BILL ANALYSIS SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE Senator Dave Cox, Chair BILL NO: AB 1770 HEARING: 6/16/10 AUTHOR: Galgiani FISCAL: No VERSION: 6/9/10 CONSULTANT: Weinberger STANISLAUS COUNTY'S FEES FOR DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROGRAMS Background and Existing Law Counties can charge fees when they issue marriage licenses or provide certified copies of vital records, such as birth certificates and death records. Counties must add charges on to their marriage license fees to fund domestic violence shelters. The additional amount has increased over time and is now $23 (SB 5, Presley, 1993). In 2001, the Legislature authorized a pilot program in Contra Costa County, allowing the County to provide governmental oversight and coordination of domestic violence prevention, intervention, and prosecution efforts (SB 425, Torlakson, 2001). After making findings and declarations about the need for governmental oversight and coordination, the board of supervisors may fund the program by increasing fees by a maximum of $4 on certified copies of marriage certificates, birth certificates, fetal death records, and death records. The County must deposit the fees into a special county fund, with no more than 4% being retained for administrative costs, and may increase the fees each year by the Consumer Price Index (CPI). After a County report to the Assembly and Senate Judiciary Committees cited improved outcomes from the additional funding for domestic violence prevention oversight and coordination activities, legislators made Contra Costa's program permanent (SB 968, Torlakson, 2006). Legislators authorized similar pilot programs in Alameda and Solano counties, allowing the counties to increase fees for marriage licenses and certified copies of marriage certificates, birth certificates, fetal death records, and death records by up to $2 (AB 2010, Hancock, 2004). Because the City of Berkeley runs its own domestic violence programs and maintains birth certificates, fetal death, and death records for city residents, it received a separate authorization to increase vital records fees (AB 1712, AB 1770 -- 6/9/10 -- Page 2 Hancock, 2005). Last year, legislation made the Alameda County and Berkeley programs permanent (AB 73, Hayashi, 2009). Legislators also extended the sunset date for Solano County's pilot program and authorized a similar pilot program in Sonoma County (SB 635, Wiggins, 2009). Stanislaus County currently charges $17 for birth certificates, $14 for marriage certificates, and $12 for death records. Stanislaus County officials want the same authority to raise fees on these vital records that legislators granted to Alameda, Solano, and Sonoma counties. Proposed Law Assembly Bill 1770 authorizes the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors, upon making findings and declarations of the need for governmental oversight and coordination of domestic violence agencies, to increase fees for certified copies of marriage certificates, birth certificates, fetal death records, and death records by up to $2. AB 1770 allows Stanislaus County supervisors to authorize annually increase those fees by the increase in the Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco metropolitan area, rounded to the nearest half dollar. The bill requires the County to direct the local registrar, county recorder, and county clerk to deposit those fees into a special fund for governmental oversight and coordination of a variety of domestic violence and family violence prevention, intervention, and prosecution efforts. The County may retain up to 4% of the funds for administrative costs. Applicants for a certified copy of a birth certificate, fetal death record, or death record in Stanislaus County must pay an additional fee to the local registrar, county recorder, or county clerk, as established by the Board of Supervisors. AB 1770 requires the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors to report to the Legislature the annual amounts of funds received and expended from fee increases and the outcomes achieved. A preliminary report must be submitted no later than July 1, 2014. AB 1770 -- 6/9/10 -- Page 3 The fee authority in AB 1770 automatically terminates on January 1, 2016. Comments 1. Expanding a successful program . Domestic violence has widespread and costly effects in Stanislaus County. The rate of domestic violence calls in the County is 25% higher than the state average. Law enforcement agencies received more than 3,000 domestic violence calls in 2009. The response to domestic violence involves a complex web of groups, including law enforcement agencies, the courts, social services agencies, and non-profit community organizations. Stanislaus County will soon open a Family Justice Center, similar to those in other counties, to provide multi-disciplinary support to domestic violence victims. By giving Stanislaus County the same fee authority that other counties have used successfully, AB 1770 generates more money for the Stanislaus Family Justice Center's oversight and coordination of domestic violence prevention, intervention, and prosecution efforts. 2. Fee or tax ? Despite the Legislature's past authorization of additional fees on vital records for the purpose of funding domestic violence programs, the question persists whether these charges constitute "taxes," which require voter approval, rather than "fees." County officials say that charges imposed on vital records fall within the category of "regulatory fees" that have been validated by the courts. To qualify as a regulatory fee, a charge cannot exceed the reasonable cost of providing the services for which the fee is charged and must not be levied for unrelated revenue purposes. It remains unclear whether there is a sufficient relationship between charges imposed on certified copies of vital records and the coordination of domestic violence programs. Do these charges meet the standards for regulatory fees? If the merits of domestic violence programs are sufficiently clear, counties should simply seek voter approval of taxes, rather than imposing ambiguous charges that may attract legal challenges. 3. Territorial issues . While not disputing the need to reduce domestic violence, some opponents of AB 1770 argue that the fees proposed by the bill are misplaced. Child AB 1770 -- 6/9/10 -- Page 4 abuse prevention advocates want to preserve fees on birth certificates as a dedicated source for child abuse prevention. Currently, $4 from every fee paid for a birth certificate goes to trust funds for child abuse prevention. Some advocates oppose adding birth certificate fees for other purposes, reasoning that any new fees may keep them from raising revenues for child abuse prevention in the future. County recorders argue that fees for vital records should relate exclusively to the cost of recording or obtaining certified copies of vital records and should not force a county recorder into the unwanted role of being a revenue generator. Even though there are precedents, the Committee may wish to consider whether vital records fees are the most appropriate revenue source for coordinating domestic violence prevention. 4. Not identical . While the programs in Contra Costa, Alameda, Solano, and Sonoma counties and the City of Berkeley are all similar, they are not identical. The pilot program that AB 1770 authorizes in Stanislaus County is also unique. The following chart shows each jurisdiction's fees for domestic violence prevention programs: Marriage Marriage Birth Death County/City License Certificate Record Record Contra Costa n/a $4 $4 $4 Alameda $2 $2 $2 $2 Berkeley n/a n/a $2 $2 Solano $2 $2 $2 $2 Sonoma $2 $2 n/a $2 Stanislaus (AB 1770) n/a $2 $2$2 5. Related legislation . At its June 16 hearing, the Committee will hear AB 1338 (Evans, 2010), which allows all counties to adopt pilot programs to provide governmental oversight and coordination of domestic violence prevention, intervention, and prosecution efforts and to fund community-based nonprofits. AB 2348 (Yamada, 2010), which authorizes a similar domestic violence prevention program in Yolo County, is in the Assembly Judiciary Committee. SB 1222 (Wolk, 2010), which extends the Solano County program's sunset date until 2014, is awaiting referral to a committee in the Assembly. In 2008, legislators passed AB AB 1770 -- 6/9/10 -- Page 5 2231 (Hayashi, 2008) which would have extended the sunset dates for the Alameda County and Solano County programs until 2015. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed that bill, arguing that the additional vital records fees are actually taxes. AB 1275 (DeSaulnier, 2007), which authorized any county to impose additional vital records fees to fund domestic violence, child abuse, and family violence programs, died in the Senate Local Government Committee. SB 605 (Alquist, 2007), which authorized additional vital records fees to fund domestic violence programs in Santa Clara County, died in the Senate Local Government Committee. 6. Special legislation . The California Constitution prohibits special legislation when a general law can apply (Article IV, 16). AB 1770 contains findings and declarations explaining the need for legislation that applies only to Stanislaus County. 7. Double referral . The Senate Rules Committee has ordered a double-referral of AB 1770 to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Assembly Actions Assembly Judiciary Committee: 7-3 Assembly Floor: 46-26 Support and Opposition (6/10/10) Support : Stanislaus County. Opposition : County Recorders Association of California, Child Abuse Prevention Center.