BILL NUMBER: SB 883 CHAPTERED 10/12/07 CHAPTER 564 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE OCTOBER 12, 2007 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR OCTOBER 12, 2007 PASSED THE SENATE SEPTEMBER 12, 2007 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 11, 2007 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY SEPTEMBER 11, 2007 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 10, 2007 AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 2, 2007 INTRODUCED BY Senator Calderon (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Fuller) FEBRUARY 23, 2007 An act to amend Sections 13957, 13957.2, and 13959 of the Government Code, relating to victims of crime, and making an appropriation therefor. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 883, Calderon. Victims' compensation. Existing law provides that crime victims may be awarded compensation by the California Victims Compensation and Government Claims Board for the pecuniary losses they suffer as a direct result of criminal acts. The awarding of compensation is subject to application procedures, eligibility requirements, and specified limits on the amount of compensation, including a limit of $3,000 for outpatient mental health counseling. Payment is made under these provisions from the State Restitution Fund, which is continuously appropriated to the board for these purposes. This bill would increase the limitation of an award for outpatient mental health counseling from $3,000 to $5,000, and would make a conforming change. By increasing the amount of an award authorized to be made from continuously appropriated funds, this bill would make an appropriation. Existing law authorizes the board to establish maximum rates and service limitations for reimbursement of medical and medical-related services and for mental health and counseling services. Existing law also exempts the adoption, amendment, and repeal of the limitations and rates by the board from the Administrative Procedure Act. This bill would make a clarifying change to this provision. Existing law authorizes the board to order a reconsideration of all or part of a decision on an application for compensation on its own motion or on written request of the applicant but authorizes the board to grant no more than one such request for consideration with respect to any one decision on any application for compensation. This bill would make a clarifying change to this provision. Appropriation: yes. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 13957 of the Government Code is amended to read: 13957. (a) The board may grant for pecuniary loss, when the board determines it will best aid the person seeking compensation, as follows: (1) Subject to the limitations set forth in Section 13957.2, reimburse the amount of medical or medical-related expenses incurred by the victim, including, but not limited to, eyeglasses, hearing aids, dentures, or any prosthetic device taken, lost, or destroyed during the commission of the crime, or the use of which became necessary as a direct result of the crime. (2) Subject to the limitations set forth in Section 13957.2, reimburse the amount of outpatient psychiatric, psychological, or other mental health counseling-related expenses incurred by the victim or derivative victim, including peer counseling services provided by a rape crisis center as defined by Section 13837 of the Penal Code, and including family psychiatric, psychological, or mental health counseling for the successful treatment of the victim provided to family members of the victim in the presence of the victim, whether or not the family member relationship existed at the time of the crime, that became necessary as a direct result of the crime, subject to the following conditions: (A) The following persons may be reimbursed for the expense of their outpatient mental health counseling in an amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000): (i) A victim. (ii) A derivative victim who is the surviving parent, sibling, child, spouse, fiance, or fiancee of a victim of a crime that directly resulted in the death of the victim. (iii) A derivative victim, as described in paragraphs (1) to (4), inclusive, of subdivision (c) of Section 13955, who is the primary caretaker of a minor victim whose claim is not denied or reduced pursuant to Section 13956 in a total amount not to exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000) for not more than two derivative victims. (B) The following persons may be reimbursed for the expense of their outpatient mental health counseling in an amount not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000): (i) A derivative victim not eligible for reimbursement pursuant to subparagraph (A), provided that mental health counseling of a derivative victim described in paragraph (5) of subdivision (c) of Section 13955, shall be reimbursed only if that counseling is necessary for the treatment of the victim. (ii) A victim of a crime of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor committed in violation of subdivision (d) of Section 261.5 of the Penal Code. A derivative victim of a crime committed in violation of subdivision (d) of Section 261.5 of the Penal Code shall not be eligible for reimbursement of mental health counseling expenses. (C) The board may reimburse a victim or derivative victim for outpatient mental health counseling in excess of that authorized by subparagraphs (A) or (B) or for inpatient psychiatric, psychological, or other mental health counseling if the claim is based on dire or exceptional circumstances that require more extensive treatment, as approved by the board. (D) Expenses for psychiatric, psychological, or other mental health counseling related services may be reimbursed only if the services were provided by either of the following individuals: (i) A person who would have been authorized to provide those services pursuant to former Article 1 (commencing with Section 13959) as it read on January 1, 2002. (ii) A person who is licensed by the state to provide those services, or who is properly supervised by a person who is so licensed, subject to the board's approval and subject to the limitations and restrictions the board may impose. (3) Reimburse the expenses of nonmedical remedial care and treatment rendered in accordance with a religious method of healing recognized by state law. (4) Subject to the limitations set forth in Section 13957.5, authorize compensation equal to the loss of income or loss of support, or both, that a victim or derivative victim incurs as a direct result of the victim's or derivative victim's injury or the victim's death. If the victim or derivative victim requests that the board give priority to reimbursement of loss of income or support, the board may not pay medical expenses, or mental health counseling expenses, except upon the request of the victim or derivative victim or after determining that payment of these expenses will not decrease the funds available for payment of loss of income or support. (5) Authorize a cash payment to or on behalf of the victim for job retraining or similar employment-oriented services. (6) Reimburse the claimant for the expense of installing or increasing residential security, not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000). Reimbursement shall be made either upon verification by law enforcement that the security measures are necessary for the personal safety of the claimant or verification by a mental health treatment provider that the security measures are necessary for the emotional well-being of the claimant. For purposes of this paragraph, a claimant is the crime victim, or, if the victim is deceased, a person who resided with the deceased at the time of the crime. Installing or increasing residential security may include, but need not be limited to, both of the following: (A) Home security device or system. (B) Replacing or increasing the number of locks. (7) Reimburse the expense of renovating or retrofitting a victim's residence or a vehicle, or both, to make the residence, the vehicle, or both, accessible or the vehicle operational by a victim upon verification that the expense is medically necessary for a victim who is permanently disabled as a direct result of the crime, whether the disability is partial or total. (8) (A) Authorize a cash payment or reimbursement not to exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000) to a victim for expenses incurred in relocating, if the expenses are determined by law enforcement to be necessary for the personal safety of the victim or by a mental health treatment provider to be necessary for the emotional well-being of the victim. (B) The cash payment or reimbursement made under this paragraph shall only be awarded to one victim per crime giving rise to the relocation. The board may authorize more than one relocation per crime if necessary for the personal safety or emotional well-being of the victim. However, the total cash payment or reimbursement for all relocations due to the same crime shall not exceed two thousand dollars ($2,000). (C) The board may, under compelling circumstances, award a second cash payment or reimbursement to a victim for another crime if both of the following conditions are met: (i) The crime occurs more than three years from the date of the crime giving rise to the initial relocation cash payment or reimbursement. (ii) The crime does not involve the same offender. (D) When a relocation payment or reimbursement is provided to a victim of sexual assault or domestic violence and the identity of the offender is known to the victim, the victim shall agree not to inform the offender of the location of the victim's new residence and not to allow the offender on the premises at any time, or shall agree to seek a restraining order against the offender. (9) When a victim dies as a result of a crime, the board may reimburse any individual who voluntarily, and without anticipation of personal gain, pays or assumes the obligation to pay any of the following expenses: (A) The medical expenses incurred as a direct result of the crime in an amount not to exceed the rates or limitations established by the board. (B) The funeral and burial expenses incurred as a direct result of the crime, not to exceed seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500). (10) When the crime occurs in a residence, the board may reimburse any individual who voluntarily, and without anticipation of personal gain, pays or assumes the obligation to pay the reasonable costs to clean the scene of the crime in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000). Services reimbursed pursuant to this subdivision shall be performed by persons registered with the State Department of Public Health as trauma scene waste practitioners in accordance with Chapter 9.5 (commencing with Section 118321) of Part 14 of Division 104 of the Health and Safety Code. (11) Reimburse the licensed child care expenses necessarily incurred by a victim or derivative victim as a direct result of a crime that resulted in physical injury or death, if the following conditions are met: (A) The injured or deceased victim was a primary caregiver for the victim's dependent children. (B) The total reimbursement for all child care expenses does not exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000). The board shall have the ability to set a lower reimbursement amount if necessary to protect the solvency of the Restitution Fund. (C) The periods of time for which child care expenses may be reimbursed do not exceed a total of 180 days. The time periods need not be continuous. (D) The child care expenses are consistent with the usual and customary rates charged by the child care provider for other children in the provider's care. If the provider only cares for the victim's children, the reimbursement rate shall not exceed two hundred dollars ($200) per week for one child or four hundred dollars ($400) per week for two or more children subject to the limit in subparagraph (E). (E) No victim or derivative victim may receive reimbursement for child care expenses in addition to reimbursement subject to paragraph (4). (F) This paragraph is a pilot program and shall be operative only until January 1, 2010. (b) The total award to or on behalf of each victim or derivative victim may not exceed thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000), except that this amount may be increased to seventy thousand dollars ($70,000) if federal funds for that increase are available. SEC. 2. Section 13957.2 of the Government Code is amended to read: 13957.2. (a) The board may establish maximum rates and service limitations for reimbursement of medical and medical-related services and for mental health and counseling services. The adoption, amendment, and repeal of these service limitations and maximum rates shall not be subject to the rulemaking provision of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1). An informational copy of the service limitations and maximum rates shall be filed with the Secretary of State upon adoption by the board. A provider who accepts payment from the program for a service shall accept the program's rates as payment in full and shall not accept any payment on account of the service from any other source if the total of payments accepted would exceed the maximum rate set by the board for that service. To ensure service limitations that are uniform and appropriate to the levels of treatment required by the victim or derivative victim, the board may review all claims for these services as necessary to ensure their medical necessity. (b) The board may request an independent examination and report from any provider of medical or medical-related services or psychological or psychiatric treatment or mental health counseling services, if it believes there is a reasonable basis for requesting an additional evaluation. The victim or derivative victim shall be notified of the name of the provider who is to perform the evaluation within 30 calendar days of that determination. In cases where the crime involves sexual assault, the provider shall have expertise in the needs of sexual assault victims. In cases where the crime involves child abuse or molestation, the provider shall have expertise in the needs of victims of child abuse or molestation, as appropriate. When a reevaluation is requested, payments shall not be discontinued prior to completion of the reevaluation. (c) Reimbursement for any medical or medical-related services shall, if the application has been approved, be paid by the board within an average of 90 days from receipt of the claim for payment. Payments to a medical or mental health provider may not be discontinued prior to completion of any reevaluation. Whether or not a reevaluation is obtained, if the board determines that payments to a provider will be discontinued, the board shall notify the provider of their discontinuance within 30 calendar days of its determination. SEC. 3. Section 13959 of the Government Code is amended to read: 13959. (a) The board shall grant a hearing to an applicant who believes he or she is entitled to compensation pursuant to this chapter to contest a staff recommendation to deny compensation in whole or in part. (b) The board shall notify the applicant not less than 10 days prior to the date of the hearing. Notwithstanding Section 11123, if the application that the board is considering involves either a crime against a minor, a crime of sexual assault, or a crime of domestic violence, the board may exclude from the hearing all persons other than board members and members of its staff, the applicant for benefits, a minor applicant's parents or guardians, the applicant's representative, any witnesses, and other persons of the applicant's choice to provide assistance to the applicant during the hearing. However, the board may not exclude persons from the hearing if the applicant or applicant's representative requests that the hearing be open to the public. (c) At the hearing, the person seeking compensation shall have the burden of establishing, by a preponderance of the evidence, the elements for eligibility under Section 13955. (d) Except as otherwise provided by law, in making determinations of eligibility for compensation and in deciding upon the amount of compensation, the board shall apply the law in effect as of the date an application was submitted. (e) The hearing shall be informal and need not be conducted according to the technical rules relating to evidence and witnesses. The board may rely on any relevant evidence if it is the sort of evidence on which responsible persons are accustomed to rely in the conduct of serious affairs, regardless of the existence of any common law or statutory rule that might make improper the admission of the evidence over objection in a civil action. The board may rely on written reports prepared for the board, or other information received, from public agencies responsible for investigating the crime. If the applicant or the applicant's representative chooses not to appear at the hearing, the board may act solely upon the application for compensation, the staff's report, and other evidence that appears in the record. (f) Hearings shall be held in various locations with the frequency necessary to provide for the speedy adjudication of the applications. If the applicant's presence is required at the hearing, the board shall schedule the applicant's hearing in as convenient a location as possible. (g) The board may delegate the hearing of applications to hearing officers. (h) The decisions of the board shall be in writing. Copies of the decisions shall be delivered to the applicant or to his or her representative personally or sent to them by mail. (i) The board may order a reconsideration of all or part of a decision on written request of the applicant. The board may not grant more than one request for consideration with respect to any one decision on any application for compensation. The board may not consider any request for consideration filed with the board more than 30 calendar days after the personal delivery or 60 calendar days after the mailing of the original decision. (j) The board may order a reconsideration of all or part of a decision on its own motion, at its discretion, at any time.