BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1629
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Date of Hearing: March 25, 2014
Counsel: Sandy Uribe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Tom Ammiano, Chair
AB 1629 (Bonta) - As Introduced: February 10, 2014
SUMMARY : Authorizes the California Victim and Government Claims
Board to reimburse a crime victim or a derivative victim for
outpatient violence-peer-counseling expenses incurred.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Allows the board to reimburse for outpatient violence peer
counseling expenses to direct or derivative crime victims.
2)Defines "service organization for victims of violent crimes"
as "a nongovernmental organization" meeting both of the
following criteria:
a) Has a primary mission of providing services to victims
of violent crime; and
b) Provides programs or services to victims of violent
crime and their families, and other programs, regardless of
whether a similar program exists in an agency that provides
additional services.
3)Defines "violence peer counseling" as "counseling by a
violence peer counselor for the purpose of rendering advice or
assistance for victims of violent crime and their families."
4)Defines "violence peer counselor" as "a provider of formal or
informal counseling services who is employed by a service
organization for victims of violent crime, whether financially
compensated or not, and who has had at least 40 hours of
specialized training, as specified.
EXISTING LAW :
1)States that all persons who suffer losses as a result of
criminal activity shall have the right to restitution from the
perpetrators. (Cal. Const., art. I, § 28(b)(13).)
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2)Requires the court, to order a criminal defendant to pay both
a restitution fine and restitution to the victim or victims,
if any, in addition to any other penalty provided or imposed
under the law. (Pen. Code, § 1202.4, subd. (a)(3).)
3)Establishes the Victim Compensation and Government Claims
Board (board) to operate the California Victim Compensation
Program. (Gov. Code, § 13950 et. seq.)
4)Provides than an application for compensation shall be filed
with the board in the manner determined by the board. (Gov.
Code, § 13952, subd.(a).)
5)States that except as provided by specified sections of the
Government Code, a person shall be eligible for compensation
when all of the following requirements are met (Gov. Code, §
13955):
a) The person form whom compensation is being sought any of
the following:
i) A victim.
ii) A derivative victim.
iii) A person who is entitled to reimbursement for
funeral, burial or crime scene clean-up expenses pursuant
to specified sections of the Government Code.
b) Either of the following conditions is met:
i) The crime occurred within California, whether or not
the victim is a resident of California. This only
applies when the VCGCB determines that there are federal
funds available to the state for the compensation of
crime victims.
ii) Whether or not the crime occurred within the State
of California, the victim was any of the following:
(1) A California resident.
(2) A member of the military stationed in
California.
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(3) A family member living with a member of the
military stationed in California.
c) If compensation is being sought for derivative victim,
the derivative victim is a resident of California, or the
resident of another state who is any of the following:
i) At the time of the crimes was the parent,
grandparent, sibling, spouse, child or grandchild of the
victim.
ii) At the time of the crime was living in the household
of the victim.
iii) At the time of the crime was a person who had
previously lived in the house of the victim for a person
of not less than two years in a relationship
substantially similar to a previously listed
relationship.
iv) Another family member of the victim including, but
not limited to, the victim's fiancé or fiancée, and who
witnessed the crime.
v) Is the primary caretaker of a minor victim, but was
not the primary caretaker at the time of the crime.
d) And other specified requirements.
6)Disqualifies certain individuals from eligibility, including a
participant in the crime for which compensation is being
sought, and persons convicted of a felony who are currently on
probation or parole. (Gov. Code, § 13956.)
7)Authorizes the board to reimburse for pecuniary loss for the
following types of losses (Gov. Code, § 13957, subd. (a)):
a) The amount of medical or medical-related expenses
incurred by the victim, subject to specified limitations.
b) The amount of out-patient psychiatric, psychological or
other mental health counseling-related expenses incurred by
the victim, as specified, including peer counseling
services provided by a rape crisis center.
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c) The expenses of non-medical remedial care and treatment
rendered in accordance with a religious method of healing
recognized by state law.
d) Compensation equal to the loss of income or loss of
support, or both, that a victim or derivative victim incurs
as a direct result of the victim's injury or the victim's
death, subject to specified limitations.
e) Cash payment to, or on behalf of, the victim for job
retraining or similar employment-oriented services.
f) The expense of installing or increasing residential
security, not to exceed $1,000, with respect to a crime
that occurred in the victim's residence, upon verification
by law enforcement to be necessary for the personal safety
of the victim or by a mental health treatment provider to
be necessary for the emotional well-being of the victim.
g) The expense of renovating or retrofitting a victim's
residence or a vehicle to make them accessible or
operational, if it is medically necessary.
h) Expenses incurred in relocating, as specified, if the
expenses are determined by law enforcement to be necessary
for the personal safety or by a mental health treatment
provider to be necessary for the emotional well-being of
the victim.
8)Limits the total award to or on behalf of each victim to
$35,000, except that this amount may be increased to $70,000
if federal funds for that increase are available. (Gov. Code,
§ 13957, subd. (b).)
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)Author's Statement : According to the author, "According to
the California Attorney General, there was a three percent
increase in violent crime from 2011-2012. That three percent
increase represents an increase in services needed to heal
individuals, families, and communities where crime victims
live. These statistics demonstrate the growing need for
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expanding statewide efforts to curb violence.
"The California Victim Compensation Program received 54,115
applications for assistance in fiscal year 2012-2013. Of that
54,000, greater than half -29,000- were requests for
assistance related to violent crimes excluding sexual assault.
These statistics reveal a need to offer violence prevention
and intervention services to help heal victims, families, and
communities damaged by violent crime. Ending violent crime is
a clear priority and supporting victims of violent crime
should also be a major priority.
"AB 1629 will support violence prevention efforts, helping
target populations receiving the benefits offered by victim's
compensation programs. For example, victims of gun violence
often return to the same environment where they initially
became victims. This return creates a cycle where victims are
constantly re-traumatized through experiencing the event over
and over. Moreover, victims are also more likely to be
victimized again after returning to the location where the
violence occurred. Hospital-based violence intervention
programs are proven to be effective in ending the trend; AB
1629 removes a statutory barrier to achieving that objective.
"AB 1629 would provide reimbursement for a crime victim or
derivative victim for the amount of outpatient violence peer
counseling-related expenses incurred by the victim or
derivative victim, thereby providing equal access to services
for all victims of violent crime. This reimbursement is a
first step to curbing community violence and supporting
victims.
"Setting up a pay-for-service reimbursement for 'Violence
Intervention Specialists' would accomplish two things: (1)
Allow more organizations to offer intervention specialist
services to victims, and (2) Increase the number of victims
receiving benefits, who can spread awareness among victims
about the services offered. AB 1629 is a huge step toward
recognizing that all victims of violent crime deserve support
and assistance. AB 1629 is also a big step toward relieving
our communities of the violence that plagues them."
2)Background : The board provides compensation for victims of
violent crime. It reimburses eligible victims for many
crime-related expenses. Funding for the board comes from
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restitution fines and penalty assessments paid by criminal
offenders, as well as federal matching funds. (See CVGCB Web
site .)
3)Mental Health Services : Typically, the victim compensation
program covers individual, family, and group therapy necessary
as a direct result of the qualifying crime. There are both
monetary and service limitations for mental health services.
A victim can obtain services from different types of mental
health providers, including: licensed psychiatrists, licensed
or registered psychologists, licensed clinical social workers,
marriage family therapists, psychological assistants, licensed
professional clinical counselors, peer counselors, psychiatric
mental-health nurses, clinical nurse specialists, and certain
types of interns. However, peer counseling is only available
to victims of sexual assault.
(.)
This bill seeks to expand the availability of peer counseling to
all violent crime victims, not just victims of sexual assault.
4)Peer Counseling : Peer counseling is "the process of giving
and receiving non-clinical assistance to achieve long-term
recovery from severe psychiatric, traumatic or addiction
challenges. This support is provided by peer supporters -
people who have 'lived experience' and have been trained to
assist others in initiating and maintaining long-term recovery
and enhancing the quality of life for individuals and their
families." (See National Practice Guidelines for Peer
Supporters,
.)
The concept of peer counseling had its beginnings with the
establishment of Alcoholics Anonymous, which believed that
persons who had experienced the problem of alcoholism and
overcome it would be more effective in assisting others who
were trying to do the same. The peer concept has grown over
the years to numerous settings and issues.
5)Argument in Support : According to Youth Alive , the sponsor of
this bill, "The Victim's Compensation Program is the largest
source of victim's benefits in California. While CalVCP
offers benefits to a wide range of victims, there are
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shortcomings to the current system. Victim's Compensation
funds are intended to be available for vulnerable individuals,
especially people who experience violence. One way to address
the shortcomings of CalVCP is to ensure that programs
providing peer counseling to victims of violent crime are able
to request reimbursement for those services. Under the
existing model, 'Intervention Specialists' providing
counseling to victims of domestic violence and sexual violence
are reimbursed. Unfortunately, peer counseling for victims of
other violent crimes is also not reimbursed.
"AB 1629 would close a loophole in the law to ensure all
communities impacted by violence can continue to receive the
much needed benefits counseling from trusted sources. AB 1629
builds on the intelligent, pioneering efforts of the domestic
violence movement, who first demonstrated the effectiveness of
non-clinic peer counseling as a model to provide victims of
violent crime and successfully lobbied for reimbursement for
peer counseling to become part of CalVCP."
6)Argument in Opposition : Taxpayers for Improving Public Safety
states, "Although there is no doubt that crime victims should
to the extent possible be provided with whatever treatment
will assist them in recovery from the trauma of crime, it is
absolutely clear that the Victim Compensation Fund is not a
reasonable source from which to seek reimbursement. At this
time, for reasons which this committee should undertake a
separate investigation, the Fund is bankrupt. The Board has
been overly generous from a limited funding source, i.e.,
incarcerated and paroled individuals who at best earn minimum
wage and while incarcerated earn pennies per hour.
"Before this committee considers expanding approved
expenditures, a source of payment for all of the approved
services must be identified. In that the State will not make
a continuing guaranteed appropriation, this legislation should
be rejected pending an examination of the fiscal solvency of
the fund."
7)Current Legislation :
a) AB 1911 (Patterson) shortens the time period in which
the board must approve or deny an application to within 30
calendar days of the date of acceptance, and also shortens
the time period in which the board must make disbursements
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of funds for emergency awards.
b) AB 2489 (Lowenthal) decreases fees for attorneys
representing victims before the board.
c) AB 2685 (Cooley) allows a representative of the board to
provide the probation department, district attorney, and
court with information relevant to the board's losses prior
to the imposition of a sentence.
8)Prior Legislation :
a) SB 618 (Leno), Chapter 800, Statutes of 2013,
streamlines the process for compensating persons who have
been exonerated after being wrongfully convicted and
imprisoned.
b) AB 2809 (Leno), Chapter 587, Statutes of 2008, allowed a
minor who suffers emotional injury as a direct result of
witnessing a violent crime to be eligible for reimbursement
for the costs of outpatient mental health counseling if the
minor was in close proximity to the victim when he or she
witnessed the crime
c) AB 2869 (Leno), Chapter 582, Statutes of 2006, specified
that the provisions authorizing reimbursement for funeral
and burial expenses under existing law apply without
respect to any felon status of the victim.
d) AB 2729 (Wesson), of the 2001-2002 Legislative Session,
would have expanded mental health services to include
reimbursement for domestic violence peer counselors. AB
2729 was vetoed.
e) AB 606 (Jackson) Chapter 584, Statutes of 1999,
authorized reimbursement of services provided by child life
specialists under specified circumstances, and added
benefits for relocation, residential security, home and
vehicle modification.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
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Youth Alive (Sponsor)
California Catholic Conference of Bishops
Opposition
Tax Payers for Improving Public Safety
Analysis Prepared by : Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744