BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1222
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1222 (Wolk)
As Amended May 3, 2010
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :21-14
JUDICIARY 7-3
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Brownley, Evans, | | |
| |Jones, Monning, Nava, | | |
| |Huffman | | |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
|Nays:|Tran, Hagman, Knight | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Extends, for one year, a pilot program in Solano
County to increase specified fees to fund domestic violence
prevention programs. Specifically, this bill extends, until
January 1, 2012, the authority of the Solano County Board of
Supervisors, upon making specified findings and declarations, to
increase fees for marriage licenses, confidential marriage
licenses, and certified copies of marriage certificates, fetal
death records, and death records by up to $2 (subject to
Consumer Price Index (CPI) increases) to be used for
governmental oversight and coordination of domestic violence and
family violence prevention, intervention, and prosecution
efforts.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Authorizes the Solano 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 marriage licenses, confidential marriage
licenses, and certified copies of marriage certificates, fetal
death records, and death records by up to $2 (subject to CPI
increases), until January 1, 2011, in order to fund
governmental oversight and coordination of domestic violence
and family violence prevention, intervention, and prosecution
efforts.
SB 1222
Page 2
2)Authorizes the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, and the
Berkeley City Council, upon making specified findings and
declarations, to increase the fees for marriage licenses and
confidential marriage licenses, as well as certified copies of
marriage, birth, and death certificates, by up to $2, with
further increases permitted on an annual basis, based on the
CPI. Directs that the fees be deposited into a special fund
to be used for governmental oversight and coordination of
domestic violence and family violence prevention,
intervention, and prosecution efforts.
3)Authorizes a $4 fee (subject to CPI increases) for certified
copies of marriage certificates, birth certificates, and death
records to provide funding for governmental oversight and
coordination of domestic violence prevention, intervention,
and prosecution efforts in Contra Costa County.
4)Authorizes the Sonoma 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 marriage licenses, confidential marriage
licenses, and certified copies of marriage certificates, fetal
death records, and death records by up to $2, until January 1,
2015.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : Over the last decade, the Legislature has authorized,
on a pilot basis, four counties to increase fees for marriage
licenses and for marriage, birth and death certificates to fund
governmental oversight and coordination of domestic violence
prevention, intervention, and prosecution programs. These
programs have been highly successful and have led to the
creation of a family justice center (FJC) in Alameda County, a
youth intervention program in the City of Berkeley and
significantly greater coordination of services in Contra Costa
County. As a result of their successes, the Legislature, after
reviewing program reports required as a condition of the pilots,
made the programs in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties and the
City of Berkeley permanent.
Originally authorized by AB 2010 (Hancock), Chapter 830,
Statutes of 2004, Solano County's program to raise the fees of
marriage licenses and of certified copies of vital records to
SB 1222
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fund governmental oversight and coordination of domestic
violence prevention and intervention was scheduled to sunset on
January 1, 2010. Last year, SB 635 (Wiggins), Chapter 356,
Statutes of 2009, extended the sunset for an additional year,
until January 1, 2011. This bill seeks to extend the sunset for
another year, until January 1, 2012.
According to the author, the fees collected by the Solano County
Board of Supervisors through this pilot program are an important
source of domestic violence program funding for the county, and
are deposited into a fund to be used for the construction of a
FJC. The author explains that Solano County would like to
continue this effort.
The FJC model is designed to create a coordinated,
single-point-of-access center offering comprehensive services
for victims of domestic violence, thereby reducing the number of
locations a victim must visit in order to receive critical
services. The United States Department of Justice, through its
Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), has identified the FJC
model as a best practice in the field of domestic violence.
According to the OVW, positive FJC outcomes include a reduction
in the rate of homicide; increased victim safety; improved
offender prosecution; reduced fear and anxiety for victims and
their children; increased efficiency among service providers
through the provision of collaborative services; and, increased
community support for the provision of services to victims and
their children (Casey Gwinn and Gael Strack, Hope for Hurting
Families: Creating Family Justice Centers Across America,
Volcano Press, 2006).
Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916)
319-2334
FN: 0004842