AB 1889

AB1889:v97#DOCUMENT

Bill Start

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1889

An act to amend Sections 136.2 and 273.5 of the Penal Code, relating to protective orders.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1889, as amended, Ramos. Protective orders.

Existing law allows the court to issue a protective order restraining a defendant from any contact with the victim if the defendant has been convicted of a crime of domestic violence, human trafficking, a crime in furtherance of a criminal street gang, or a registerable sex offense. Under existing law, the protective order may be valid for up to 10 years, as determined by the court.

This bill would authorize those orders to be valid for up to 10 years, or 2 years one year after the person’s release from the state prison or a county jail, whichever is later.

Existing law authorizes a protective order restraining a person convicted of the crime of battery of specified persons, including a spouse or former spouse, to be valid for up to 15 years.

The bill would authorize those orders to be valid for up to 15 years, or 2 years one year after the person’s release from the state prison or a county jail, whichever is later.

By extending the duration of protective orders, a violation of which is punishable as a crime, this 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 no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Digest Key

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

Bill Text

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

SECTION 1.

Section 136.2 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

136.2.

(a) (1) Upon a good cause belief that harm to, or intimidation or dissuasion of, a victim or witness has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur, a court with jurisdiction over a criminal matter may issue orders, including, but not limited to, the following:

(A) An order issued pursuant to Section 6320 of the Family Code.

(B) An order that a defendant shall not violate any provision of Section 136.1.

(C) An order that a person before the court other than a defendant, including, but not limited to, a subpoenaed witness or other person entering the courtroom of the court, shall not violate any provision of Section 136.1.

(D) An order that a person described in this section shall have no communication whatsoever with a specified witness or a victim except through an attorney under reasonable restrictions that the court may impose.

(E) An order calling for a hearing to determine if an order described in subparagraphs (A) to (D), inclusive, should be issued.

(F) (i) An order that a particular law enforcement agency within the jurisdiction of the court provide protection for a victim, witness, or both, or for immediate family members of a victim or a witness who reside in the same household as the victim or witness or within reasonable proximity of the victim’s or witness’ household, as determined by the court. The order shall not be made without the consent of the law enforcement agency except for limited and specified periods of time and upon an express finding by the court of a clear and present danger of harm to the victim or witness or immediate family members of the victim or witness.

(ii) For purposes of this paragraph, “immediate family members” include the spouse, children, or parents of the victim or witness.

(G) (i) An order protecting a victim or witness of violent crime from all contact by the defendant or contact with the intent to annoy, harass, threaten, or commit acts of violence by the defendant. The court or its designee shall transmit orders made under this paragraph to law enforcement personnel within one business day of the issuance, modification, extension, or termination of the order pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 6380 of the Family Code. It is the responsibility of the court to transmit the modification, extension, or termination orders made under this paragraph to the same agency that entered the original protective order into the California Restraining and Protective Order System.

(ii) (I) If a court does not issue an order pursuant to clause (i) when the defendant is charged with a crime involving domestic violence, as defined in Section 13700 of this code or in Section 6211 of the Family Code, the court, on its own motion, shall consider issuing a protective order upon a good cause belief that harm to, or intimidation or dissuasion of, a victim or witness has occurred or is reasonably likely to occur, that provides as follows:

(ia) The defendant shall not own, possess, purchase, receive, or attempt to purchase or receive a firearm while the protective order is in effect.

(ib) The defendant shall relinquish ownership or possession of any firearms pursuant to Section 527.9 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(II) A person who owns, possesses, purchases, or receives, or attempts to purchase or receive a firearm while this protective order is in effect is punishable pursuant to Section 29825.

(iii) An order issued, modified, extended, or terminated by a court pursuant to this subparagraph shall be issued on forms adopted by the Judicial Council that have been approved by the Department of Justice pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 6380 of the Family Code. However, the fact that an order issued by a court pursuant to this section was not issued on forms adopted by the Judicial Council and approved by the Department of Justice shall not make the order unenforceable.

(iv) A protective order issued under this subparagraph may require the defendant to be placed on electronic monitoring if the local government, with the concurrence of the county sheriff or the chief probation officer with jurisdiction, adopts a policy to authorize electronic monitoring of defendants and specifies the agency with jurisdiction for this purpose. If the court determines that the defendant has the ability to pay for the monitoring program, the court shall order the defendant to pay for the monitoring. If the court determines that the defendant does not have the ability to pay for the electronic monitoring, the court may order electronic monitoring to be paid for by the local government that adopted the policy to authorize electronic monitoring. The duration of electronic monitoring shall not exceed one year from the date the order is issued. The electronic monitoring shall not be in place if the protective order is not in place.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, a minor who was not a victim of, but who was physically present at the time of, an act of domestic violence is a witness and is deemed to have suffered harm within the meaning of paragraph (1).

(b) A person violating an order made pursuant to subparagraphs (A) to (G), inclusive, of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) may be punished for a substantive offense described in Section 136.1 or for a contempt of the court making the order. A finding of contempt shall not be a bar to prosecution for a violation of Section 136.1. However, a person held in contempt shall be entitled to credit for punishment imposed therein against a sentence imposed upon conviction of an offense described in Section 136.1. A conviction or acquittal for a substantive offense under Section 136.1 shall be a bar to a subsequent punishment for contempt arising out of the same act.

(c) (1) (A) Notwithstanding subdivision (e), an emergency protective order issued pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 6250) of Part 3 of Division 10 of the Family Code or Section 646.91 shall have precedence in enforcement over any other restraining or protective order, provided the emergency protective order meets all of the following requirements:

(i) The emergency protective order is issued to protect one or more individuals who are already protected persons under another restraining or protective order.

(ii) The emergency protective order restrains the individual who is the restrained person in the other restraining or protective order specified in clause (i).

(iii) The provisions of the emergency protective order are more restrictive in relation to the restrained person than are the provisions of the other restraining or protective order specified in clause (i).

(B) An emergency protective order that meets the requirements of subparagraph (A) shall have precedence in enforcement over the provisions of any other restraining or protective order only with respect to those provisions of the emergency protective order that are more restrictive in relation to the restrained person.

(2) Except as described in paragraph (1), a no-contact order, as described in Section 6320 of the Family Code, shall have precedence in enforcement over any other restraining or protective order.

(d) (1) A person subject to a protective order issued under this section shall not own, possess, purchase, or receive, or attempt to purchase or receive, a firearm 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 ownership or possession of any firearms pursuant to Section 527.9 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(3) A person who owns, possesses, purchases, or receives, or attempts to purchase or receive a firearm while the protective order is in effect is punishable pursuant to Section 29825.

(e) (1) When the defendant is charged with a crime involving domestic violence, as defined in Section 13700 of this code or in Section 6211 of the Family Code, a violation of Section 261, 261.5, or former Section 262, or a crime that requires the defendant to register pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290, including, but not limited to, commercial sexual exploitation of a minor in violation of Section 236.1, the court shall consider issuing the above-described orders on its own motion. All interested parties shall receive a copy of those orders. To facilitate this, the court’s records of all criminal cases involving domestic violence, a violation of Section 261, 261.5, or former Section 262, or a crime that requires the defendant to register pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290, including, but not limited to, commercial sexual exploitation of a minor in violation of Section 236.1, shall be marked to clearly alert the court to this issue.

(2) When a complaint, information, or indictment charging a crime involving domestic violence, as defined in Section 13700 or in Section 6211 of the Family Code, a violation of Section 261, 261.5, or former Section 262, or a crime that requires the defendant to register pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290, including, but not limited to, commercial sexual exploitation of a minor in violation of Section 236.1, has been issued, except as described in subdivision (c), a restraining order or protective order against the defendant issued by the criminal court in that case has precedence in enforcement over a civil court order against the defendant.

(3) Custody and visitation with respect to the defendant and the defendant’s minor children may be ordered by a family or juvenile court consistent with the protocol established pursuant to subdivision (f), but if it is ordered after a criminal protective order has been issued pursuant to this section, the custody and visitation order shall make reference to and, if there is not an emergency protective order that has precedence in enforcement pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) or a no-contact order, as described in Section 6320 of the Family Code, acknowledge the precedence of enforcement of an appropriate criminal protective order. On or before July 1, 2014, the Judicial Council shall modify the criminal and civil court forms consistent with this subdivision.

(f) On or before January 1, 2003, the Judicial Council shall promulgate a protocol, for adoption by each local court in substantially similar terms, to provide for the timely coordination of all orders against the same defendant and in favor of the same named victim or victims. The protocol shall include, but shall not be limited to, mechanisms for ensuring appropriate communication and information sharing between criminal, family, and juvenile courts concerning orders and cases that involve the same parties and shall permit a family or juvenile court order to coexist with a criminal court protective order subject to the following conditions:

(1) An order that permits contact between the restrained person and the person’s children shall provide for the safe exchange of the children and shall not contain language, either printed or handwritten, that violates a “no-contact order” issued by a criminal court.

(2) The safety of all parties shall be the courts’ paramount concern. The family or juvenile court shall specify the time, day, place, and manner of transfer of the child as provided in Section 3100 of the Family Code.

(g) On or before January 1, 2003, the Judicial Council shall modify the criminal and civil court protective order forms consistent with this section.

(h) (1) When a complaint, information, or indictment charging a crime involving domestic violence, as defined in Section 13700 or in Section 6211 of the Family Code, has been filed, the court may consider, in determining whether good cause exists to issue an order under subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), the underlying nature of the offense charged and the information provided to the court pursuant to Section 273.75.

(2) When a complaint, information, or indictment charging a violation of Section 261, 261.5, or former Section 262, or a crime that requires the defendant to register pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290, including, but not limited to, commercial sexual exploitation of a minor in violation of Section 236.1, has been filed, the court may consider, in determining whether good cause exists to issue an order under paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), the underlying nature of the offense charged, the defendant’s relationship to the victim, the likelihood of continuing harm to the victim, any current restraining order or protective order issued by a civil or criminal court involving the defendant, and the defendant’s criminal history, including, but not limited to, prior convictions for a violation of Section 261, 261.5, or former Section 262, a crime that requires the defendant to register pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290, including, but not limited to, commercial sexual exploitation of a minor in violation of Section 236.1, any other forms of violence, or a weapons offense.

(i) (1) When a criminal defendant has been convicted of a crime involving domestic violence, as defined in Section 13700 or in Section 6211 of the Family Code, a violation of subdivision (a), (b), or (c) of Section 236.1 prohibiting human trafficking, Section 261, 261.5, former Section 262, subdivision (a) of Section 266h, or subdivision (a) of Section 266i, a violation of Section 186.22, or a crime that requires the defendant to register pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290, the court, at the time of sentencing, shall consider issuing an order restraining the defendant from any contact with a victim of the crime. The order may be valid for up to either 10 years, or 2 years 1 year after the person’s release from the state prison or a county jail, whichever is later, as determined by the court. This protective order may be issued by the court regardless of whether the defendant is sentenced to the state prison or a county jail, whether the defendant is subject to mandatory supervision, or whether imposition of sentence is suspended and the defendant is placed on probation. The order may be modified by the sentencing court in the county in which it was issued throughout the duration of the order. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this subdivision that the duration of a restraining order issued by the court be based upon the seriousness of the facts before the court, the probability of future violations, the safety of a victim and the victim’s immediate family, and any information provided to the court pursuant to Section 273.75.

(2) When a criminal defendant has been convicted of a crime involving domestic violence, as defined in Section 13700 or in Section 6211 of the Family Code, a violation of Section 261, 261.5, or former Section 262, a violation of Section 186.22, or a crime that requires the defendant to register pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 290, the court, at the time of sentencing, shall consider issuing an order restraining the defendant from any contact with a percipient witness to the crime if it can be established by clear and convincing evidence that the witness has been harassed, as defined in paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 527.6 of the Code of Civil Procedure, by the defendant.

(3) An order under this subdivision may include provisions for electronic monitoring if the local government, upon receiving the concurrence of the county sheriff or the chief probation officer with jurisdiction, adopts a policy authorizing electronic monitoring of defendants and specifies the agency with jurisdiction for this purpose. If the court determines that the defendant has the ability to pay for the monitoring program, the court shall order the defendant to pay for the monitoring. If the court determines that the defendant does not have the ability to pay for the electronic monitoring, the court may order the electronic monitoring to be paid for by the local government that adopted the policy authorizing electronic monitoring. The duration of the electronic monitoring shall not exceed one year from the date the order is issued.

(j) For purposes of this section, “local government” means the county that has jurisdiction over the protective order.

SEC. 2.

Section 273.5 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

273.5.

(a) A person who willfully inflicts corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon a victim described in subdivision (b) is guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of up to six thousand dollars ($6,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.

(b) Subdivision (a) shall apply if the victim is or was one or more of the following:

(1) The offender’s spouse or former spouse.

(2) The offender’s cohabitant or former cohabitant.

(3) The offender’s fiance, or someone with whom the offender has, or previously had, an engagement or dating relationship, as defined in paragraph (10) of subdivision (f) of Section 243.

(4) The mother or father of the offender’s child.

(c) Holding oneself out to be the spouse of the person with whom one is cohabiting is not necessary to constitute cohabitation as the term is used in this section.

(d) As used in this section, “traumatic condition” means a condition of the body, such as a wound, or external or internal injury, including, but not limited to, injury as a result of strangulation or suffocation, whether of a minor or serious nature, caused by a physical force. For purposes of this section, “strangulation” and “suffocation” include impeding the normal breathing or circulation of the blood of a person by applying pressure on the throat or neck.

(e) For the purpose of this section, a person shall be considered the father or mother of another person’s child if the alleged male parent is presumed the natural father under Sections 7611 and 7612 of the Family Code.

(f) (1) A person convicted of violating this section for acts occurring within seven years of a previous conviction under subdivision (a), or subdivision (d) of Section 243, or Section 243.4, 244, 244.5, or 245, shall be punished by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year, or by imprisonment in the state prison for two, four, or five years, or by both imprisonment and a fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(2) A person convicted of a violation of this section for acts occurring within seven years of a previous conviction under subdivision (e) of Section 243 shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or by both that imprisonment and fine.

(g) If probation is granted to a person convicted under subdivision (a), the court shall impose probation consistent with the provisions of Section 1203.097.

(h) If probation is granted, or the execution or imposition of a sentence is suspended, for a defendant convicted under subdivision (a) who has been convicted of a prior offense specified in subdivision (f), the court shall impose one of the following conditions of probation:

(1) If the defendant has suffered one prior conviction within the previous seven years for a violation of an offense specified in subdivision (f), it shall be a condition of probation, in addition to the provisions contained in Section 1203.097, that the defendant be imprisoned in a county jail for not less than 15 days.

(2) If the defendant has suffered two or more prior convictions within the previous seven years for a violation of an offense specified in subdivision (f), it shall be a condition of probation, in addition to the provisions contained in Section 1203.097, that the defendant be imprisoned in a county jail for not less than 60 days.

(3) The court, upon a showing of good cause, may find that the mandatory imprisonment required by this subdivision shall not be imposed and shall state on the record its reasons for finding good cause.

(i) If probation is granted upon conviction of a violation of subdivision (a), the conditions of probation may include, consistent with the terms of probation imposed pursuant to Section 1203.097, in lieu of a fine, one or both of the following requirements:

(1) That the defendant make payments to a domestic violence shelter-based program, up to a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000), pursuant to Section 1203.097.

(2) (A) That the defendant reimburse the victim for reasonable costs of counseling and other reasonable expenses that the court finds are the direct result of the defendant’s offense.

(B) For an order to pay a fine, make payments to a domestic violence shelter-based program, or pay restitution as a condition of probation under this subdivision, the court shall make a determination of the defendant’s ability to pay. An order to make payments to a domestic violence shelter-based program shall not be made if it would impair the ability of the defendant to pay direct restitution to the victim or court-ordered child support. If the injury to a person who is married or in a registered domestic partnership is caused in whole or in part by the criminal acts of their spouse or domestic partner in violation of this section, the community property may not be used to discharge the liability of the offending spouse or domestic partner for restitution to the injured spouse or domestic partner, required by Section 1203.04, as operative on or before August 2, 1995, or Section 1202.4, or to a shelter for costs with regard to the injured spouse or domestic partner and dependents, required by this section, until all separate property of the offending spouse or domestic partner is exhausted.

(j) (1) Upon conviction under subdivision (a), the sentencing court shall also consider issuing an order restraining the defendant from contact with the victim, which may be valid for up to either 15 years, or 2 years 1 year after the person’s release from the state prison or a county jail, whichever is later, as determined by the court. It is the intent of the Legislature that the length of a restraining order be based upon the seriousness of the facts before the court, the probability of future violations, the safety of the victim and their immediate family, and the information provided to the court pursuant to Section 273.75. This protective order may be issued by the court whether the defendant is sentenced to state prison or county jail, or if imposition of sentence is suspended and the defendant is placed on probation.

(2) Upon a written petition by the prosecuting attorney, defendant, or victim, the issuing court may modify or terminate a protective order for good cause provided the prosecuting attorney, defendant, and victim are notified at least 15 days before the hearing on the petition.

(k) If a peace officer makes an arrest for a violation of this section, the peace officer is not required to inform the victim of their right to make a citizen’s arrest pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 836.

SEC. 3.

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district will be incurred because 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.