BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE HEALTH
COMMITTEE ANALYSIS
Senator Elaine K. Alquist, Chair
BILL NO: SB 273
S
AUTHOR: Corbett
B
AMENDED: March 31, 2009
HEARING DATE: April 29, 2009
2
CONSULTANT:
7
Tadeo/
3
SUBJECT
Domestic violence
SUMMARY
Changes the definition of domestic violence in the
comprehensive shelter-based service program administered by
the Maternal and Child Branch in the Department of Public
Health (DPH) to extend services to males and makes the
program subject to specified anti-discrimination
provisions. Changes the definition of domestic violence in
the statewide domestic violence program administered by the
Office of Emergency Services (OES) to extend services to
males.
CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW
Existing law:
Requires the Maternal and Child Health Branch of the
State Department of DPH to administer a comprehensive
shelter-based services grant program to battered women's
shelters for emergency shelter, transitional housing
programs, legal and other types of advocacy and
representation, and other support services for battered
women and their children.
Requires the OES to administer a comprehensive statewide
domestic violence program to provide local assistance to
Continued---
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 273 (Corbett)Page 2
existing service providers, to maintain and expand
services based on a demonstrated need, and to establish a
targeted or directed program for the development and
establishment of domestic violence services in currently
unserved and underserved areas.
Defines domestic violence as the infliction or threat of
physical harm against past or present adult or adolescent
female intimate partners, which includes physical,
sexual, and psychological abuse against the woman, and is
a part of a pattern of assaultive, coercive, and
controlling behaviors directed at achieving compliance
from, or control over, that woman.
Defines shelter-based services as an established system
of services where battered women and their children may
be provided safe or confidential emergency housing on a
24-hour basis, including, but not limited to, hotel or
motel arrangements, haven, and safe houses.
Defines emergency shelter as a confidential or safe
location that provides emergency housing on a 24-hour
basis for battered women and their children.
This bill:
For the purposes of the comprehensive shelter-based
services grant program and the statewide domestic
violence program, defines domestic violence as the
infliction or threat of physical harm against past or
present adult or adolescent intimate partners, which
includes physical, sexual, and psychological abuse
against the partner, and is a part of a pattern of
assaultive, coercive, and controlling behaviors directed
at achieving compliance from, or control over, that
partner.
Defines shelter-based as an established system of
services where victims of domestic violence and their
children may be provided safe or confidential emergency
housing on a 24-hour basis, including, but not limited
to, hotel or motel arrangements, haven, and safe houses.
Defines emergency shelter as a confidential or safe
location that provides emergency housing on a 24-hour
basis for victims of domestic violence and their
children.
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 273 (Corbett)Page 3
Requires the DPH's comprehensive shelter-based services
grant program for battered women's shelters to comport
with specified anti-discrimination requirements. These
requirements include, but are not limited to the
requirement that no person in the State of California
shall, on the basis of race, national origin, ethnic
group identification, religion, age, sex, sexual
orientation, color, or disability be unlawfully denied
full and equal access to the benefits of, or be
unlawfully subjected to, discrimination under any program
or activity that is conducted, operated, or administered
by the state or by any state agency, is funded directly
by the state, or receives any financial assistance from
the state.
FISCAL IMPACT
Unknown.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
According to the author, SB 273 is needed in response to
the 2008 Third District Court of Appeal decision in Woods
v. Horton (previously known as Woods v. Shewry) which
requires existing state-funded battered women's shelters to
provide services to all victims of domestic violence
regardless of gender. The author contends that the changes
proposed in SB 273 ensure that existing shelters have
continued state funding, and that all victims of domestic
violence receive the critical services they need.
Woods v. Horton
According to court documents, four men and the daughter of
one of them, plaintiffs in Woods v. Horton, challenged that
statutes relating to domestic violence shelter services
violate equal protection requirements because they are
available only to battered women and their children. The
plaintiffs alleged that they were denied services for
victims of domestic violence at state-funded domestic
violence organizations because the organizations only serve
women.
The court held that under the state's equal protection
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 273 (Corbett)Page 4
clause, and anti-discrimination statutes, women and men are
"similarly situated" with regard to domestic violence, and
therefore the language in the code should be revised to
make state-funding for domestic violence shelter services
gender-neutral.
Both the plaintiffs and the Attorney General agreed that
the clear legislative intent was to provide funding for
programs offering services to all victims of domestic
violence. This intent is expressed in the opening language
of subdivision (a) of Penal Code Section
13823.15: "The Legislature finds the problem of domestic
violence to be of serious and increasing magnitude. The
Legislature also finds that, existing domestic violence
services are underfunded and that some areas of the state
are unserved or underserved." Nothing in either statute
evinces a legislative intent to restrict funding to
programs that assist only women. Indeed, all of the
programs funded under Penal Code Section 13823.15 and the
vast majority (85 percent) of the programs funded under
Health and Safety Code Section 124250 provide services on a
gender-neutral basis.
The court found the only evidence that some state-funded
programs discriminate against men to be the declaration of
Dr. Susan Steinberg, then the public health medical
administrator for the Department of Health Services, who
stated that 85 percent of agencies funded by the department
provide services to men, from which the court presumed the
other 15 percent do not.
The court ordered Sections 124250 of the Health and Safety
Code and 13823.15 of the Penal Code to be reformed in order
to extend the statutory benefits of domestic violence
services to men. The court noted that, reforming the
statutes that provide funding for domestic violence
programs to be gender-neutral, does not require that such
programs offer identical services to men and women. The
court also noted that, given the noted disparity in the
number of women needing services and the greater severity
of their injuries, it may be appropriate to provide more
and different services to battered women and their
children. For example, a program might offer shelter for
women, but only hotel vouchers for a smaller number of men.
Impact of domestic violence
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 273 (Corbett)Page 5
As reported in a 2003 California Research Bureau (CRB)
report entitled, "California County Approaches to Domestic
Violence," intimate partner violence in the United States
is a serious social problem. Based on survey data from the
National Institute of Justice, 5.3 million intimate partner
violence victimizations occur among U.S. women ages 18 and
older each year. This violence results in nearly two
million injuries, more than 550,000 of which require
medical attention. In addition, intimate partner violence
victims lose a total of nearly 8 million days of paid work,
the equivalent of more than 32,000 full-time jobs, and
nearly 5.6 million days of household productivity as a
result of the violence.
The report asserts that although domestic violence has
existed throughout history, efforts to control and
discourage it are relatively recent. In the 1980s,
domestic violence and abuse of one's marriage partner were
made criminal acts. These laws were later expanded to
include violence against a cohabitant, dating partner, or
former partner.
According to a 2002 CRB report entitled, "The Prevalence of
Domestic Violence in California," victims of domestic
violence come from all socioeconomic classes and ethnic
groups, although the poor probably suffer most. A
disproportionate number of persons in domestic violence
shelters are persons who have children, limited education,
no insurance, and are unemployed. Often they depend on
their spouses for the day-to-day necessities and do not
have the resources to leave or support themselves and their
children. Children suffer deep and lasting emotional
problems and may continue the violent cycle by abusing
their partners. Family violence contributes to many
social,
educational, and health problems in the United States.
The report notes that there are 98 shelters in California
that receive state and federal funding, out of an estimated
112 shelters in California. About 14 other shelters do not
receive state and federal funds. Domestic violence shelters
are often part of larger organizations that provide an
array of social services to families, either in-house or
through referrals to other agencies. All shelters operate
24-hour hotlines, which provide information about safe
shelter, emotional support, counseling, and referral to a
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 273 (Corbett)Page 6
range of services. Shelters assist clients in obtaining
restraining orders and financial assistance. They develop
client safety plans; make referrals for medical treatment,
drug treatment, and mental health services. They also
offer parenting and life skills classes, assist with legal
advocacy and/or court accompaniment, help with immigration
issues, retrieve belongings, provide child care, and assist
clients to obtain transportation vouchers, temporary
housing, and employment and/or training. Not all shelters
offer all of these services. Some shelters contract with
other organizations that provide these services. Some
shelters have the ability to follow up on the referrals
they provide to clients, but that is not required, and most
do not. The report additionally notes that victims'
greatest needs, in terms of services, are for housing,
financial assistance, and counseling, both when they arrive
and when they leave the shelter. The report also states
that although Section 124250 of the Health and Safety Code
excludes men from its definition of victims, law
enforcement professionals, health care providers, domestic
violence shelters, and others in the field recognize that
men can also be victims of domestic violence, in both
heterosexual and homosexual relationships.
Domestic violence legislation in California
According to a 2003 California Senate Office of Research
(SOR) report entitled, "California's Response to Domestic
Violence," a movement to establish safe houses for
domestic violence victims and their children in the 1960s
and 1970s led to efforts for systemic changes. Early
measures provided revenues for shelters, required law
enforcement agencies to develop written policies to guide
their responses to domestic violence, and made spousal rape
a crime.
By the 1990s, legislation addressing domestic violence had
grown and the SOR report lists California laws that
presently exist in response to domestic violence issues
that include funding, housing assistance, restitution and
fines, confidentiality, death review teams, family
violence, funding for victims' services, health care,
insurance discrimination, prevention, welfare reform,
workplace, batterer treatment programs, battered woman
syndrome, domestic violence courts, criminal enforcement,
firearms, release from jail, restraining orders, spousal
rape, stalking, training for law enforcement and court
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 273 (Corbett)Page 7
personnel, family law/child custody, spousal support, court
interpreters, juvenile court and civil remedies.
According to the SOR report, predictably, a myriad of other
problems are associated with battering and batterers
including depression, suicidal tendencies, and alcohol and
drug abuse. Children who grow up in violent families are
likely to have problems in school, to abuse drugs and
alcohol and to repeat the pattern of abuse as adults. The
report also adds that approximately 100 community-based
organizations in California offer many of the same services
as shelters. They provide some combination of social
support and intervention for battered and abused women.
These organizations include family support networks,
victims' assistance programs, community-based agencies,
faith-based organizations, hospitals and emergency centers,
health care clinics, and individual doctors, psychologists,
psychiatrists, dentists, and many others. Family and
friends are often the first line of help and assistance.
Prior legislation
AB 100 (Cohn), Chapter 462, Statutes of 2005, extends the
January 1, 2006 sunset for a Maternal and Child Health
Branch advisory council regarding comprehensive
shelter-based programs to January 1, 2010.
SB 185 (Bowen), Chapter 439, Statutes of 2001, requires the
Maternal and Child Health Branch to strengthen oversight
and technical assistance to the shelters receiving state
grants.
AB 167 (B. Freidman), Chapter 140, Statutes of 1994, enacts
the Battered Women Protection Act of 1994 to establish a
comprehensive domestic violence program.
Requires the Maternal and Child Health Branch to
administer, in consultation with an advisory council, a
comprehensive shelter-based services grant program for
battered women's shelters.
Arguments in support
Supporters of SB 273 state that this bill would require
existing state-funded battered women's shelters to provide
services to all victims of domestic violence, regardless of
gender. Supporters also state that while at least 85
percent of battered women's shelter programs provide
services to both men and women, this bill will ensure that
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 273 (Corbett)Page 8
state funding will be used to provide critical services to
all victims, regardless of gender.
The American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME) states that while women are victims of
domestic violence at a higher rate than men, domestic
violence is committed upon men even though it is not widely
discussed in society. AFSCME contends that an important
consequence of SB 273 is that all shelters funded by the
department will provide services to domestic violence
victims, regardless of gender.
The National Coalition for Men, San Diego Chapter, writes
that while it is in support of SB 273, the bill's findings
fail to grasp the true nature of the serious problems
caused by wrongful gender biased beliefs and resulting
discrimination.
Support if amended
The National Family Violence Legislative Resource Center
(NFVLRC) writes that, while they are in agreement with the
general features of SB 273, they recommend two amendments
in order to support the bill. NFVLRC proposes the bill be
amended so that future research on domestic violence is
based on multiple sources of data, including large
representative sample surveys, public health studies,
dating surveys, and clinical studies involving victims and
perpetrators of both genders. NFVLRC also proposes the
bill be amended to include one representative for male
victims of domestic violence, and at least one
representative from a multi-ethnic and cross-cultural
perspective who acknowledges the needs of both male and
female victims on the advisory council to the Maternal and
Child Branch relating to domestic violence shelters.
COMMENTS
1.Technical amendments:
page 4, lines 4-5: (1) Emergency shelter to women and their
children escaping
violent family situations. to victims of domestic violence
and their children escaping violent family situations.
page 4, lines 6-8: (2) Transitional housing programs to
help women and their
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 273 (Corbett)Page 9
children find housing and jobs so that they are not forced
to choose
between returning to a violent relationship or becoming
homeless. to help victims of domestic violence and their
children find housing and jobs so they are not forced to
choose between returning to a violent relationship or
becoming homeless.
page 4, lines 12-13: (3) Legal and other types of advocacy
and representation to help
women and their children pursue the appropriate legal
options. to help victims of domestic violence and their
children pursue the appropriate legal options.
page 4, line 14: (4) Other support services for battered
women and their children
for victims of domestic violence and their children.
page 4, line 18: services to battered women and their
children. services to victims of domestic violence and
their children.
POSITIONS
Support: California Partnership to End Domestic Violence
(sponsor)
American Federation of State, County and
Municipal Employees
California Catholic Conference
Domestic Violence Practicum, Berkeley
School of Law,
University of California at Berkeley
Interval House
Lake Family Resource Center
Laura's House
Los Angeles County District Attorney's
Office
Marjaree Mason Center
National Coalition for Men, San Diego
Chapter
National Family Violence Legislative
Resource Center (if amended)
Option House
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of
California (PPAC)
STAFF ANALYSIS OF SENATE BILL SB 273 (Corbett)Page 10
Rainbow Services
Sojourn
Su Casa - Ending Domestic Violence
Tri-Valley Haven
Oppose: None received
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