BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1233
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1233 (Oropeza)
As Amended May 17, 2010
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :35-0
JUDICIARY 10-0 APPROPRIATIONS 17-0
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|Ayes:|Feuer, Tran, Brownley, |Ayes:|Fuentes, Conway, |
| |Evans, Hagman, Jones, | |Bradford, |
| |Knight, Monning, Nava, | |Huffman, Coto, Davis, De |
| |Huffman | |Leon, Gatto, Hall, |
| | | |Harkey, Miller, Nielsen, |
| | | |Norby, Skinner, Solorio, |
| | | |Torlakson, Torrico |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Removes the sunset for the Secretary of State's (SOS)
Safe at Home Program and requires that the name change records
for program participants be permanently retained. Specifically,
this bill :
1)Removes the sunset from the Safe at Home address
confidentiality program, making the program permanent.
2)Removes the sunset on the Safe at Home voter confidentiality
program, making the program permanent.
3)Provides an exemption, for change of name records, to the
requirement that any records or documents pertaining to a Safe
at Home program participant be retained and held confidential
for a period of three years after termination of certification
of participation in the program, and then destroyed, and
instead requires that such records be retained permanently.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes, until January 1, 2013, an address confidentiality
program to which victims of domestic violence, sexual assault,
or stalking may apply by completing an application in person
at a community-based victims' assistance program. The
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application must be approved by the SOS for the purpose of
enabling state and local agencies to respond to requests for
public records without disclosing a program participant's
residence address contained in any public record and otherwise
to provide for confidentiality of that person's identity.
2)Establishes, until January 1, 2013, a similar address
confidentiality program for reproductive health care services
providers, employees, volunteers, and patients.
3)Provides that the voter registration of a participant in an
address confidentiality program is confidential, and requires
the SOS to act as that person's agent for service of process,
and to designate a substitute mailing address for
participants.
4)Provides, until January 1, 2013, that any person filing with
the county elections official a new affidavit of registration
or reregistration who is a participant in the address
confidentiality program may have the information relating to
his or her residence address, telephone number, and email
address appearing on the affidavit declared confidential.
5)Provides that any records or documents pertaining to a program
participant shall be retained and held confidential for a
period of three years after termination of certification of
participation in the program, and then destroyed, as
specified.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, permanent extension of annual program administrative
costs-currently about $300,000 (General Fund)-in 2012-13 and
beyond.
COMMENTS : The Safe at Home program, created by SB 489 (Alpert),
Chapter 1005, Statutes of 1998, allows victims of domestic
violence or stalking to apply to the SOS to request an alternate
address to be used in public records. The purpose of that
program is to "enable state and local agencies to respond to
requests for public records without disclosing the changed name
or location of a victim of domestic violence or stalking." The
SOS provides a substitute, publicly accessible address for these
victims while protecting their actual residences or locations.
The SOS at the substitute address provided. A program
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participant, once certified, may stay in the program for four
years, after which re-certification is required.
In 2002, the Safe at Home program was expanded to include
reproductive health care services providers, employees,
volunteers, and patients with the purpose of preventing
potential acts of violence from being committed against them who
assist in the provision of reproductive health care services and
the patients seeking those services. [AB 797 (Shelley), Chapter
380, Statutes of 2002.] According to the Safe at Home 2009
Legislative Report, there are 2,437 active participants in the
program, and 4,974 participants have been served since the
program's inception in 1999.
The original 2005 sunset date for the Safe at Home Program has
been extended twice. First, AB 797 extended the sunset date to
January 1, 2008. AB 2169 (Montanez), Chapter 475, Statutes of
2006, subsequently extended it until January 1, 2013. This bill
removes the sunset for the Safe at Home Program, thereby making
it permanent. It also requires that the SOS permanently retain
name change records for program participants.
SB 489, which created the Safe at Home program over a decade
ago, included the original sunset provision apparently to
address concerns raised about the cost and appropriateness of
the SOS to administer the program. An initial prior extension
of the sunset date in SB 797 also received opposition from the
SOS due to concerns about cost. Those concerns appeared to be
centered on the addition of reproductive health care service
providers, employees, volunteers or patients to the program. AB
2169 in 2006 would have removed the sunset entirely, but instead
extended the program to 2013 due to concerns that a separate
measure [SB 1062 (Bowen)], which included victims of sexual
assault in the programs, would significantly increase the
program's population and cost.
In contrast, this bill has received no opposition and the
previous concerns about the cost of administering the program
have not been raised, likely because they are outweighed by the
demonstrated benefits of the program. Furthermore, as noted by
the SOS's Safe at Home Legislative Report, the economic crisis
and a rise in domestic violence cases has increased the demand
for victim assistance and information. By permanently
establishing the address confidentiality programs, the state can
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assure participants that their anonymity, and thus their safety,
is not in jeopardy.
Under current law, if a proceeding for a change of name is
commenced by the filing of a petition, the court is required to
issue an order directing all persons interested in the matter to
show cause as to why the application for change of name should
not be granted. A copy of the order to show cause must also be
published in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.
However, if the petitioner is a participant in the Safe at Home
Program, publication is not required. Additionally, the court
is required to keep confidential the current legal name of the
petitioner and prohibited from publishing that name by any means
or in any public forum. In lieu of reciting the proposed name,
the court is required to state that the proposed name is
confidential and will be on file with the SOS pursuant to the
provisions of the address confidentiality program.
Thus, the SOS currently maintains the only complete record of a
program participant's confidential name change. However, the
SOS is also required to destroy closed or terminated Safe at
Home case files after three years. This can result in the
destruction of all records pertaining to a participant's
previous name if the participant chooses to opt out of the
program. Accordingly, this bill requires the SOS to permanently
maintain records pertaining to confidential name changes of
program participants, thereby ensuring that the sole complete
records of a participant's prior name are not lost forever.
This is consistent with the requirements currently imposed on
trial court clerks with respect to the maintenance of name
change court records for individuals who are not participants in
the Safe at Home program.
Analysis Prepared by : Leora Gershenzon / JUD. / (916) 319-2334
FN: 0005920