CA AB 2534

in committee

Domestic Violence Prevention Act: forced marriage.

California · 2025-2026 Regular Session · lower

Description

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, disturbing the peace of the other party. Existing law provides that disturbing the peace of the other party refers to conduct that includes coercive control, as defined, which includes unreasonably engaging in specified actions, including isolating the other party from friends, relatives, or other sources of support. Existing law makes an intentional and knowing violation of a protective order punishable as a misdemeanor. This bill would include forced marriage for purposes of the act. The bill would define "forced marriage" as a spousal relationship in which one or both parties do not or cannot consent and one or both parties are compelled, through force, fraud, coercion, duress, abuse of power, or coercive control, to enter, attempt to enter, or maintain, a marriage, regardless of whether the marriage is legally valid. If a protective order is sought to protect against a forced marriage, the bill would authorize all persons engaged in conduct to arrange, officiate, finance, or facilitate a forced marriage or attempted forced marriage to be included in one action as respondents. The bill would provide that coercive control, for purposes of the act, includes interfering with, threatening, or attempting to prevent a party or witness from participating in a court proceeding. The bill would provide that conduct undertaken to compel, attempt to compel, prepare for, or facilitate a forced marriage constitutes disturbing the peace of the other party, as specified. The bill would require the provisions of the act to be liberally construed. The bill would authorize a court to grant relief regardless of whether a marriage has occurred or whether a purported marriage would be legally valid in this state or any other jurisdiction. Because a violation of a protective order is punishable as a crime, by expanding the bases for the issuance of these orders, the bill would expand an existing crime, thereby imposing 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.

Introduced: 2026-06-11
Status date: —
Latest action: 2026-06-24 — From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
Bill type: bill
Last updated: —

Subjects

Committees

Not provided by source.

Action timeline

2026-02-20
Read first time. To print.
reading-1
2026-02-21
From printer. May be heard in committee March 23.
2026-03-09
Referred to Com. on JUD.
referral-committee
2026-03-24
Coauthors revised.
2026-03-24
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 12. Noes 0.) (March 24). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee
2026-04-22
From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (April 22).
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable
2026-04-23
Read second time. Ordered to third reading.
reading-1,reading-2,reading-3
2026-05-07
Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 69. Noes 0. Page 4962.)
passage,reading-1,reading-3
2026-05-07
In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.
reading-1,referral-committee
2026-05-20
Referred to Com. on JUD.
referral-committee
2026-06-11
From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on JUD.
amendment-introduction,amendment-passage,committee-passage,reading-1,reading-2,referral-committee
2026-06-24
From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 13. Noes 0.) (June 23). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.
committee-passage,committee-passage-favorable,referral-committee

Versions

02/20/26 - Introduced — 2026-02-20Compare
06/11/26 - Amended Senate — 2026-06-11Compare
AB2534Compare
(document, no version)Compare

Documents

Votes

Do pass and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations]
2026-03-24 · pass · 12-0
Member-level votes (12)
- Zbur: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Papan: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Sanchez: yes
Do pass.
2026-04-22 · pass · 13-0
Member-level votes (15)
- Dixon: yes
- Fong: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Ta: yes
- Arambula: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Wicks: yes
- Krell: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Hoover: yes
- Solache: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Muratsuchi: other
- Calderon: other
AB 2534 Kalra Assembly Third Reading
2026-05-07 · pass · 69-0
Member-level votes (80)
- Fong: yes
- Caloza: yes
- Ellis: yes
- Patel: yes
- Macedo: yes
- Johnson: yes
- Lee: yes
- Alanis: yes
- Zbur: yes
- Ramos: yes
- Rivas: yes
- Sharp-Collins: yes
- Gallagher: yes
- Aguiar-Curry: yes
- Davies: yes
- Tangipa: yes
- Castillo: yes
- Gipson: yes
- Wilson: yes
- Dixon: yes
- Haney: yes
- Connolly: yes
- Nguyen: yes
- Michelle Rodriguez: yes
- Addis: yes
- Bains: yes
- Bennett: yes
- Rogers: yes
- Papan: yes
- Schiavo: yes
- Schultz: yes
- Irwin: yes
- Stefani: yes
- Ortega: yes
- Sanchez: yes
- Gabriel: yes
- Elhawary: yes
- Bauer-Kahan: yes
- Hadwick: yes
- Ward: yes
- Bryan: yes
- Alvarez: yes
- DeMaio: yes
- Ávila Farías: yes
- Lowenthal: yes
- Pellerin: yes
- Jeff Gonzalez: yes
- McKinnor: yes
- Jackson: yes
- Patterson: yes
- Ransom: yes
- Berman: yes
- Pacheco: yes
- Quirk-Silva: yes
- Krell: yes
- Ta: yes
- Garcia: yes
- Mark González: yes
- Ahrens: yes
- Calderon: yes
- Soria: yes
- Blanca Rubio: yes
- Muratsuchi: yes
- Carrillo: yes
- Kalra: yes
- Boerner: yes
- Lackey: yes
- Solache: yes
- Harabedian: yes
- Hoover: other
- Wicks: other
- Chen: other
- Bonta: other
- Hart: other
- Celeste Rodriguez: other
- Valencia: other
- Arambula: other
- Wallis: other
- Petrie-Norris: other
- Flora: other
Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar
2026-06-23 · pass · 13-0
Member-level votes (13)
- Ashby: yes
- Valladares: yes
- Reyes: yes
- Stern: yes
- Caballero: yes
- Laird: yes
- Wahab: yes
- Umberg: yes
- Wiener: yes
- Weber Pierson: yes
- Durazo: yes
- Allen: yes
- Niello: yes

Related bills

No related bills recorded for this bill.

Official source

http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2534

Attribution

Data from openstates_bulk_csv, retrieved 2026-07-24T01:34:27.960412Z

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