Bill
AB 216
Requires peace officers to perform standardized lethality assessments in certain domestic violence cases and refer high-risk victims to services.
Status and sponsor
- Bill number: AB 216 (BDR 14‑181)
- Sponsor/Author: Assemblymember Hardy (committee documents)
- Introduced: January 8, 2025
- Latest status: Passed Assembly (3/20/2025); amended in committee (Amendment No. 224 / first reprint); readied for further Senate action but recorded as “No further action taken” (as of 2025‑06‑03).
- Fiscal note: May have fiscal impact on local government and the State; bill "CONTAINS UNFUNDED MANDATE" (sections 1 & 2).
Purpose / intent
- To require peace officers to perform standardized lethality assessments when investigating certain domestic‑violence incidents and to set reporting, referral, and documentation procedures intended to identify and respond to victims at high risk of lethal harm.
Key provisions (final amended form / first reprint)
- When required: A peace officer investigating an act of domestic violence must complete a lethality assessment for a suspected victim if the officer has probable cause to believe the alleged aggressor is the victim’s spouse or former spouse, a current or former dating partner, or a co‑parent.
- Local forms: Each law enforcement agency must prescribe a written or electronic form for documenting lethality assessment results. (An earlier version would have required the Department of Public Safety to prescribe the form; that requirement was removed by amendment.)
- Officer actions on high‑risk findings: If the assessment indicates the person is in a “potentially high‑risk lethal situation,” the peace officer must:
- Advise the person that they are in a potentially high‑risk lethal situation;
- Provide a domestic violence card with information on local counseling and supportive services; and
- Refer the person to a victim’s advocate (defined in statute).
- Documentation: If a person cannot or refuses to provide information or refuses the card, the officer must document that on the assessment form.
- Reporting: If an assessment is completed, the officer must submit the lethality assessment report/results to the district attorney of the jurisdiction where the act occurred. (Earlier drafts had required submission to the Department of Public Safety; that was removed.)
- Court consideration: A court is authorized to consider lethality assessment results when reviewing a person’s custody status.
- Removed/modified provisions: Earlier versions required the Department of Public Safety to maintain a database, provide analytics and training, and allowed the AOC to distribute training; Amendment No. 224 deleted many of those state‑level duties, shifting form responsibility to local agencies and removing DPS/AOC mandates.
Who is affected
- Primary: peace officers and local law enforcement agencies (new assessment and reporting duties); district attorney offices (new receipt of assessment reports); victims of domestic violence (subject to assessment and referrals); victim‑service providers and advocates.
- Secondary: courts (may consider assessments in custody matters); Department of Public Safety (reduced role under the amended bill).
- Local governments: potential fiscal impacts and implementation costs; bill contains an unfunded mandate per fiscal notes.
Procedural/timeline notes
- Introduced Jan 8, 2025; referred to Judiciary Committee and subsequently to Budget/Other committees. Passed the Assembly on March 20, 2025 (Ayes 53, Noes 17). Amended by the Assembly Committee on Judiciary (Amendment No. 224) and reprinted (first reprint). Referred to Senate; no further action recorded as of June 3, 2025.
Implications
- Seeks to standardize frontline identification of high‑risk domestic violence victims and ensure immediate referrals and local documentation/reporting. The shift from a centralized (DPS) approach to agency‑level forms reduces state administration but increases responsibilities for local agencies and prosecutors, contributing to the unfunded‑mandate determination.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
Sign in to ask a question.
