BILL NUMBER: AB 73	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  MARCH 12, 2009
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  FEBRUARY 26, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Hayashi
   (Coauthors: Senators Hancock and Wiggins)

                        DECEMBER 15, 2008

   An act to amend  Sections 26840.10 and 26840.11 
 Section 26840.10  of the Government Code, to amend 
Sections 103627 and 103628   Section 103627  of
the Health and Safety Code, and to amend  Sections 18309 and
18309.5   Section 18309  of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, relating to domestic violence.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 73, as amended, Hayashi. Marriage licenses: vital records:
fees: domestic violence.
   Existing law requires the collection of fees for issuing marriage
licenses and for providing certified copies of vital records,
including marriage certificates, birth certificates, fetal death
records, and death records. Existing law provides for the
establishment of county domestic violence program special funds for
the purpose of funding local domestic violence programs. Certain fees
payable at the time a marriage license or a certified copy of any of
the above vital records is issued may be collected by the county
clerks for deposit into these funds.
   Existing law authorizes the Alameda County Board of Supervisors
 and the Solano County Board of Supervisors  , until
January 1, 2010, upon making certain findings and declarations, to
authorize an increase in the fees for marriage licenses and
confidential marriage licenses, up to a maximum increase of $2.
Existing law authorizes  those boards of supervisors
  the Alameda County Board of Supervisors  , and
the City Council of the City of Berkeley, upon making certain
findings and declarations, to authorize an increase in the fees for
certified copies of certain vital records, up to a maximum increase
of $2. Existing law authorizes those governmental entities to make
further increases in those fees each year, as specified. Existing law
requires these fees to be allocated for purposes relating to
domestic violence prevention, intervention, and prosecution.
   This bill would extend the operation of those provisions
indefinitely.
   Existing law requires the Alameda County Board of Supervisors
 and the Solano County Board of Supervisors  to
submit to the Assembly and Senate Committees on Judiciary, by July 1,
2009, reports regarding the above fee increases, as specified.
   This bill would, instead, require  those boards of
supervisors   the Alameda County Board of Supervisors
 to submit preliminary reports by July 1, 2009, and final
reports by July 1, 2014.
   The bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive related
changes.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) According to the 2005 California Women's Health Survey, in
California, 9.2 percent of women live in homes where domestic abuse
occurs. According to the Department of Justice, in 2006, Alameda
County law enforcement responded to 7,331 calls relating to domestic
violence. Domestic violence is ubiquitous and cuts across all
economic and education levels and all age groups, ethnicities, and
other social and community characteristics.
   (b) According to 2006 statistics from the federal Bureau of
Justice Statistics, in nearly half of violent crimes where the victim
and the aggressor are related, the aggressor is either the spouse or
ex-spouse of the victim. Marriage license fees collected pursuant to
this act would help communities intervene and prevent domestic
violence when the aggressor is the spouse or ex-spouse of the victim.

   (c) According to the National Woman Abuse Prevention Project in
Washington, D.C., domestic violence puts children at risk. Children
born into families where domestic violence occurs are physically
abused or seriously neglected at a rate that is significantly higher
than the national average in the general population. Birth
certificate fees collected pursuant to this act would help
communities with the cost of ensuring that children who are born into
families with domestic violence receive the help they need.
   (d) Studies show more than 10 percent of women are victims of
domestic violence during pregnancy. According to a January 2009 study
published in The Lancet (a British medical journal), pregnant women
who are assaulted by their spouses are 50 percent more likely to
experience fetal loss, often repeatedly, than women who are not
abused during pregnancy. Women who are battered during pregnancy are
also more likely to die or have children who are born prematurely
with  low-birth   low birth  weights and
intense medical needs. Fetal death certificate fees would help
communities with what it costs to ensure that pregnant women with
violent spouses receive help, protection, and care for their unborn
children and infants.
   (e) Domestic violence is a learned behavior and generational.
Studies show that boys who witness family violence are 100 times more
likely to batter their female partners and girls who witness their
mother's abuse are more likely to be battered as adults.
   (f) Domestic violence costs are high because, not only is there a
toll on families emotionally and financially, but there are also
direct and hidden costs to society. The most direct costs are the
high costs of law enforcement, civil and criminal justice, and health
services and other community-based services. Less direct and visible
costs include job turnover, loss of productivity, school
absenteeism, and low performance in school.
   (g) Domestic violence requires  a  multifaceted
intervention that  encourage   encourages 
civil, criminal, health, and social service sectors to work together
to align the objectives, protocols, policies, and activities of each
sector. Alameda County has determined that  to achieve
  achieving  the alignment  , which 
requires governmental oversight and coordination of multiple agencies
involved in  the  domestic violence matters,
 which  is an essential link in the comprehensive
effort to eliminate domestic violence.
   (h) Since 2005, the Alameda County Family Justice Center (ACFJC),
which is funded in part by vital records fees, has achieved the
alignment described in subdivision (g)  with  more than 65
domestic violence providers, many of  whom  
which  provide services at one common location. The services
provided by the ACFJC include legal assistance, counseling and
medical services, and crisis intervention. The ACFJC has been an
essential link for more than 20,000 domestic violence victims and has
quickly connected the victims to services when they need it most.
Alameda County victims are now increasingly seeking help from law
enforcement and shelters before domestic violence escalates to death.
Between 2002 and 2007, Alameda County has seen a 70 percent decrease
in domestic violence homicides.
   (i) Since the ACFJC's opening, victims are feeling more emboldened
to work with prosecutors. The Alameda County District Attorney's
office reports 20 percent more victims are willing or able to pursue
charges against aggressors and 24 percent fewer domestic violence
cases are dismissed, which gives victims a renewed faith and
confidence that the justice system works. The number of domestic
violence cases being charged as felonies in Alameda County has nearly
doubled from 13 percent to 23 percent, illustrating an increase in
the quality and depth of law enforcement investigations enabled by
the coordination.
  SEC. 2.  Section 26840.10 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
   26840.10.  (a) The Alameda County Board of Supervisors, upon
making findings and declarations on the need for governmental
oversight and coordination of the multiple agencies dealing with
domestic violence, may authorize an increase in the fees for marriage
licenses and confidential marriage licenses, up to a maximum
increase of two dollars ($2).
   (b) Effective July 1 of each year, the Alameda County Board of
Supervisors may authorize an increase in these fees by an amount
equal to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for the San
Francisco metropolitan area for the preceding calendar year, rounded
to the nearest half-dollar ($0.50). The fees shall be allocated
pursuant to Section 18309 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
   (c) In addition to the fee prescribed by Section 26840.1, in
Alameda County, the person issuing authorization for the performance
of a marriage or confidential marriage, or the county clerk upon
providing a blank authorization form pursuant to Part 4 (commencing
with Section 500) of Division 3 of the Family Code, shall collect the
fees specified in subdivisions (a) and (b), at the time of providing
the authorization.
   (d) The Alameda County Board of Supervisors shall submit to the
Assembly and Senate Committees on Judiciary a preliminary report no
later than July 1, 2009, and a final report no later than July 1,
2014. Both reports shall contain the following information:
   (1) The annual amounts of funds received and expended from fee
increases for the purpose of governmental oversight and coordination
of domestic violence prevention, intervention, and prosecution
efforts in the county.
   (2) Outcomes achieved as a result of the activities associated
with the implementation of this section. 
  SEC. 3.    Section 26840.11 of the Government Code
is amended to read:
   26840.11.  (a) The Solano County Board of Supervisors, upon making
findings and declarations on the need for governmental oversight and
coordination of the multiple agencies dealing with domestic
violence, may authorize an increase in the fees for marriage licenses
and confidential marriage licenses, up to a maximum increase of two
dollars ($2).
   (b) Effective July 1 of each year, the Solano County Board of
Supervisors may authorize an increase in these fees by an amount
equal to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for the San
Francisco metropolitan area for the preceding calendar year, rounded
to the nearest one-half dollar ($0.50). The fees shall be allocated
pursuant to Section 18309.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
   (c) In addition to the fee prescribed by Section 26840.1, in
Solano County, the person issuing authorization for the performance
of a marriage or confidential marriage, or the county clerk upon
providing a blank authorization form pursuant to Part 4 (commencing
with Section 500) of Division 3 of the Family Code, shall collect the
fees specified in subdivisions (a) and (b), at the time of providing
the authorization.
   (d) The Solano County Board of Supervisors shall submit to the
Assembly and Senate Committees on Judiciary a preliminary report no
later than July 1, 2009, and a final report no later than July 1,
2014. Both reports shall contain the following information:
   (1) The annual amounts of funds received and expended from fee
increases for the purpose of governmental oversight and coordination
of domestic violence prevention, intervention, and prosecution
efforts in the county.
   (2) Outcomes achieved as a result of the activities associated
with the implementation of this section. 
  SEC. 4.   SEC. 3.   Section 103627 of the
Health and Safety Code is amended to read:
   103627.  (a) (1) The Alameda County Board of Supervisors, upon
making findings and declarations supporting the need for governmental
oversight and coordination of the multiple agencies dealing with
domestic violence, may authorize an increase in the fees for
certified copies of marriage certificates, birth certificates, fetal
death records, and death records, up to a maximum increase of two
dollars ($2).
   (2) The City Council of the City of Berkeley, upon making findings
and declarations supporting the need for governmental oversight and
coordination of the multiple agencies dealing with domestic violence,
may authorize an increase in the fees for certified copies of birth
certificates, fetal death records, and death records, up to a maximum
increase of two dollars ($2).
   (b) Effective July 1 of each year, the Alameda County Board of
Supervisors and the City Council of the City of Berkeley may
authorize an increase in these fees by an amount equal to the
increase in the Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco
metropolitan area for the preceding calendar year, rounded to the
nearest half-dollar ($0.50). The fees shall be disposed of pursuant
to the provisions of Section 18309 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code.
   (c) In addition to the fees prescribed by subdivisions (a) and
(b), any applicant for a certified copy of a birth certificate, a
fetal death record, or death record in Alameda County or in the City
of Berkeley shall pay an additional fee to the local registrar,
county recorder, or county clerk, as applicable, as established by
the Alameda County Board of Supervisors or the City Council of the
City of Berkeley. 
  SEC. 5.    Section 103628 of the Health and Safety
Code is amended to read:
   103628.  (a) The Solano County Board of Supervisors, upon making
findings and declarations on the need for governmental oversight and
coordination of the multiple agencies dealing with domestic violence,
may authorize an increase in the fees for certified copies of
marriage certificates, birth certificates, fetal death records, and
death records, up to a maximum increase of two dollars ($2).
   (b) Effective July 1 of each year, the Solano County Board of
Supervisors may authorize an increase in these fees by an amount
equal to the increase in the Consumer Price Index for the San
Francisco metropolitan area for the preceding calendar year, rounded
to the nearest one-half dollar ($0.50). The fees shall be allocated
pursuant to Section 18309.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
   (c) In addition to the fees prescribed by subdivisions (a) and
(b), any applicant for a certified copy of a birth certificate, a
fetal death record, or death record in Solano County shall pay an
additional fee to the local registrar, county recorder, or county
clerk as established by the Solano County Board of Supervisors.

   SEC. 6.   SEC. 4.   Section 18309 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
   18309.  (a)  The Alameda County Board of Supervisors shall direct
the local registrar, county recorder, and county clerk to deposit
fees collected pursuant to Section 26840.10 of the Government Code
and Section 103627 of the Health and Safety Code into a special fund.
The county may retain up to 4 percent of the fund for administrative
costs associated with the collection and segregation of the
additional fees and the deposit of these fees into the special fund.
Proceeds from the fund shall be used for governmental oversight and
coordination of domestic violence and family violence prevention,
intervention, and prosecution efforts among the court system, the
district attorney's office, the public defender's office, law
enforcement, the probation department, mental health, substance
abuse, child welfare services, adult protective services, and
community-based organizations and other agencies working in Alameda
County in order to increase the effectiveness of prevention, early
intervention, and prosecution of domestic and family violence.
   (b) The City Council of the City of Berkeley shall direct the
local registrar to deposit fees collected pursuant to Section 103627
of the Health and Safety Code into a special fund. The city may
retain up to 4 percent of the fund for administrative costs
associated with the collection and segregation of the additional fees
and the deposit of these fees into the special fund. Proceeds from
the fund shall be used for governmental oversight and coordination of
domestic violence and family violence prevention and intervention
efforts, including law enforcement, mental health, public health,
substance abuse, victim advocacy, community education, and housing,
in order to increase the effectiveness of prevention, early
intervention, and prosecution of domestic and family violence.

  SEC. 7.    Section 18309.5 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code is amended to read:
   18309.5.  The Solano County Board of Supervisors shall direct the
local registrar, county recorder, and county clerk to deposit fees
collected pursuant to Section 26840.11 of the Government Code and
Section 103628 of the Health and Safety Code into a special fund.
   The county may retain up to 4 percent of the fund for
administrative costs associated with the collection and segregation
of the additional fees and the deposit of these fees into the special
fund. Proceeds from the fund shall be used for governmental
oversight and coordination of domestic violence and family violence
prevention, intervention, and prosecution efforts among the court
system, the district attorney's office, the public defender's office,
law enforcement, the probation department, mental health, substance
abuse, child welfare services, adult protective services, and
community-based organizations and other agencies working in Solano
County in order to increase the effectiveness of prevention, early
intervention, and prosecution of domestic and family violence.