(a) Nothing in this chapter, nor participation in this program, affects custody or visitation orders in effect before or during program participation. A program participant who falsifies their location in order to unlawfully avoid custody or visitation orders is subject to immediate termination from the program and is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(b) (1) The fact that a participant is registered with the program shall create a rebuttable presumption that disclosure of information about the participant’s location and activities during the period of the registration, including, but not limited to, the participant’s current and past residential, work, or school addresses and other location information, would lead to the discovery of the participant’s actual residential address or physical location, would endanger the safety of the participant, and is not authorized.

Terms Used In California Government Code 6209.7 v2

  • Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
  • Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Subdivision: means a subdivision of the section in which the term occurs unless some other section is expressly mentioned. See California Government Code 10

(2) This subdivision creates a presumption affecting the burden of producing evidence and may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence showing, among other things, that discovery of the information about the participant’s location and activities would not lead to discovery of the participant’s actual residential address or physical location and would not endanger the safety of the participant. The presumption shall not be rebutted merely by the other parent’s desire to know the participant’s address, and the court shall weigh participant safety. If a court finds the presumption is rebutted, it shall provide its reasons on the record.

(3) This presumption shall also govern discovery requests under the Civil Discovery Act (Title 4 (commencing with Section 2016.010) of Part 4 of the Code of Civil Procedure). A participant shall not be required to provide, in discovery, their residential address or other location information reasonably likely to lead to the discovery of these addresses, unless ordered to do so by a court after the other party has rebutted the presumption against disclosure of this information.

(c) Participation in the program does not constitute evidence of domestic violence, stalking, sexual assault, human trafficking, child abduction, or elder or dependent adult abuse for purposes of making custody or visitation orders.

(d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2024.

(Repealed (in Sec. 12) and added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 642, Sec. 13. (AB 243) Effective January 1, 2024. Operative July 1, 2024, by its own provisions.)