BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 273
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   August 19, 2009 

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Kevin De Leon, Chair

                   SB 273 (Corbett) - As Amended:  August 17, 2009 

          Policy Committee:                              HealthVote:16-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:              

           SUMMARY  

          This bill modifies domestic violence statutes to establish  
          gender neutrality and to ensure men are eligible for services  
          pursuant to  Woods v. Horton  (167 Cal. App. 4th 658) in which the  
          court ruled that language in current law violates the state's  
          equal protection and anti-discrimination laws by specifying  
          "women and their children" as domestic violence, which has  
          resulted in some men being denied services. 

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          1)No direct fiscal impact for establishing gender neutrality in  
            domestic violence service statutes. Unknown program pressures  
            to the extent this bill increases specific demands for  
            domestic violence services from men who may currently be  
            denied services.

          2)A recent line-item veto by the governor eliminated all  
            domestic violence related grant funding provided by the  
            California Department of Public Health (DPH). Therefore, the  
            provisions in this bill addressing DPH may no longer be  
            applicable. However, stakeholders indicate the governor's line  
            item veto is unconstitutional and may be challenged in court.  
            In addition, the author indicates the statute needs to be  
            updated to account for future funding possibilities.   

           COMMENTS  

          1)       Rationale  . This bill amends Health & Safety and Penal  
            Code sections to reflect the findings of Woods and to  
            substitute the term "partner" and "victims of domestic  
            violence" instead of gender-specific terms. In Woods, four men  








                                                                  SB 273
                                                                  Page  2

            who were either tax payers or victims of domestic violence and  
            the daughter of one victim challenged several programs  
            providing grants for domestic violence service for women and  
            their children, but not for men and their children. These  
            programs included a comprehensive shelter-based grant and  
            another statewide domestic violence program. In addition, the  
            plaintiffs challenged two programs for inmate mothers. The  
            court found that domestic violence statutes violated equal  
            protection clauses and directed DPH and the California Office  
            of Emergency Services to provide services regardless of  
            gender.  
           
          2)       Recent Amendments  address chaptering issues, narrow  
            legislative intent language, and make several departmental  
            division and office name changes.  
           
          3)       Background  . Estimates of the frequency and demographics  
            of domestic violence vary. The federal Bureau of Justice  
            estimates that women are approximately six times more likely  
            to be victims of domestic violence than men. According to  
            survey data published by the Centers for Disease Control,  
            women experience about 4.8 million intimate partner related  
            physical assaults and rapes each year while men are the  
            victims of about 2.9 million intimate partner related physical  
            assaults.


           Analysis Prepared by  :    Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081