered
abuse as defined in Section 15610.07 may seek protective orders as
provided in this section.
(2) (A) A petition may be brought on behalf
of an abused elder or dependent adult by a conservator or a trustee
of the elder or dependent adult, an attorney-in-fact of an elder or
dependent adult who acts within the authority of the power of
attorney, a person appointed as a guardian ad litem for the elder or
dependent adult, or other person legally authorized to seek such
relief.
(B) If the petition alleges abuse of an elder or dependent adult
in the form of isolation, as defined in Section 15610.43, the term
"other person legally authorized to seek such relief" as used in
paragraph (2) includes a relative within the first degree of the
abused elder or dependent adult who seeks visitation with the
isolated elder or dependent adult.
(b) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Conservator" means the legally appointed conservator of the
person or estate of the petitioner, or both.
(2) "Petitioner" means the elder or dependent adult to be
protected by the protective orders and, if the court grants the
petition, the protected person.
(3) "Protective order" means an order that includes any of the
following restraining orders, whether issued ex parte, after notice
and hearing, or in a judgment:
(A) An order enjoining a party from abusing, intimidating,
molesting, attacking, striking, stalking, threatening, sexually
assaulting, battering, harassing, telephoning, including, but not
limited to, making annoying telephone calls as described in Section
653m of the Penal Code, destroying personal property, contacting,
either directly or indirectly, by mail or otherwise, or coming within
a specified distance of, or disturbing the peace of, the petitioner,
and, in the discretion of the court, on a showing of good cause, of
other named family or household members or a conservator, if any, of
the petitioner.
(B) An order excluding a party from the petitioner's residence or
dwelling, except that this order shall not be issued if legal or
equitable title to, or lease of, the residence or dwelling is in the
sole name of the party to be excluded, or is in the name of the party
to be excluded and any other party besides the petitioner.
(C) An order enjoining a party from specified behavior that the
court determines is necessary to effectuate orders described in
subparagraph (A) or (B).
(4) "Respondent" means the person against whom the protective
orders are sought and, if the petition is granted, the restrained
person.
(c) An order may be issued under this section, with or without
notice, to restrain any person for the purpose of preventing a
recurrence of abuse, if a declaration shows, to the satisfaction of
the court, reasonable proof of a past act or acts of abuse of the
petitioning elder or dependent adult.
(d) Upon filing a petition for protective orders under this
section, the petitioner may obtain a temporary restraining order in
accordance with Section 527 of the Code of Civil Procedure, except to
the extent this section provides a rule that is inconsistent. The
temporary restraining order may include any of the protective orders
described in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b). However, the court may
issue an ex parte order excluding a party from the petitioner's
residence or dwelling only on a showing of all of the following:
(1) Facts sufficient for the court to ascertain that the party who
will stay in the dwelling has a right under color of law to
possession of the premises.
(2) That the party to be excluded has assaulted or threatens to
assault the petitioner, other named family or household member of the
petitioner, or a conservator of the petitioner.
(3) That physical or emotional harm would otherwise result to the
petitioner, other named family or household member of the petitioner,
or a conservator of the petitioner.
(e) A request for the issuance of a temporary restraining order
without notice under this section shall be granted or denied on the
same day that the petition is submitted to the court, unless the
petition is filed too late in the day to permit effective review, in
which case the order shall be granted or denied on the next day of
judicial business in sufficient time for the order to be filed that
day with the clerk of the court.
(f) Within 21 days, or, if good cause appears to the court, 25
days, from the date that a request for a temporary restraining order
is granted or denied, a hearing shall be held on the petition. If no
request for temporary orders is made, the hearing shall be held
within 21 days, or, if good cause appears to the court, 25 days, from
the date that the petition is filed.
(g) The respondent may file a response that explains or denies the
alleged abuse.
(h) (1) Upon the filing of a petition by a relative of the first
degree pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), the court shall
determine whether the elder or dependent adult on whose behalf the
petition was filed has retained or intends to retain an attorney. If
the elder or dependent adult has not retained an attorney and does
not plan to retain one, the court may appoint an attorney to
represent the elder or dependent adult.
(2) If the court appoints an attorney to represent the elder or
dependent adult, the court may order the respondent, if the petition
is granted, or the relative of the first degree, if the petition is
denied, to pay the reasonable fees and costs of the elder or
dependent adult's attorney.
(3) If the court appoints an attorney to represent the elder or
dependent adult, the court shall, upon conclusion of the matter, fix
a reasonable sum for the reasonable costs and fees of the elder or
dependent adult's attorney and shall make a determination of the
paying person's ability to pay all or a portion of that sum. The sum
may, in the discretion of the court, include compensation for
services rendered, and expenses incurred, before the date of the
order appointing counsel.
(4) If the court determines that the person ordered to pay the
reasonable fees and costs of the elder or dependent adult's attorney
has the ability to pay all or a portion of the sum, the court shall
order that person to pay in any installments and in any manner the
court determines to be reasonable and compatible with the person's
financial ability.
(5) If the court determines that the person who is ordered to pay
the reasonable fees and costs of the elder or dependent adult's
attorney in the amount determined pursuant to paragraph (3) is unable
to pay, the county shall pay the sum to the counsel to the extent
the court determines the person is unable to pay.
(6) If the elder or dependent adult fails to participate in the
proceeding in any meaningful way, the court shall appoint a guardian
ad litem for the elder or dependent adult to determine the ability of
the elder or dependent adult to participate.
(h)
(i) The court may issue, upon notice and a hearing, any
of the orders set forth in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b). The
court may issue, after notice and hearing, an order excluding a
person from a residence or dwelling if the court finds that physical
or emotional harm would otherwise result to the petitioner, other
named family or household member of the petitioner, or conservator of
the petitioner.
(i)
(j) (1) In the discretion of the court, an order issued
after notice and a hearing under this section may have a duration of
not more than five years, subject to termination or modification by
further order of the court either on written stipulation filed with
the court or on the motion of a party. These orders may be renewed
upon the request of a party, either for five years or permanently,
without a showing of any further abuse since the issuance of the
original order, subject to termination or modification by further
order of the court either on written stipulation filed with the court
or on the motion of a party. The request for renewal may be brought
at any time within the three months before the expiration of the
order.
(2) The failure to state the expiration date on the face of the
form creates an order with a duration of three years from the date of
issuance.
(3) If an action is filed for the purpose of terminating or
modifying a protective order prior to the expiration date specified
in the order by a party other than the protected party, the party who
is protected by the order shall be given notice, pursuant to
subdivision (b) of Section 1005 of the Code of Civil Procedure, of
the proceeding by personal service or, if the protected party has
satisfied the requirements of Chapter 3.1 (commencing with Section
6205) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, by service on
the Secretary of State. If the party who is protected by the order
cannot be notified prior to the hearing for modification or
termination of the protective order, the court shall deny the motion
to modify or terminate the order without prejudice or continue the
hearing until the party who is protected can be properly noticed and
may, upon a showing of good cause, specify another method for service
of process that is reasonably designed to afford actual notice to
the protected party. The protected party may waive his or her right
to notice if he or she is physically present in court and does not
challenge the sufficiency of the notice.
(j)
(k) In a proceeding under this section, a support
person may accompany a party in court and, if the party is not
represented by an attorney, may sit with the party at the table that
is generally reserved for the party and the party's attorney. The
support person is present to provide moral and emotional support for
a person who alleges he or she is a victim of abuse. The support
person is not present as a legal adviser and may not provide legal
advice. The support person may assist the person who alleges he or
she is a victim of abuse in feeling more confident that he or she
will not be injured or threatened by the other party during the
proceedings if the person who alleges he or she is a victim of abuse
and the other party are required to be present in close proximity.
This subdivision does not preclude the court from exercising its
discretion to remove the support person from the courtroom if the
court believes the support person is prompting, swaying, or
influencing the party assisted by the support person.
(k)
(l) Upon the filing of a petition for protective orders
under this section, the respondent shall be personally served with a
copy of the petition, notice of the hearing or order to show cause,
temporary restraining order, if any, and any declarations in support
of the petition. Service shall be made at least five days before the
hearing. The court may, on motion of the petitioner or on its own
motion, shorten the time for service on the respondent. If a
petition is filed by a relative of the first degree, the isolated
elder or dependent adult shall be notified of the hearing
and any declarations in support of the petition.
(l)
(m) A notice of hearing under this section shall notify
the respondent that if he or she does not attend the hearing, the
court may make orders against him or her that could last up to five
years. If a petition is filed by a relative of the first degree,
the isolated elder or dependent adult shall be notified that if he
or she does not attend the hearing, the court may issue a protective
order that facilitates visitation with him or her that could last up
to five years.
(m)
(n) (1) The court may, upon the filing of a declaration
by the petitioner that the respondent could not be served within the
time required by statute, reissue an order previously issued and
dissolved by the court for failure to serve the respondent. The
reissued order shall remain in effect until the date set for the
hearing.
(2) The reissued order shall state on its face the date of
expiration of the order.
(n)
(o) (1) If a respondent, named in an order issued under
this section after a hearing, has not been served personally with
the order but has received actual notice of the existence and
substance of the order through personal appearance in court to hear
the terms of the order from the court, no additional proof of service
is required for enforcement of the order.
(2) If the respondent named in a temporary restraining order is
personally served with the order and notice of hearing with respect
to a restraining order or protective order based on the temporary
restraining order, but the respondent does not appear at the hearing,
either personally or by an attorney, and the terms and conditions of
the restraining order or protective order issued at the hearing are
identical to the temporary restraining order, except for the duration
of the order, then the restraining order or protective order issued
at the hearing may be served on the respondent by first-class mail
sent to the respondent at the most current address for the respondent
that is available to the court.
(3) The Judicial Council form for temporary orders issued pursuant
to this subdivision shall contain a statement in substantially the
following form:
"If you have been personally served with a temporary restraining
order and notice of hearing, but you do not appear at the hearing
either in person or by a lawyer, and a restraining order that is the
same as this temporary restraining order except for the expiration
date is issued at the hearing, a copy of the order will be served on
you by mail at the following address: ____.
If that address is not correct or you wish to verify that the
temporary restraining order was converted to a restraining order at
the hearing without substantive change and to find out the duration
of that order, contact the clerk of the court."
(o)
(p) (1) Information on any protective order relating to
elder or dependent adult abuse issued by a court pursuant to this
section shall be transmitted to the Department of Justice in
accordance with either paragraph (2) or (3).
(2) The court shall order the petitioner or the attorney for the
petitioner to deliver a copy of an order issued under this section,
or a reissuance, extension, modification, or termination of the
order, and any subsequent proof of service, by the close of the
business day on which the order, reissuance, extension, modification,
or termination was made, to each law enforcement agency having
jurisdiction over the residence of the petitioner, and to any
additional law enforcement agencies within the court's discretion as
are requested by the petitioner.
(3) Alternatively, the court or its designee shall transmit,
within one business day, to law enforcement personnel all information
required under subdivision (b) of Section 6380 of the Family Code
regarding any order issued under this section, or a reissuance,
extension, modification, or termination of the order, and any
subsequent proof of service, by either one of the following methods:
(A) Transmitting a physical copy of the order or proof of service
to a local law enforcement agency authorized by the Department of
Justice to enter orders into the California Law Enforcement
Telecommunications System (CLETS).
(B) With the approval of the Department of Justice, entering the
order or proof of service into CLETS directly.
(4) Each appropriate law enforcement agency shall make available
information as to the existence and current status of these orders to
law enforcement officers responding to the scene of reported abuse.
(5) An order issued under this section shall, on request of the
petitioner, be served on the respondent, whether or not the
respondent has been taken into custody, by any law enforcement
officer who is present at the scene of reported abuse involving the
parties to the proceeding. The petitioner shall provide the officer
with an endorsed copy of the order and a proof of service, which the
officer shall complete and send to the issuing court.
(6) Upon receiving information at the scene of an incident of
abuse that a protective order has been issued under this section, or
that a person who has been taken into custody is the respondent to
that order, if the protected person cannot produce an endorsed copy
of the order, a law enforcement officer shall immediately attempt to
verify the existence of the order.
(7) If the law enforcement officer determines that a protective
order has been issued, but not served, the officer shall immediately
notify the respondent of the terms of the order and where a written
copy of the order can be obtained, and the officer shall at that time
also enforce the order. The law enforcement officer's verbal notice
of the terms of the order shall constitute service of the order and
is sufficient notice for the purposes of this section and for the
purposes of Section 273.6 of the Penal Code.
(p)
(q) Nothing in this section shall preclude either party
from representation by private counsel or from appearing on the
party's own behalf.
(q)
(r) There is no filing fee for a petition, response, or
paper seeking the reissuance, modification, or enforcement of a
protective order filed in a proceeding brought pursuant to this
section.
(r)
(s) Pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) of
Section 6103.2 of the Government Code, a petitioner shall not be
required to pay a fee for law enforcement to serve an order issued
under this section.
(s) The
(t) Except as provided in subdivision
(h), the prevailing party in any action brought under this
section may be awarded court costs and attorney's fees, if any.
(t)
(u) (1) A person subject to a protective order under
this section shall not own, possess, purchase, receive, or attempt to
receive a firearm or ammunition while the protective order is in
effect.
(2) The court shall order a person subject to a protective order
issued under this section to relinquish any firearms he or she owns
or possesses pursuant to Section 527.9 of the Code of Civil
Procedure.
(3) Every person who owns, possesses, purchases, or receives, or
attempts to purchase or receive a firearm or ammunition while subject
to a protective order issued under this section is punishable
pursuant to Section 29825 of the Penal Code.
(4) This subdivision shall not apply in a case in which the
protective order issued under this section was made solely on the
basis of financial abuse unaccompanied by force, threat, harassment,
intimidation, or any other form of abuse.
(u)
(v) Any willful disobedience of any temporary
restraining order or restraining order after hearing granted under
this section is punishable pursuant to Section 273.6 of the Penal
Code.
(v)
(w) This section does not apply to any action or
proceeding governed by Title 1.6C (commencing with Section 1788) of
Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code, by Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 525) of Title 7 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, or
by Division 10 (commencing with Section 6200) of the Family Code.
Nothing in this section shall preclude a petitioner's right to use
other existing civil remedies.
(x) When a petition is filed by a relative of the first degree
pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), both of the following
shall apply:
(1) The court shall not issue a protective order without the
knowledge and agreement of the elder or dependent person on whose
behalf the petition is filed.
(2) If the isolated elder or dependent adult is so incapacitated
that he or she cannot express an opinion concerning visitation with
the petitioner, a petition for temporary conservatorship or
guardianship may be initiated in accordance with Section 2250 of the
Probate Code.
(w)
(y) The Judicial Council shall develop forms,
instructions, and rules relating to matters governed by this section.
The petition and response forms shall be simple and concise, and
their use by parties in actions brought pursuant to this section
shall be mandatory.
SECTION 1. Section 2361 is added to the Probate
Code, to read:
2361. A conservator of an elder or dependent adult shall inform
the relatives of the conservatee, as listed in subdivision (b) of
Section 1821, whenever the conservatee dies or is admitted to a
medical facility for acute care for a period of three days or more.
In the case of death, the conservator shall inform the relatives of
any funeral arrangements and the location of the conservatee's final
resting place.
SEC. 2. Section 15657.035 is added to the
Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
15657.035. (a) A petition may be brought for a protective order
to enjoin a respondent from keeping a proposed visitee in isolation
from contact with the petitioner.
(b) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Isolation" has the same meaning as defined in Section
15610.43.
(2) "Petitioner" means a person who is a relative in the first
degree of the proposed visitee.
(3) "Proposed visitee" means the elder or dependent adult, who is
under the care or custody of the respondent, to be protected by the
protective order and, if the court grants the petition, the protected
person.
(4) "Protective order" means an order enjoining a party from
keeping the proposed visitee in isolation from contact with the
petitioner that is issued after notice and hearing, or in a judgment,
and may include terms of visitation.
(5) "Respondent" means the person against whom the protective
order is sought and, if the petition is granted, the restrained
person.
(c) (1) An order may be issued under this section to restrain any
person for the purpose of preventing a recurrence of abuse, if a
declaration shows, to the satisfaction of the court, reasonable proof
of a past act or acts of isolation of the proposed visitee from
contact with the petitioner, and upon a showing that the proposed
visitee desires contact with the petitioner or that visitation is in
the best interests of the proposed visitee.
(2) Proof of the proposed visitee's desire for contact with the
petitioner may be shown by a report issued by the county adult
protective services agency or law enforcement, pursuant to
subdivision (e), in the county where the proposed visitee resides.
(3) If the proposed visitee resides in a long-term care facility,
as defined in Section 9701 of this code, or a residential facility,
as defined in Section 1502 of the Health and Safety Code, then an
order shall not be issued under this section, and Section 483.10 of
Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations shall apply.
(4) The order may specify the frequency, time, place, and location
of visitation.
(5) In deciding whether visitation with the petitioner is in the
best interest of the proposed visitee, the court may consider whether
the best interest of the proposed visitee requires that any
visitation by the petitioner be limited to situations in which a
third person, specified by the court, is present, or whether
visitation shall be suspended or denied. The petitioner, proposed
visitee, or respondent may submit to the court the name of a person
who may be suitable to be present during visitation.
(6) In deciding whether visitation with the petitioner is in the
best interest of the proposed visitee, the court shall consider any
prior protective orders issued against the petitioner to protect the
proposed visitee.
(d) The court may require the proposed visitee, or the proposed
visitee's attorney, to appear at the hearing. If the proposed visitee
does not have an attorney, the court shall appoint an attorney to
represent the proposed visitee's interests.
(e) Upon receipt of a complaint of isolation from a petitioner or
upon court order, and within 20 days of receipt of the complaint or
court order, the county adult protective services or local law
enforcement agency, pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 15650, in
the county where the proposed visitee resides, shall investigate the
complaint. The county adult protective services or local law
enforcement agency shall prepare a report, to be provided to the
petitioner and court that states, along with any findings pursuant to
paragraphs (1) through (3), inclusive, of subdivision (d) of Section
15763, whether the proposed visitee is under the care or control of
the respondent or otherwise unable to provide for his or her own
physical care, and whether the proposed visitee desires contact from
the petitioner.
(f) Within 21 days, or, if good cause appears to the court, 25
days from the date that the petition is filed, a hearing shall be
held on the petition.
(g) The respondent may file a response that explains or denies the
alleged abuse.
(h) The court shall issue an order only after notice and a hearing
under this section, and the court shall not issue an ex parte order
under this section.
(i) In the discretion of the court, an order issued after notice
and a hearing under this section may have a duration of not more than
five years, subject to
termination or modification by further order of the court either on
written stipulation filed with the court or on the motion of a party.
These orders may be renewed, upon the request of a party, either for
five years or permanently, without a showing of any further abuse
since the issuance of the original order, subject to termination or
modification by further order of the court either on written
stipulation filed with the court or on the motion of a party. The
request for renewal may be brought at any time within the three
months before the expiration of the orders. The failure to state the
expiration date on the face of the form creates an order with a
duration of three years from the date of issuance.
(j) Upon the filing of a petition for a protective order under
this section, the respondent shall be personally served with a copy
of the petition, notice of the hearing, any declarations in support
of the petition, and any report submitted to the petitioner pursuant
to subdivision (e). Service shall be made at least five days before
the hearing.
(k) A notice of hearing under this section shall notify the
respondent that if he or she does not attend the hearing, the court
may make orders against him or her that could last up to five years.
(l) The Judicial Council form for protective orders issued
pursuant to this section shall contain a statement in substantially
the following form:
"If you have been personally served with a notice of hearing, but
you do not appear at the hearing either in person or by a lawyer, a
copy of the restraining order will be served on you by mail at the
following address: ____.
If that address is not correct or you wish to verify the issuance
of a restraining order at the hearing and to find out the duration of
that order, contact the clerk of the court."
(m) (1) Information on any protective order relating to elder or
dependent adult abuse issued by a court pursuant to this section
shall be transmitted to the Department of Justice in accordance with
either paragraph (2) or (3).
(2) The court shall order the petitioner or the attorney for the
petitioner to deliver a copy of an order issued under this section,
or a reissuance, extension, modification, or termination of the
order, and any subsequent proof of service, by the close of the
business day on which the order, reissuance, extension, modification,
or termination was made, to each law enforcement agency having
jurisdiction over the residence of the petitioner, and to any
additional law enforcement agencies within the court's discretion as
are requested by the petitioner.
(3) Alternatively, the court or its designee shall transmit,
within one business day, to law enforcement personnel all information
required under subdivision (b) of Section 6380 of the Family Code
regarding any order issued under this section, or a reissuance,
extension, modification, or termination of the order, and any
subsequent proof of service, by either one of the following methods:
(A) Transmitting a physical copy of the order or proof of service
to a local law enforcement agency authorized by the Department of
Justice to enter orders into the California Law Enforcement
Telecommunications System (CLETS).
(B) With the approval of the Department of Justice, entering the
order or proof of service into CLETS directly.
(4) Each appropriate law enforcement agency shall make available
information as to the existence and current status of these orders to
law enforcement officers responding to the scene of reported abuse.
(5) An order issued under this section shall, on request of the
petitioner, be served on the respondent, whether or not the
respondent has been taken into custody, by any law enforcement
officer who is present at the scene of reported abuse involving the
parties to the proceeding. The petitioner shall provide the officer
with an endorsed copy of the order and a proof of service, which the
officer shall complete and send to the issuing court.
(6) Upon receiving information at the scene of an incident of
abuse that a protective order has been issued under this section, or
that a person who has been taken into custody is the respondent to
that order, if the petitioner cannot produce an endorsed copy of the
order, a law enforcement officer shall immediately attempt to verify
the existence of the order.
(7) If the law enforcement officer determines that a protective
order has been issued, but not served, the officer shall immediately
notify the respondent of the terms of the order and where a written
copy of the order can be obtained, and the officer shall at that time
also enforce the order. The law enforcement officer's verbal notice
of the terms of the order shall constitute service of the order and
is sufficient notice for the purposes of this section and for the
purposes of Section 273.6 of the Penal Code.
(n) Nothing in this section shall preclude any party, including
the proposed visitee, from representation by private counsel or from
appearing on the party's own behalf.
(o) The prevailing party in any action brought under this section
may be awarded court costs and attorney's fees, if any. The
nonprevailing party may also be required to pay the fees of the
proposed visitee's attorney, whether or not court-appointed, and
court costs.
SEC. 3. SEC. 2. No reimbursement is
required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a
local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act
creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction,
or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning
of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of
a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other 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.