Amended  IN  Senate  January 05, 2026
Amended  IN  Senate  April 23, 2025
Amended  IN  Senate  April 01, 2025

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 99

Introduced by Senator Blakespear
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Quirk-Silva)(Coauthors: Senators Alvarado-Gil, Ashby, Dahle, Limón, Ochoa Bogh, Rubio, Seyarto, Valladares, and Weber Pierson)(Coauthors: Assembly Members Davies, Lackey, Macedo, Muratsuchi, Blanca Rubio, Stefani, Tangipa, and Wilson)

January 23, 2025

An act to amend Section 1596.792 of, and to add Section 1596.7921 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to childcare. Sections 6306 and 6383 of, and to add Section 6326.5 to, the Family Code, relating to protective orders.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 99, as amended, Blakespear. Family childcare homes: United States Armed Forces. Military protective orders.
Existing law establishes the Domestic Violence Prevention Act for the purpose of preventing acts of domestic violence, abuse, and sexual abuse and providing for a separation of the persons involved in the domestic violence for a period sufficient to enable those persons to seek a resolution of the causes of the violence. Existing law authorizes a court to issue an ex parte protective order enjoining a party from, among other things, stalking, battering, or disturbing the peace of the other party. Existing law requires the court, before a hearing on the issuance of a domestic violence restraining order, to ensure that a search is or has been conducted to determine, among other things, if the subject of the proposed order has specified prior criminal convictions, an outstanding warrant, or a prior restraining order or violation of a restraining order.
This bill would additionally require the court to determine if the subject of the proposed order has a current or prior military protective order or prior violation of a military protective order, as specified. The bill would additionally make military protective orders constitute a prima facie case for granting a temporary restraining order.
The bill would additionally require a law enforcement officer who receives information at the scene of a domestic violence incident that a military protective order has been issued to verify the existence of that order. The bill would require a law enforcement officer who determines that a military protective order has been issued against a person who violates a provision of a domestic violence protective order who is a member of, or otherwise associated with, the Armed Forces of the United States, to notify the law enforcement agency that entered the military protective order that the officer has probable cause to believe the person has violated the military protective order. By increasing duties on local law enforcement, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The bill would authorize each county law enforcement agency to develop and adopt memoranda of understanding with military law enforcement or other designated representatives of one or more military installations located in whole or in part within the borders of its jurisdiction that govern the investigation and actions related to domestic violence involving service members assigned to units on those installations, as specified.
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, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Existing law, the California Child Day Care Facilities Act, generally requires the State Department of Social Services to license and regulate various types of child daycare facilities, including, among others, daycare centers and family daycare homes. Under existing law, a willful or repeated violation of those provisions is a crime. Existing law exempts from those provisions various entities, including, among others, community care facilities, certain program facilities administered by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and extended daycare programs operated by public or private schools.

This bill would also exempt, from the above-described licensing provisions, a family childcare home administered by a person certified as a family childcare provider by a branch of the United States Armed Forces and that exclusively provides care for children of eligible federal personnel, as defined, and surviving spouses.

The bill would impose certain requirements on a military installation certifying a family childcare home in order for the home to qualify for an exemption. The bill would require the military installation to annually file with the department a list of exempt but certified facilities; report to the department all incidents involving physical injury to, or death of, children attending the program; require providers to post a certain notice about the status of the facility; and certify that the facility meets the health and safety requirements set forth in related state regulations, except for obtaining or maintaining a license. The bill would also require each provider to meet certain criteria relating to, among other things, an emergency preparedness plan, inspections, and attendance records.

The bill would authorize the department to inspect those exempt family childcare homes to determine compliance with these provisions, and would require the department to develop and establish, by July 1, 2026, a policy for those family childcare homes. The bill would require that the policy address the above-described health and safety requirements and provider criteria, in addition to any procedures or requirements relating to enforcement, reporting, or corrective action, as specified. The bill would require the department to publish the policy on its internet website and to update the policy as necessary.

The bill would require prioritization for annual inspections in the case of a facility that is subject to the requirements of the California Child Day Care Facilities Act, whether licensed or exempt from licensure, including, but not limited to, a family childcare home, if the facility is participating in a county quality improvement program through a certain quality rating improvement system, as part of participating in a fee assistance program administered by the United States Department of Defense.

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

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


SECTION 1.

 Section 6306 of the Family Code is amended to read:

6306.
 (a) (1) Before a hearing on the issuance or denial of an order under this part, the court shall ensure that a search is or has been conducted to determine if the subject of the proposed order has a prior criminal conviction for a violent felony specified in Section 667.5 of the Penal Code or a serious felony specified in Section 1192.7 of the Penal Code; has a misdemeanor conviction involving domestic violence, weapons, or other violence; has an outstanding warrant; is currently on parole or probation; owns or possesses a firearm as reflected in the Department of Justice Automated Firearms System; or has a prior restraining order or a violation of a prior restraining order. order; or has a current or prior military protective order or prior violation of a military protective order as entered into the National Crime Information Center systems. The search shall be conducted of all records and databases readily available and reasonably accessible to the court, including, but not limited to, the following:
(A) The California Sex and Arson Registry (CSAR).
(B) The Supervised Release File.
(C) State summary criminal history information maintained by the Department of Justice pursuant to Section 11105 of the Penal Code.
(D) The All Federal Bureau of Investigation’s nationwide database. databases, including, but not limited to, the National Crime Information Center.
(E) Locally maintained criminal history records or databases.
(F) The Department of Justice Automated Firearms System.
(2) However, a record or database need not be searched if the information available in that record or database can be obtained as a result of a search conducted in another record or database.
(3) If a court does not have electronic or other access to the Department of Justice Automated Firearms System and if there is no preexisting agreement between the court and a law enforcement agency that the law enforcement agency will conduct a search of the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System in order to report to the court whether the subject of the proposed order owns or possesses a firearm, upon the request of the court, the sheriff shall access the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System in order to search the Department of Justice Automated Firearms System for the purpose of determining whether the subject of the order owns or possesses firearms. The sheriff shall report the results of this search to the court.
(b) (1) Before deciding whether to issue an order under this part or when determining appropriate temporary custody and visitation orders, the court shall consider the following information obtained pursuant to a search conducted under subdivision (a): a conviction for a violent felony specified in Section 667.5 of the Penal Code or a serious felony specified in Section 1192.7 of the Penal Code; a misdemeanor conviction involving domestic violence, weapons, or other violence; an outstanding warrant; parole or probation status; a prior restraining order; and a violation of a prior restraining order.
(2) Information obtained as a result of the search that does not involve a conviction described in this subdivision shall not be considered by the court in making a determination regarding the issuance of an order pursuant to this part. That information shall be destroyed and shall not become part of the public file in this or any other civil proceeding.
(c) (1) After issuing its ruling, the court shall advise the parties that they may request the information described in subdivision (b) upon which the court relied. The court shall admonish the party seeking the proposed order that it is unlawful, pursuant to Sections 11142 and 13303 of the Penal Code, to willfully release the information, except as authorized by law.
(2) Upon the request of either party to obtain the information described in subdivision (b) upon which the court relied, the court shall release the information to the parties or, upon either party’s request, to the party’s attorney in that proceeding.
(3) The party seeking the proposed order may release the information to the party’s counsel, court personnel, and court-appointed mediators for the purpose of seeking judicial review of the court’s order or for purposes of court proceedings under Section 213.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(d) Information obtained as a result of the search conducted pursuant to subdivision (a) and relied upon by the court shall be maintained in a confidential case file and shall not become part of the public file in the proceeding or any other civil proceeding. However, the contents of the confidential case file shall be disclosed to the court-appointed mediator assigned to the case or to a child custody evaluator appointed by the court pursuant to Section 3111 of this code or Section 730 of the Evidence Code. All court-appointed mediators and child custody evaluators appointed or contracted by the court pursuant to Section 3111 of this code or Section 730 of the Evidence Code who receive information from the search conducted pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be subject to, and shall comply with, the California Law Enforcement Telecommunications System policies, practices, and procedures adopted pursuant to Section 15160 of the Government Code.
(e) If the results of the search conducted pursuant to subdivision (a) indicate that an outstanding warrant exists against the subject of the order, the court shall order the clerk of the court to immediately notify, by the most effective means available, appropriate law enforcement officials of the issuance and contents of a protective order and of any other information obtained through the search that the court determines is appropriate. The law enforcement officials so notified shall take all actions necessary to execute any outstanding warrants or any other actions, with respect to the restrained person, as appropriate and as soon as practicable.
(f) If the results of the search conducted pursuant to subdivision (a) indicate that the subject of the order owns or possesses a firearm or if the court receives evidence of the subject’s possession of a firearm or ammunition, the court shall make a written record as to whether the subject has relinquished the firearm or ammunition and provided proof of the required storage, sale, or relinquishment of the firearm or ammunition. If evidence of compliance with firearms prohibitions is not provided pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 6389, the court shall order the clerk of the court to immediately notify, by the most effective means available, appropriate law enforcement officials of the issuance and contents of a protective order, information about the firearm or ammunition, and of any other information obtained through the search that the court determines is appropriate. The law enforcement officials so notified shall take all actions necessary to obtain those and any other firearms or ammunition owned, possessed, or controlled by the restrained person and to address any violation of the order with respect to firearms or ammunition as appropriate and as soon as practicable.
(g) If the results of the search conducted pursuant to subdivision (a) indicate that the subject of the order is currently on parole or probation, the court shall order the clerk of the court to immediately notify, by the most effective means available, the appropriate parole or probation officer of the issuance and contents of a protective order issued by the court and of any other information obtained through the search that the court determines is appropriate. That officer shall take all actions necessary to revoke parole or probation, or any other actions, with respect to the restrained person, as appropriate and as soon as practicable.
(h) This section shall not delay the granting of an application for an order that may otherwise be granted without the information resulting from the database search. If the court finds that a protective order under this part should be granted on the basis of the affidavit presented with the petition, the court shall issue the protective order and shall then ensure that a search is conducted pursuant to subdivision (a) before the hearing.
(i) It is the intent of the Legislature that, except with regard to a search whether the subject of a proposed order owns or possesses a firearm, this section shall be implemented in those courts identified by the Judicial Council as having resources currently available for these purposes. This act shall be implemented in other courts to the extent that funds are appropriated for purposes of the act in the annual Budget Act.
(j) For the purposes of this section, “military protective order” has the same meaning as defined in Section 6326.5.

SEC. 2.

 Section 6326.5 is added to the Family Code, to read:

6326.5.
 (a) Military protective orders are admissible evidence for an ex parte order and constitute a prima facie case for granting a temporary restraining order.
(b) For the purposes of this section, “military protective order” means a protective order issued by a commanding officer in the Armed Forces of the United States, California National Guard, or the national guard of another state or territory against a person under the officer’s command.

SEC. 3.

 Section 6383 of the Family Code is amended to read:

6383.
 (a) A temporary restraining order, emergency protective order, or an order issued after hearing pursuant to this part shall, on request of the petitioner, be served on the respondent, whether or not the respondent has been taken into custody, either by a law enforcement officer, excluding those defined in subdivision (a) of Section 830.5 of the Penal Code, who is present at the scene of reported domestic violence involving the parties to the proceeding or who receives a request from the petitioner to provide service of the order.
(b) (1) The petitioner shall provide the officer with an endorsed copy of the order and a proof of service that the officer shall complete and transmit to the issuing court.
(2) Service shall be provided pursuant to Section 6389 of the Family Code.
(3) Notwithstanding any other law, a fee shall not be charged to the petitioner for service of an order described in subdivision (a).
(4) If a firearm is obtained at the scene of a domestic violence incident or during service as provided in this section, law enforcement shall enter, or cause to be entered, the firearm into the Department of Justice Automated Firearms System pursuant to Section 11108.2 of the Penal Code.
(c) It is a rebuttable presumption that the proof of service was signed on the date of service.
(d) Upon receiving information at the scene of a domestic violence incident that a protective order has been issued under this part, that a military protective order has been issued, 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 inquire of the California Restraining and Protective Order System to verify the existence of the order. order or the National Crime Information Center to verify existence of a military protective order.
(e) 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 Sections 273.6 and 29825 of the Penal Code.
(f) If a report is required under Section 13730 of the Penal Code, or if no report is required, then in the daily incident log, the officer shall provide the name and assignment of the officer notifying the respondent pursuant to subdivision (e) and the case number of the order.
(g) Upon service of the order outside of the court, a law enforcement officer shall advise the respondent to go to the local court to obtain a copy of the order containing the full terms and conditions of the order.
(h) (1) There shall be no civil liability on the part of, and no cause of action for false arrest or false imprisonment against, a peace officer who makes an arrest pursuant to a protective or restraining order that is regular upon its face, if the peace officer, in making the arrest, acts in good faith and has reasonable cause to believe that the person against whom the order is issued has notice of the order and has committed an act in violation of the order.
(2) If there is more than one order issued and one of the orders is an emergency protective order that has precedence in enforcement pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) of Section 136.2 of the Penal Code, the peace officer shall enforce the emergency protective order. If there is more than one order issued, none of the orders issued is an emergency protective order that has precedence in enforcement, and one of the orders issued is a no-contact order, as described in Section 6320, the peace officer shall enforce the no-contact order. If there is more than one civil order regarding the same parties and neither an emergency protective order that has precedence in enforcement nor a no-contact order has been issued, the peace officer shall enforce the order that was issued last. If there are both civil and criminal orders regarding the same parties and neither an emergency protective order that has precedence in enforcement nor a no-contact order has been issued, the peace officer shall enforce the criminal order issued last, subject to the provisions of subdivisions (h) and (i) of Section 136.2 of the Penal Code. This section does not exonerate a peace officer from liability for the unreasonable use of force in the enforcement of the order. The immunities afforded by this section shall not affect the availability of any other immunity that may apply, including, but not limited to, Sections 820.2 and 820.4 of the Government Code.
(i) A peace officer listed in Section 18250 of the Penal Code shall take temporary custody of any firearm or other deadly weapon in plain sight or discovered pursuant to a consensual or otherwise lawful search as necessary for the protection of the peace officer or other persons present in any of the following circumstances:
(1) The peace officer is at the scene of a domestic violence incident involving a threat to human life or a physical assault.
(2) The peace officer is serving a protective order issued pursuant to this part.
(3) The peace officer is serving a gun violence restraining order issued pursuant to Division 3.2 (commencing with Section 18100) of Title 2 of Part 6 of the Penal Code.
(j) If a law enforcement officer determines a military protective order registered in the National Crime Information Center systems (NCIC), maintained by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has been issued against a person who violates a provision of a protective order issued pursuant to this part or Part 5 (commencing with Section 6400), who is a member of, or otherwise associated with, the Armed Forces of the United States, that officer shall notify the law enforcement agency that entered the military protective order into NCIC that the law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe the person has violated the military protective order.
(k) Each county law enforcement agency may develop and adopt memoranda of understanding with military law enforcement or other designated representatives of one or more military installations located in whole or in part within the borders of its jurisdiction that govern the investigation and actions related to domestic violence involving service members assigned to units on those installations. Those memoranda may include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) To whom, how, and when each party would report information about potential violations of military or civilian protective orders.
(2) Each party’s role and responsibilities when conducting an investigation and in providing domestic violence prevention or rehabilitative services to a family in response to the results of the investigations, consistent with state and federal law.
(3) Protocols describing what, if any, confidential information may be shared between the parties and for what purposes, in accordance with applicable state and federal law.
(l) For the purposes of this section, “military protective order” has the same meaning as defined in Section 6326.5.

SEC. 4.

 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains 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.