BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                      



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          |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE            |                   SB 154|
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                                 THIRD READING


          Bill No:  SB 154
          Author:   Wolk (D)
          Amended:  4/5/11
          Vote:     21

           
           SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE  :  3-2, 3/29/11
          AYES:  Evans, Corbett, Leno
          NOES:  Harman, Blakeslee


           SUBJECT  :    Marriage licenses:  vital records:  fees:  
          domestic violence:
                      Solano County

           SOURCE  :     Author


           DIGEST  :    This bill deletes a January 1, 2012 sunset date 
          relative to Solano County increasing fees for certified 
          copies of vital records thereby extending existing law 
          indefinitely.

           ANALYSIS  :    Existing law authorizes the Solano County 
          Board of Supervisors, 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 Consumer Price Index for the San Francisco 
          metropolitan area for the preceding year.  Existing law 
          provides that the authorization for the fee increases will 
          sunset on January 1, 2012.  (Government Code Section 
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          26840.11; Health and Safety Code Section 103628)

          Existing law directs that these 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.  
          (Welfare and Institutions Code Section 18309.5)

          Existing law provides that the Solano County Board of 
          Supervisors must submit to the Assembly and Senate 
          Judiciary Committees, by July 1, 2009, a report regarding 
          such fee increases.  The report must provide the amounts of 
          fees received and expended as well as the outcomes achieved 
          as a result of the expenditures.  (Government Code Section 
          26840.11; Health and Safety Code Section 103628)

          This bill extends the authorization for the Solano County 
          Board of Supervisors to increase fees for the purposes 
          specified above, indefinitely.  This bill, in addition to 
          the existing report contained in existing law (above), also 
          requires a preliminary report and a follow-up report no 
          later than 
          July 1, 2014.
          
           Background
           
          AB 2010 (Hancock), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2004, 
          authorized the Counties of Alameda and Solano to raise the 
          fees for marriage licenses and for certified copies of 
          vital records for each county to provide for oversight and 
          coordination of domestic violence prevention, intervention, 
          and prosecution efforts in each respective county.  These 
          efforts include coordination among the court system, the 
          district attorney's office, the public defender's office, 
          law enforcement, the probation department, mental health, 
          substance abuse, child welfare services, adult protective 
          services, and other agencies and community-based 
          organizations in the counties.  AB 2010 authorized a fee 
          increase of up to $2 for each county, with further 
          increases permitted on an annual basis, using the Consumer 
          Price Index for the San Francisco metropolitan area.  AB 
          2010 contained a sunset of January 1, 2010, and required a 
          report on each county's program to the Legislature by July 
          1, 2009.   SB 635 (Wiggins), Chapter 356, Statutes of 2009, 

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          extended the sunset for the pilot program in Solano County 
          for an additional year to January 1, 2011.  

          Last year, SB 1222 (Wolk), Chapter 520, Statutes of 2010, 
          extended Solano County's pilot program originally created 
          by AB 2010 until January 1, 2012.  The introduced version 
          of the bill had a sunset of January 1, 2014.  When this 
          bill was heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee, it was 
          amended to shorten this sunset because there were concerns 
          about the amount of revenue raised and the proposed use of 
          the funds.  

          The Family Justice Center (FJC) model was originally 
          developed in San Diego, which opened a center in 2002.  The 
          idea behind the FJC model is 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 Family Justice Center model as a 
          best practice in the field of domestic violence.  According 
          to the OVW, documented and public 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 
          victims; and increased community support for the provision 
          of services and their children.  (Casey Gwinn and Gael 
          Strack, Hope for Hurting Families:  Creating Family Justice 
          Centers Across America, Volcano Press, 2006)

           Prior Legislation  

          SB 1222 (Wolk), Chapter 520, Statutes of 2010.  (See 
          Background above)

          AB 1770 (Galgiani), Chapter 578, Statutes of 2010, 
          established a similar domestic violence prevention funding 
          pilot program in Stanislaus County.  

          AB 73 (Hayashi), Chapter 215, Statutes of 2009, deleted the 
          sunset for the pilot programs in Alameda and the City of 
          Berkeley. 

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          AB 2231 (Hayashi), 2008, would have extended the sunset 
          date for pilot programs in Alameda and Solano Counties, and 
          the City of Berkeley that authorizes increased fees in 
          specified vital records and marriage licenses from January 
          1, 2010, to January 1, 2015.  The bill was vetoed by the 
          Governor.  

          AB 1712 (Hancock), Chapter 545, Statutes of 2005, 
          authorized the City of Berkeley to increase the fees for 
          certified copies of birth certificates, fetal death 
          records, and death records by up to $2.

          AB 2010 (Hancock), Chapter 830, Statutes of 2004, 
          authorized Alameda and Solano Counties to increase the fees 
          for marriage licenses, and for certified copies of marriage 
          certificates, birth certificates, fetal death records, and 
          death records.

          SB 425 (Torlakson), Chapter 90, Statutes of 2001, 
          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 within the county.

           FISCAL EFFECT  :    Appropriation:  No   Fiscal Com.:  No   
          Local:  No

           SUPPORT  :   (Verified  4/5/11)

          LIFT3 Support Group
          Solano County Board of Supervisors
          Solano County District Attorney
          Solano County Probation Department
          Superior Court of California, County of Solano
          Triad Family Services

           ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT  :    According to the author's office, 
          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 a Solano 
          County Family Justice Center.  The author's office explains 
          that Solano County would like to continue this effort.

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          RJG:mw  4/5/11   Senate Floor Analyses 

                         SUPPORT/OPPOSITION:  SEE ABOVE

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