State Sen. Fran Pavley, whose district includes about half of the Santa Clarita Valley, has introduced two bills to address serious public safety issues, particularly for those who have been victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

SB 307 expands the potential use of criminal justice restraining orders when offenders are released to their communities, and SB 507 provides victims with additional protection in cases involving violent sex offenders.  Both bills are sponsored by Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey.

“These bills will help protect some of California’s most vulnerable residents from the threat of repeat attacks,” Pavley said.

“This legislation is part of our ongoing efforts to make California a safer place by stopping violent crime before it occurs,” added District Attorney Lacey.

Senate Bill 307 closes a potentially life-threatening gap in the law by giving sentencing judges the tools they need to protect victims once their offenders are released back into the public. Currently, spouses, partners, and other family members may receive restraining-order protections of up to 10 years when misdemeanor or felony abusers are released from jail or prison or placed on parole or probation. However, if an offender is sentenced to mandatory supervision in the community, victims are not protected unless they get a new restraining order in family court, which is a costly and time-consuming process that puts victims at risk of abuse and violence when perpetrators are released.

In addition, given recent court closures and their already busy schedules, proactive laws such as SB 307 are needed to prevent further violence and repeat cases of abuse coming back to the courtroom.

Under California’s Realignment Law of 2011 (Proposition 109), many criminal offenders were shifted from state prison to local jails or mandatory supervision in communities throughout California. SB 307 addresses an omission in the law, which fails to give courts the discretion to issue criminal restraining orders to victims of domestic violence or sex crimes if their offenders were ordered to mandatory supervision instead of incarceration in prison or jail.

“Family members and other victims often are the first target for abuse when a domestic-violence or sexual-assault offender is released to the community,” Pavley said. “This bill closes a dangerous loophole in the law by giving sentencing judges the ability to protect all victims from abuse once these offenders return to our streets.”

SB 507 addresses the need for fair hearings when Sexually Violent Predators (SVPs) come up for state hospital commitment reviews. This bill establishes that both prosecuting attorneys and defense attorneys will have equal access to mental health and medical treatment records before SVPs are assessed for their potential release from state hospitals.

Under California law, SVPs are those who have been convicted of a sexually violent offense, such as forcible rape, forcible sodomy, or child molestation, and who have been determined by a judge or jury to be likely to commit a similar offense in the future due to a diagnosed mental disorder. In these instances, SVPs are committed to a state hospital.

“Some of California’s most violent sexual predators can be released back into society if complete information is not available to prosecutors and defense lawyers at the time the predators’ cases are being reviewed,” Pavley said. “These two new bills will help ensure such mistakes are prevented in the future, providing more peace of mind to already traumatized victims, their families, and the public at large.”